Racketeering and extortion sound much worse. Have you ever met a New Orleans gangster? They are hard core. Originally Posted by BJerkThanks for showing your ignorance.
You don't judge the immorality of a crime by how it "sounds". Clearly you were thinking "extortion" means threats to break someone's legs. It can in some circumstances, but it has a different meaning with respect to government officers.
The crimes of "racketeering and extortion" require particular acts to meet the definition of the crime.
Here is a definition of extortion:
Extortion - The obtaining of property from another induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear, or under color of official right.
The last part is the part that concerns Edwards.
Under the common law, extortion is a misdemeanor consisting of an unlawful taking of money by a government officer. It is an oppressive misuse of the power with which the law clothes a public officer.
Most jurisdictions have statutes governing extortion that broaden the common-law definition. Under such statutes, any person who takes money or property from another by means of illegal compulsion may be guilty of the offense.
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/extortion
Bribery and extortion in the government sense are more or less two sides of the same coin. If a contractor offers an elected official money to get a contract, it is bribery. If the government officer asks for the money and states or implies that the contractor won't get the contract otherwise, then it is extortion. It kind of depends on who asks first.
And you also don't understand the different types of activities that qualify as "racketeering". It does not simply refer to the Mafia. There are a whole lot of people that are engaged in racketeering that don't even know it.
Here is a link:
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedicti...m/racketeering
Racketeering -
Traditionally, obtaining or extorting money illegally or carrying on illegal business activities, usually by Organized Crime.
A pattern of illegal activity carried out as part of an enterprise that is owned or controlled by those who are engaged in the illegal activity.
Racketeering, as it is commonly understood, has always coexisted with business.
So, apparently, Edwards was using some kind of business entity to carry out his bribery activities. But that is a technical definition that doesn't tell you anything about the morality of the underlying criminal activity (e.g., bribery, fraud, etc.).
Regardless, it is typical government graft, Louisiana style.
And if you think there was any moral difference between Edwards and Nagin, you are kidding yourself.
