United States v. Anthony Spilotro

I. NATURE OF THE CASE

Anthony Spilotro appeals from an order of the District Court restraining him as officer, director and sole stockholder of Gold Rush, Ltd., from selling, transferring, encumbering or otherwise disposing of any of the property of Gold Rush during the pendency of proceedings under a RICO indictment. The restraining order, which also applies to Spilotro’s two RICO co-defendants and their agents and employees, provides that the defendants may engage in the lawful and ordinary course of retail business upon the posting of a $180,000 performance bond with full surety. We remand the cause for an evidentiary hearing.

II. BACKGROUND

On July 14, 1981, appellant Spilotro was named in a nine-count indictment alleging that he and three co-defendants conducted the affairs of Gold Rush, Ltd., a Nevada corporation doing business as a retail jewelry store in Las Vegas, through a pattern of racketeering activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962 (c), by dealing in stolen jewelry, committing wire fraud, and conspiring to do both.

Spilotro owns all the shares of the capital stock of Gold Rush. Count IX of the indictment charges that the interests of Spilotro and his…