On January 20, 1998, a New York grand jury indicted the 23 defendants in this case and charged them in 60 counts with violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO"). The indictment alleges that defendants participated in a racketeering enterprise known as the Gambino Family and engaged in extortion, fraud, loansharking, money laundering, obstruction of justice, and illegal gambling, among other unlawful activities. The indictment alleges that defendants' racketeering activities generated as much as $20 million in cash. The indictment seeks forfeiture of assets linked to defendants' racketeering activities, including the cash proceeds of those activities, pursuant to 18 U.S.C.In addition, in the event that any of the specified assets become unavailable for forfeiture, the indictment seeks forfeiture of substitute assets, which are any other property of defendants up to the value of the forfeitable property. The indictment identifies as substitute assets various parcels of real property, money in bank accounts, interest in corporations, and automobiles. (Blanchard, Marjorie M. and E.)
On January 20, 1998, following return of the indictment, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, granted the government's application pursuant to 18 U.S.C. for a post-indictment, pretrial restraining order. The restraining order prohibited the transfer or dissipation without government approval of 19 of defendants' assets, which would be forfeitable upon their conviction, and the prohibition also covered substitute assets that could be taken in the event that directly forfeitable assets were unavailable. On February 10, 1998, defendant John A. Gotti moved to vacate the part of the restraining order that pertained to substitute assets. Defendants Mario Antonicelli, Craig DePalma, and Vincent Zollo subsequently joined in that motion. Judge Parker granted the motions and vacated the restraining order insofar as it pertained to substitute assets. The United States now appeals............
