G. Robert Blakey, the principal drafter of the federal RICO statute, died May 1 at 90. The law, enacted in 1970, transformed organized crime prosecution by allowing charges against entire criminal enterprises rather than isolated acts. As chief counsel to the House Select Committee on Assassinations, he also investigated the Kennedy and King murders.

Blakey's RICO framework targeted patterns of racketeering—35 listed crimes including murder and bribery—committed for an enterprise. Initially underutilized by prosecutors, the tool gained traction after the 1987 Mafia Commission Trial. It later expanded to unions, gangs, and corporations, though critics argue it is overly broad and punitive.

A Notre Dame law professor for decades, Blakey also helped draft wiretapping laws. His legacy is a jurisprudence that shifted law enforcement from hunting individual wolves to dismantling entire herds. The RICO statute remains a foundational, if controversial, instrument in American justice, reshaping how conspiracies are prosecuted.