United States v. Frank Altobella and James Moxley

STEVENS, Circuit Judge.

The squalid facts of this ease give rise to a serious question of federal jurisdiction. The record discloses a plain violation of the Illinois statute prohibiting extortion. 1 The issue for us to decide is whether defendants are also guilty of violating either the federal conspiracy statute, 18 U.S.C. § 371, or the federal statute enacted in 1961 “to prohibit travel or transportation in commerce in aid of racketeering enterprises,” 75 Stat. 498, 18 U.S.C. § 1952. Although the “Travel Act” can be read to cover this case, we have concluded that this prosecution is beyond…