(a) In this section, "organized crime" means any combination or conspiracy: (1) To engage in criminal activity as a significant source of income or livelihood; or (2) To violate, aid, or abet the violation of criminal laws relating to prostitution, gambling, loan sharking, drug abuse, illegal drug distribution, counterfeiting, extortion, or corruption of law-enforcement officers or other public officers or employees. (b) The Attorney General may institute a civil proceeding in the courts to forfeit the charter of any Maryland corporation and to revoke the authority of any foreign corporation to do business in this State, if: (1) (i) A corporate officer or any person controlling the management or operation of the corporation, with the knowledge of the president and a majority of the board of directors or under circumstances where the president and a majority of the directors should have knowledge, is a person engaged in organized crime or connected directly or indirectly with an organization or criminal society engaged in organized crime; or (ii) A director, officer, employee, agent, or stockholder acting for, through, or on behalf of a corporation in conducting its affairs purposely engages in a persistent course of organized crime or other criminal conduct with the knowledge of the president and a majority of the board of directors or under circumstances where the president and a majority of the directors should have knowledge, with the intent to compel or induce any person to deal with the corporation or to engage in organized crime; and (2) For the prevention of future illegal conduct of the same character, the public interest requires the charter of the corporation to be forfeited and the corporation to be dissolved or the authorization to be revoked. (c) The Attorney General may institute a civil proceeding in the courts to enjoin the operation of any business other than a corporation, including a partnership, limited partnership, unincorporated association, joint venture, or sole proprietorship, if: (1) Any person in control of the business, who may be a partner in a partnership, a participant in a joint venture, the owner of a sole proprietorship, an employee or agent of any of these businesses, or a person who, in fact, exercises control over the operations of the business in conducting its business affairs, purposely engages in a persistent course of organized crime or other illegal conduct with the intent to compel or induce any person to deal with the business or engage in organized crime; and (2) For the prevention of future illegal conduct of the same character, the public interest requires the operation of the business to be enjoined. (d) (1) The proceeding authorized by subsection (b) of this section may be instituted against a corporation in any county in which it is doing business. The proceeding shall be in addition to any other proceeding authorized by law for the purpose of forfeiting the charter of a corporation or revoking the authorization of a foreign corporation to do business in this State. (2) The proceeding authorized by subsection (c) of this section may be instituted in any county in which the noncorporate entity is doing business.
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