Danny Craig: District attorney says suspects will face RICO charges in Superior Court on April 24. FILE/STAFF

While not commenting on any aspect of the Richmond County indictment unsealed Tuesday that accuses eight people of violating the state's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, Mr. Floyd agreed Wednesday to discuss the RICO law in general.

On Tuesday, the unsealed indictment revealed allegations that the two suspects in the June 1998 robbery and slaying of Sam's Club Manager David Holt also conspired with six other people to violate the state's RICO law by, among other accusations, killing Ryan J. Singh, 21, and Manuel B. Arroyo, 19, on July 24, 1997.

``Once you get past the (RICO) label, the law makes sense,'' said Mr. Floyd, a national expert on RICO laws and the author of RICO State by State.

The RICO law is a good way to prosecute a person who directs or promotes crime without getting his hands dirty, Mr. Floyd explained. Sometimes the RICO laws are called the ``kingpin'' statutes for that reason. Using the RICO statute also enables the prosecutor to tell the whole story when criminal activities span years, he said.

To understand RICO, a person must get past the label ``racketeer,'' Mr. Floyd said. A person violates the RICO law not by racketeering but by committing the underlying crimes spelled out in a RICO charge, he said. The underlying crimes, called the predicate acts, can include crimes such as forgery, theft, robbery, prostitution, bribery, perjury, fraud and murder, Mr. Floyd said.

People can get confused about RICO laws, thinking they apply only to Mafia members and other organized criminal enterprises, Mr. Floyd said.

``(But prosecutors) don't need to show a nexus for organized crime,'' he said.

According to the Georgia statute that set up the RICO charge, the members of the General Assembly recognized an increasing sophistication of some criminals. The RICO law is aimed specifically at an ``interrelated pattern of criminal activity motivated by, or the effect of which is, pecuniary gain or economic or physical threat or injury.''

``For better or worse, the expression `RICO' carries a certain weight,'' Mr. Floyd said. It is a powerful charge, punishable by five to 20 years in prison and fines triple the amount of gain from the predicate crimes, and it can be coupled with a civil forfeiture, he said.

But the RICO law is complicated and is not used often, Mr. Floyd said. However, sometimes it's the only way the law can reach some misconduct, he said.

The Richmond County indictment unveiled Tuesday accuses Carlston W. Coleman, 30; Ronald Coleman Jr., 29; Jarman L. Harold, 24; Charles D. Winters, 27; Kendric Dudley, 30; Ronnie B. Overton Jr., 21; Laverne Ellis, 28; and John Lamar Travis of participating in crimes ranging from fraud and theft to arson and murder during a four-year period.

All of the suspects are in custody except Mr. Travis, whose whereabouts and real name are unknown.

District Attorney Danny Craig said he must be able to convince a jury that the defendants committed at least two of the listed predicate crimes to obtain convictions.

Mr. Craig said all of the defendants will be on the April 24 trial calendar in Richmond County Superior Court. That is the date Carlston Coleman and Ronald Coleman, who are not related, were previously scheduled for trial. An earlier indictment charges them with armed robbery, kidnapping, burglary, hijacking a motor vehicle and a weapon violation in Mr. Holt's abduction and the robbery of the Sam's Club.

If the Colemans are to face murder charges, such charges would have to be filed in Aiken County or in federal court because Mr. Holt was killed just across the Savannah River in South Carolina.

A similar situation exists in the slayings of Mr. Singh and Mr. Arroyo. Investigators say the two Augusta men were beaten in Augusta and then taken to Warren County, where they were shot to death. If murder charges are to be filed, they must be lodged in Warren County.

Reach Sandy Hodson at (706) 823-3226.