 Several statutes , mostly codified in Title 18 of the United States Code , provide for federal prosecution of public corruption in the United States . Federal prosecutions of public corruption under the Hobbs Act ( enacted 1934 ) , the mail and wire fraud statutes ( enacted 1872 ) , including the honest services fraud provision , the Travel Act ( enacted 1961 ) , and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ( RICO ) ( enacted 1970 ) began in the 1970s . " Although none of these statutes was enacted in order to prosecute official corruption , each has been interpreted to provide a means to do so . " The federal official bribery and gratuity statute , 18 U.S.C. § 201 ( enacted 1962 ) , the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ( <unk> ) ( enacted 1977 ) , and the federal program bribery statute , 18 U.S.C. § 666 ( enacted 1984 ) directly address public corruption . 
