What is racketeering and why was Diddy arrested? [Video]

The Chicago Mafia. The Gambino family. The Lucchese family.

These notorious groups dominated organized crime in Chicago and New York for decades –- until prosecutors brought them down with one sweeping charge: racketeering.

Since then, the federal government has used racketeering to go after a dozen college athletics figures and test administrators in the largest college admissions scandal ever prosecuted, former U.S. President Donald Trump and musicians like R. Kelly, Young Thug and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.

Sex trafficking, cheating scandals and mob activity may appear very different. But all fall under the broad umbrella of racketeering.

So what exactly is racketeering? For an answer, CNN turned to attorney G. Robert Blakey back in 2019. Blakey has helped draft racketeering laws in at least 22 states

It’s not a specific crime

Simply put, racketeering means engaging in an illegal scheme. It’s used in the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO, to describe 35 offences, including kidnapping, murder, bribery, arson and extortion.

“(Racketeering’s) not a specific crime …