How to Use racketeer in a Sentence

racketeer

1 of 2 noun
  • Stephanie was cunning—even ruthless—and a notorious racketeer.
    — The New Yorker, 4 Jan. 2023
  • The characters were based on a real family of bookmakers and racketeers who once lived in England.
    — Sarah Moore, Freep.com, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Yet amid all the transformation, some investigators say, racketeers and mobsters are still as present as the barnacles attached to the piers.
    — Joseph Goldstein, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2017
  • Based on the violent life of the racketeer who ruled Chicago’s criminal underworld during the ‘20s and ‘30s.
    — Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2019
  • Meanwhile, a down-and-out racketeer (Will Arnett), who once headlined in his own Disney movie seven decades ago, has vowed to undermine the company that spat him out.
    — Amy Nicholson, Variety, 17 May 2022
  • At upper left is Mike Elliott, whose campaign for Multnomah County sheriff would be financed by gambling racketeers.
    — OregonLive.com, 23 May 2017
  • And whatever remote chance there was that the crisis could be calmed by talking it out vanished when a federal grand jury in Miami indicted Noriega as a drug racketeer.
    — Glenn Garvin, miamiherald, 30 May 2017
  • Israel Finkelstein’s vision of King David—the vagabond, the racketeer—helped make his career as an eminent Biblical archeologist.
    — Ruth Margalit, The New Yorker, 22 June 2020
  • As revealed in previously undisclosed FBI files, Manton fraternized with racketeers and accepted large loans and gifts from such unsavory sources.
    — Time, 25 July 2023
  • When Ferrara was starting out, private investment in low-budget films was spurred by tax loopholes, a way for doctors, dentists, and racketeers to get rid of extra cash that would otherwise wind up in Uncle Sam’s grubby mitts.
    — Nick Pinkerton, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
  • After faking his own death, cunning racketeer Harry Lime (an ever-magnetic Orson Welles) tries to escape the authorities closing in on him by fleeing into the sewers.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 22 Feb. 2021
  • Ferro pleaded guilty in October 2025 to conspiracy to participate in a racketeer influenced and corrupt organization.
    — Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 8 May 2026
  • In September 2023, the group was charged with violation of the racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations act, commonly known as a RICO case.
    — Irene Wright, USA Today, 3 Feb. 2026

racketeer

2 of 2 verb
  • Webb pleaded guilty to racketeering charges and awaits sentencing.
    — Larry Neumeister, The Seattle Times, 24 May 2017
  • Devine pleaded guilty in a plea agreement to one count of racketeering conspiracy.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Aug. 2019
  • Heinel, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, was fired from her post when she was arrested.
    — Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2019
  • Heinel, who was fired by USC in March, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering charges.
    — Margaret Shuttleworth, CNN, 4 Sep. 2019
  • Hendrix pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in July, and faces up to nine years in federal prison.
    — Justin Fenton, baltimoresun.com, 18 Dec. 2017
  • Gillooly testifies against Harding and pleads guilty to racketeering in exchange for a two-year sentence.
    — Peggy Truong, Cosmopolitan, 16 Jan. 2018
  • Ernst, who declined to comment through his lawyer, pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy.
    — Daniel Golden, ProPublica, 8 Oct. 2019
  • Forster has since pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges.
    — Guillermo Contreras, San Antonio Express-News, 2 Mar. 2018
  • Jimmy pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, tax fraud, and wire fraud.
    — Rich Cohen, The Atlantic, 14 Apr. 2018
  • In recent years, civil lawsuits have used racketeering laws leading to large settlements.
    — Juliet Linderman, Fox News, 11 June 2019
  • Singer has pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and other crimes.
    — Nick Anderson, Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2019
  • Kapoor and four others were convicted last year of racketeering conspiracy.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 12 Jan. 2020
  • Gillooly and Eckhart pleaded guilty to racketeering for their involvement in the incident.
    — Brianne Tracy, PEOPLE.com, 25 Apr. 2018
  • Jenkins, the task force supervisor, was sentenced last month to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to racketeering charges.
    — Justin Fenton, baltimoresun.com, 5 July 2018
  • Martinez faces up to life behind bars after pleading guilty in December to racketeering charges in connection with the killing.
    — Crystal Hill, miamiherald, 14 May 2018
  • The would-be rapper had already pleaded guilty before the trial started, to one count of racketeering conspiracy.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 26 Dec. 2019
  • Eleven days before the start of the Olympic Games, Gillooly pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in exchange for a lesser sentence.
    — Jacob Bogage, Washington Post, 4 Mar. 2018
  • Singer has pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and other crimes and is cooperating in the case.
    — oregonlive, 16 Apr. 2019
  • Both men were convicted of racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy, each count of which can carry up to 20 years in prison.
    — Rebecca R. Ruiz, New York Times, 22 Dec. 2017
  • Michael Babich told a Boston jury at Kapoor’s racketeering trial on Tuesday.
    — Jef Feeley, Bloomberg.com, 13 Feb. 2019
  • Both were convicted of racketeering in 2015 and are serving lengthy federal prison sentences.
    — Sam Quinones, Los Angeles Magazine, 25 Sep. 2017
  • Marin was found guilty on one count of racketeering conspiracy, three counts of wire fraud conspiracy and two counts of money laundering conspiracy.
    — Ralph Ellis, CNN, 22 Dec. 2017
  • To avoid a possible death penalty, Hartley and Cureton pleaded guilty last year to two counts of racketeering murder and have begun serving life terms in prison.
    — Michael Gordon, charlotteobserver, 13 Oct. 2017
  • Filenger was sentenced Thursday to 6 ½ years in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy.
    — Fox News, 20 Apr. 2018
  • Schneider pleaded guilty in March 1999 to racketeering charges that tied him to the slaying of the Gaugers and received 45 years in prison.
    — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
  • His conviction follows the April guilty plea by his top lieutenant in the group, Mack, to racketeering conspiracy and racketeering charges.
    — Aurelie Corinthios, PEOPLE.com, 1 July 2019
  • The mobster pleaded guilty in 2012 to racketeering conspiracy for his role in shaking down Providence strip joints.
    — Milton J. Valencia, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Mar. 2018
  • The new count of racketeering related to bribery adds to racketeering and other charges previously filed in New York and Illinois.
    — NBC News, 6 Dec. 2019
  • Nickerson, along with Master, previously pled guilty to racketeering charges in 2012.
    — Hanna Krueger, NOLA.com, 24 May 2018
  • The three raids come amid ongoing corruption probes at City Hall, including the bombshell racketeering indictment filed in late May against Ald.
    — Ray Long, chicagotribune.com, 18 July 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'racketeer.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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