 In Canada, belonging to a criminal organization like the Mafia or the Hells Angels was not in itself a crime, and prosecutors could only convict a Mafiosi or a Hell Angel if it could be established that they had committed a crime.Under the RICO act in the United States, membership of a criminal organization was made a criminal offense, thus making the job of American prosecutors much easier.The Chrétien government refused to a pass a RICO type law, citing concerns about civil liberties, and the closest it came was with Bill C-95 in 1997 that increased the penalties if it could established that someone had committed a crime in the service of a criminal organization.