Spotlighting bribery: the fundamentals of a criminal act

Many crimes contain elements and requirements that are inherently complex and not widely understood by the general public. Understanding a charge involving the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), for example, can be difficult even for attorneys who don’t regularly deal with that statutory law.

That is not the case with the white collar crime of bribery. Although the specifics of a given bribery charge/case might be complex and at issue, the fundamental meaning and thrust of bribery can be grasped even by many children.

Bribery’s bottom line: I will give you “A” (e.g., money, a gift or a promised return on a future favor you might ask) in exchange for you doing “B” (something that benefits me but breaches a legal or ethical duty imposed on you).

Bribery operates globally and in countless realms. From the perspective of criminal law, it often applies to matters involving the giving of something of value to a public official to unlawfully secure an otherwise unattainable result.

A couple quick examples suffice to spotlight bribery’s contours. I give you money, and you approve my construction bid, even though multiple rivals of your company made better offers. I promise you a high government position in return for secret contributions illegally made to my political campaign.

We duly note on our website at the established Houston criminal defense law firm of Hilder & Associates that the basic elements of bribery are generally not complex. Even so, there are complexities “related to defending bribery and kickback allegations” that only a proven legal team can optimally address.

Our firm’s seasoned attorneys provide diligent legal representation to both clients who have allegedly offered bribes and individuals accused of accepting them, respectively.

We welcome contacts to the firm and the opportunity to provide a zealous legal defense against bribery or any other white collar criminal charge.

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