Making Sense Of The Sean Diddy Combs Verdict
After 28 days of testimony, 2 days of closing arguments and 12 hours of jury deliberation, Sean Diddy Combs was found guilty of one count of transporting individuals including but not limited to his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura to engage in prostitution and one count of transporting individuals including but not limited to another former girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym 'Jane." Each of those charges carry a maximum 10-year prison sentence. However, he was found not guilty of the three most serious charges, namely sex-trafficking by force, fraud or coercion of Casandra Ventura; sex-trafficking by force, fraud or coercion of 'Jane' and the RICO racketeering conspiracy charge which was the bulwark of the entire case. Had he been found guilty of the RICO charge he faced a potential life sentence in prison.
The two charges of which he was convicted applied to flying people including Cassandra Ventura and 'Jane' along with paid male sex workers around the country to engage in extreme sexual encounters referred to in court as 'freak-offs.'
In regard to the sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion charges, the jury may have considered that Cassie Ventura had been in an 11 year relationship with Combs during the time of the freak-offs and 'Jane' had been in a 3 year relationship with Combs while participating in the freak offs. Being in such long-standing relationships could have been considered by the jury to be an indication of consent. Additionally, numerous text messages from both women were entered into evidence indicating enthusiasm for participating in the freak-offs including one from Ventura that read 'Baby. I want to FO sooooo bad.' FO being the abbreviation for freak-off.
But what is the RICO law and how has it evolved?
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) is Title IX of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 and was enacted as a tool to fight organized crime.
RICO lists four types of prohibited conduct:
An enterprise is defined as 'any individual, partnership, corporation, association or other legal entity and any union or group of people associated in fact although not a legal entity.'
The original intention of the law was to target organized crime, such as the Mafia, enabling prosecutors to target the leaders of these groups even if they were not personally present when the crimes were committed. Prior to RICO, while law enforcement may have been able to convict lower-level members of organized crime groups they had difficulty getting convictions against the leaders of such groups. Under RICO, it was no longer necessary to prove that someone personally committed a particular crime, but rather merely that the defendant controlled or managed an enterprise that committed specific crimes referred to as predicate acts. A pattern of racketeering activity requires at least two acts within ten years. In Combs' case, the prosecution alleged kidnapping, arson, forced labor, bribery and sex trafficking as the predicate acts constituting racketeering activity.
The first Mafia crime boss to be convicted under RICO was Genovese crime family leader Frank Tieri in 1980.
However, over time the law's use has been expanded to include convictions of:
RICO charges similar to those brought against Combs had been previously brought against R&B singer R. Kelly who was convicted in 2021 of RICO racketeering and sex trafficking charges leading some people to believe that Combs would also have been convicted of violating RICO. In fact, the day before issuing its verdict, the jury indicated to the judge that it was deadlocked on this critical charge while agreeing on the other four counts.
The significant difference between the cases against Kelly and Combs however was that Kelly was convicted of recruiting underage girls for sexual exploitation who were legally incapable of giving consent, making the case against Kelly much easier to prove.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘I need to understand what happened': Family of Officer Krystal Rivera asks for answers as lawyers announce civil investigation
The family of slain Chicago police Officer Krystal Rivera is calling for city agencies to relinquish the investigation of her death and, instead, turn over the probe to the Illinois State Police as they pursue legal avenues. The slain officer's parents and their attorney also asked that the city release the body-worn camera footage that captured the fatal June 5 shooting — despite a standing order from a Cook County judge preventing the public release. Rivera's mother Yolanda and stepfather Rico Thompson, flanked by friends, family and staff at a news conference Wednesday afternoon, said her mother needed to understand what happened June 5 to make Rivera the first CPD officer to die of friendly fire in nearly 40 years. 'I need to understand what happened that night,' Yolanda Rivera said. 'I need to know the truth. Krystal believed in protecting and serving with honor. Please honor her. Let this moment be guided by truth.' Her stepfather echoed that thought, asking city leaders to be open. 'We are here asking both Mayor Johnson and Superintendent Snelling for full transparency,' Thompson said. 'We as a family need answers and believe the people of Chicago deserve them as well.' Attorney Antonio Romanucci stopped short of announcing plans for a lawsuit against the city, but said 'we are looking at all our civil avenues of justice' and that some of those avenues were 'very viable.' Romanucci ticked through a long list of questions about the shooting and said they needed to know more about Officer Carlos Baker, whom the Civilian Office of Police Accountability has identified as the fellow tactical officer who accidentally shot Rivera as she pursued a suspect down a hallway of a Chatham apartment building. Romanucci noted six complaints were lodged against Baker in his relatively short career with CPD, including an allegation that he flashed a gun at a woman he had been talking to while she was on a date with another man inside a restaurant. Other allegations included excessive force and neglect of duty, according to records from the city's Office of Inspector General. 'We believe that the warning signs had been there for years,' Romanucci said. 