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Record

Case file

1961-09-13

U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), United States Statutes at Large, vol. 75

Travel Act: 75 Stat. 498-499 (Public Law 87-228), 13 September 1961, adding 18 U.S.C. 1952

The 1961 Act "to prohibit travel or transportation in commerce in aid of racketeering enterprises", adding 18 U.S.C. 1952 for interstate travel or use of interstate facilities to carry on gambling, untaxed liquor, narcotics, prostitution, extortion or bribery businesses.

Date
1961-09-13
Kind
case-file
Source
U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), United States Statutes at Large, vol. 75
Retrieved
2026-10-12
Docket
75 Stat. 498-499 (Public Law 87-228; S. 1653)
Rights
An Act of Congress, a federal work in the public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105. The text was read from the Statutes at Large PDF published by the U.S. Government Publishing Office on govinfo.

Public Law 87-228 (S. 1653), dated September 13, 1961, is “An Act to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit travel or transportation in commerce in aid of racketeering enterprises.” It adds section 1952 to title 18.

Section 1952(a) begins: “Whoever travels in interstate or foreign commerce or uses any facility in interstate or foreign commerce, including the mail, with intent to” distribute the proceeds of any unlawful activity, commit any crime of violence to further any unlawful activity, or otherwise promote, manage, establish or carry on any unlawful activity, and thereafter performs or attempts to perform any of those acts, may be imprisoned for up to five years (75 Stat. 498). “Unlawful activity” means any business enterprise involving gambling, liquor on which the federal excise tax has not been paid, narcotics, or prostitution offenses in violation of the laws of the State where committed or of the United States, or extortion or bribery in violation of such laws.

The fine amount is garbled in the govinfo text layer (“$10,C00”), so it is not stated here. The FBI’s 1954 to 1971 essay refers to “illegal gambling laws” without naming this Act. Section 1952 is listed in the 1970 RICO definition of racketeering activity and in the 1968 Title III list of offenses for which interception may be authorized.

itemWire Act: 75 Stat. 491 (Public Law 87-216), 13 September 1961, adding 18 U.S.C. 1084The 1961 Act adding 18 U.S.C. 1084, which made it a crime for a person in the business of betting or wagering knowingly to use a wire communication facility to transmit bets, wagers or wagering information across state or national lines.itemOmnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, Title III: Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance (Public Law 90-351), 82 Stat. 211Title III of the 1968 Act added chapter 119 to title 18: it prohibited private interception of wire and oral communications and set up court-ordered interception for listed offenses. Its findings state: "Organized criminals make extensive use of wire and oral communications in their criminal activities."itemOrganized Crime Control Act of 1970, Title IX: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (18 U.S.C. 1961-1968), 84 Stat. 941-948Title IX of the 1970 Act, the RICO statute: it made it unlawful to conduct an enterprise's affairs through a "pattern of racketeering activity", defined the predicate offenses, and provided prison terms, fines and forfeiture. Section 904 directs that it "be liberally construed to effectuate its remedial purposes."