Drug Kingpins and Their Helpers: Accomplice Liability under 21 USC Section 848

One of the strongest weapons in the federal prosecutor's arsenal against drug offenders is the continuing criminal enterprise (CCE) statute.1 Commonly referred to as the drug kingpin statute, the law imposes severe mandatory minimum sentences3 and criminal forfeiture of assets4 upon a person convicted of engaging in a "continuing criminal enterprise." A person engages in a continuing criminal enterprise if he "occupies a position of organizer, a supervisory position, or any other position of management" of five or more people who act in concert to commit a continuing series of felony drug law violations. 5 Recently, federal prosecutors have expanded the application of the CCE offense by bringing "aiding and abetting" charges against people who have aided a kingpin but who do not themselves meet the statutory definition of a kingpin.' The assistance can take a