| Sumario: | A study was conducted to examine the development of the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Data were drawn from historical content analysis. It is contended that certain historical events led to the definition of organized crime as an alien conspiracy and helped shape the RICO law. It is demonstrated how one knowledge diffusion process, the acceptance of organized crime as a national conspiracy, affected a new knowledge creation process culminating in the RICO law. It is concluded that a combination of social reality construction and innovation diffusion may be used to explain the form, content, and timing of RICO.
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