'He never should have been an officer. In other licensed professions, this type of probationary behavior would have been the end of that person's career.' Rivera and Baker, both part of the Gresham (6th) District tactical team, were trying to make a traffic stop on a suspect and chased him into an apartment at 8210 S. Drexel Ave., police have said. Inside the apartment, they met a man later identified as 25-year-old Adrian Rucker, of Freeport, who allegedly pointed a rifle at them. Prosecutors said that Rivera was running down a hallway when she was shot. Authorities late last month charged Jaylin Arnold, 27, with multiple felonies in connection with Rivera's death. The family had seen some of the body-camera footage that captured the shooting, but Romanucci said they still had many questions about how the attempted arrest and shooting unfolded. 'If that event were as clear as what's being portrayed, we wouldn't be standing at this podium right now,' he said. Although an order from a Cook County judge prohibits the release of the body-worn camera footage pending trial for two people who are in custody in connection with the shooting, Romanucci suggested that the order could be modified at the request of CPD and the Cook County state's attorney's office. 'The shooting incident remains under the jurisdiction of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability,' Chicago police said after the news conference. 'The officer involved will remain on routine administration duties.' The state's attorney's office immediately responded to a request for comment. The Cook County medical examiner's office ruled Rivera's death a homicide by gunshot wound to the back. The Tribune has requested a copy of the full autopsy report, though it's not yet finalized, according to the medical examiner. A CPD incident report from the night of the shooting said Rivera was shot in her left flank. In a short, emotional statement, Yolanda Rivera said she would continue to care for her granddaughter as she mourned her daughter, whom she described as 'the light of my life.' 'We spoke every single day,' she said. 'She was the one that I turned to for comfort, for laughter, for strength. There wasn't a part of my world that didn't include her.' Fatal friendly fire involving CPD officers is exceedingly rare. City records show Rivera was the first Chicago cop in nearly four decades to die by a colleague's bullet. In September 1986, Jay Brunkella, a 39-year-old tactical officer in the Rogers Park District (24th), was among a team of officers conducting surveillance on a longtime marijuana dealer who operated north of Howard Street. Brunkella, an 18-year department veteran, and his partner left their post and tried to take the man into custody. With his police radio in one hand and his pistol in the other, Brunkella's partner struggled to arrest the suspect. During the scuffle, the partner's gun discharged and a bullet struck Brunkella in the chest. He died 12 days later, and the drug dealer was charged with felony murder. A jury later found him guilty and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Two jurors, however, soon contacted the judge who oversaw the case to say the conviction was wrong. Three CPD officers told the judge that the officer who shot Brunkella had shot and wounded another CPD officer years earlier, the Tribune reported at the time. Cook County court records show the man appealed his conviction to the state appellate court but was denied. Though two men now face an array of weapons and narcotics charges in connection with the shooting of Krystal Rivera, neither faces a count of murder in her death. A Cook County judge last month granted a motion from the Cook County state's attorney's office that prohibits any city agency from releasing materials related to the shooting — officer body-worn camera and other memoranda — as those criminal cases are pending. Similar orders are often entered in criminal cases that stem from police shootings, and those orders are lifted once a case is adjudicated. Matt McGrath, a spokesman for the state's attorney's office, said in a statement last month that said the motion is standard in criminal cases. 'To clarify, the motion to shield body-worn camera footage in this case is standard and related to the ongoing criminal prosecution of two defendants charged with serious felony gun and narcotics possession offenses — neither of whom is a police officer,' McGrath said in the statement.
CBS News
35 minutes ago
- CBS News
Former Pirates pitcher Luis Ortiz subject of MLB gambling investigation, AP sources say
Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz is the subject of a Major League Baseball gambling investigation and was placed on non-disciplinary leave Thursday, two people with knowledge of the investigation told The Associated Press. The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the nature of the investigation. The 26-year-old is in his first season with Cleveland after he was acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh last December. The Pirates traded Ortiz and two other minor league pitchers in exchange for first baseman Spencer Horwitz. The Pirates signed Ortiz to a minor league contract in 2018. The investigation is related to in-game prop bets on two pitches thrown by Ortiz that received higher activity than usual during his starts at Seattle on June 15 and his recent outing against St. Louis on June 27. The gambling activity on the pitches was flagged by a betting-integrity firm and forwarded to MLB. ESPN reported the firm IC360 recently also sent an alert to sportsbook operators regarding Ortiz. The Athletic was the first to report that Ortiz's suspension was related to gambling. MLB said Ortiz's paid leave is through the end of the All-Star break, when players return to their teams July 17 and games resume the following day. It can be extended if the investigation remains ongoing. Cleveland says it will cooperate with the MLB Chris Antonetti, Cleveland's president of baseball operations, said before Thursday night's game at the Chicago Cubs that the team can continue to have contact with Ortiz, but he can't enter any of the Guardians' facilities. Ortiz returned to Cleveland on Wednesday night. Ortiz was slated to be the starting pitcher for Thursday night's series finale. Instead, left-hander Joey Cantillo was recalled from Triple-A Columbus. Cantillo is 1-0 with one save and a 3.81 ERA in 21 appearances this season. "We learned very little last night, but knew we needed to get someone here today to start today's game, and that really was our focus," Antonetti said. "A lot has come out today, and that's far more information than we have. "Our focus is we'll let the investigative process play out. To the extent Major League Baseball or anyone needs our support in that, we will obviously cooperate. But beyond that, there's really not much we can do." Manager Stephen Vogt said he and Antonetti addressed the team about Ortiz's situation and tried to answer questions the best they could. It is another setback for a Guardians squad that has dropped a season-high six straight games and is 9-18 since May 1. "Honestly, when I got the news yesterday I didn't know how to feel," Vogt said. "There's so much unknowns with this, but you know what? Every team goes through adversity, maybe different kinds, but this is a resilient group. I've been through situations similar to this before in my career as a player, and what would I have wanted to hear? How would I want the manager to have reacted, and that's what I'm trying to do." The right-hander is 4-9 with a 4.36 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 16 starts this season. The nine losses are tied for the most in the American League. In four big-league seasons, Ortiz is 16-22 with a 4.05 ERA and one save. MLB suspended 5 players for gambling last year The investigation into Ortiz comes a little more than a year after MLB suspended five players for gambling, including a lifetime ban for San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano. MLB said Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 with a legal sportsbook in 2022 and 2023. Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly and three minor leaguers — San Diego pitcher Jay Groome, Arizona pitcher and Philadelphia infielder José Rodríguez — received one-year suspensions. Umpire Pat Hoberg was fired by Major League Baseball in February for sharing his legal sports gambling accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games and for intentionally deleting electronic messages pertinent to the league's investigation.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Teacher Accused of Sex Assault Wanted Smaller 'Buffer Zone' Keeping Her from Teen. The Judge Said No
Christina Formella, a former Illinois high school special education teacher, was arrested in March and is accused of sexually assaulting a teenage student multiple times Prosecutors alleged in court this week that Formella began grooming the boy when he was 14 and claimed she had sex with him 50 times Formella pleaded not guilty and faces up to 60 years in prison if convictedAn Illinois judge has denied a request to decrease the 'buffer zone' between a married teacher and the teenage student she is accused of sexually assaulting 50 times. Arrested during a traffic stop in March, the footage of which went viral on social media, Christina Formella, 30, a former special education teacher, is charged with 55 counts of criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, grooming and indecent solicitation of a child. The judge allowed her to be released as she awaits trial on the condition that she refrain from contacting the teenage alleged victim or anyone under the age of 18, or enter Downers Grove South High School — where she'd been a teacher before resigning — DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in June. Part of her pre-trial release includes wearing a GPS monitor that prohibits her from coming within 5,000 feet of the alleged victim's home, school or workplace, the Chicago Tribune reports. Formella's attorney had asked the judge to reduce the buffer zone to 2,500 feet because the alleged victim works a mile from her home, which is in the larger buffer zone, according to the Chicago Tribune. But during Wednesday's hearing, which Formella attended with her husband, the judge denied the request, citing the need to ensure the safety of the alleged victim, according to the Chicago Tribune. Related: Married Teacher Cried When Cops Arrested Her — Then Came the Bombshell: Allegations She Assaulted Student 45 Times The alleged crimes came to light when the teen's mother found a disturbing text thread between her son and the teacher detailing their alleged relationship, prosecutors said. Formella was initially charged with one count of criminal sexual assault and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. In June, prosecutors unsealed dozens more counts, charging her with 55 total counts involving 'previously unknown sexual abuse and assault of the student,' Berlin said in a June 17 press release. Prosecutors allege that the sexual abuse began in January 2023, when the boy was 14, and continued through August/September 2024, Berlin said in the release. 'It is alleged that during this time, Formella sent the victim multiple text messages that were grooming in nature and that she and the victim had engaged in sexual acts approximately fifty times, both at the school and at Formella's home, including at least forty-five times at the school." Prosecutors allege that Formella kept a 'memoir' on her phone's notes app detailing her apparent anger at the teen, including writings that claimed the boy 'cheated on me.' 'We will never ever be together again,' Formella allegedly wrote. 'I'm not a second choice. I'm the best thing you'll ever have even with all of my mistakes.' Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Formella has denied ever having sex with the teen. Her attorney did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. The allegations against Formella "are beyond disturbing,' Berlin said in the June 17 release. Formella is scheduled to return to court on August 4, 2025. In a statement to PEOPLE, a spokesperson for the family of Formella said, in part: "The public shaming of women accused of sexual misconduct reflects deeply embedded patterns of misogyny that have persisted across generations. Christina has become the latest target of this troubling phenomenon — subjected to relentless personal attacks and sexist scrutiny that ignore the legal process entirely." The statement later added, "This isn't just a double standard. It's a spectacle — a public ritual that punishes women not for what they've done, but for how they're perceived. Instead of discussing facts or law, public discourse fixates on Christina's appearance, her private life, even her lipstick — as if those details bear on guilt or innocence. That's not legal analysis. It's voyeurism, moral judgment, and cruelty — excused by a self-serving performance of concern for an alleged victim." If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to Read the original article on People
