EXTORTION. — In modern criminal law, extortion is the crime committed by one who, through violence or threat, compels someone to do or omit something, thereby securing for himself or another an unjust profit to the detriment of another.
It is distinguished from robbery, in which violence or threat is used as a means to take possession of another’s property by removing it from the person who holds it; that is, in robbery the guilty party takes the thing, whereas in extortion there is at least a transfer of the thing from the victim to the guilty party (this at least seems the most acceptable criterion of distinction). It is distinguished from fraud, because in fraud the means consists, not in violence or threat, but in inducing error (even if such inducement aims to instill in the victim the fear of an imaginary danger). A subspecies of extortion is blackmail, which occurs when someone abducts a person in order to obtain, for himself or another, an unjust profit as the price of liberation.
Under current Italian law, extortion is punished by imprisonment from three to ten years and a fine from 40,000 to 160,000 lire; the penalty is increased by one-third to one-half if the violence or threat is committed with weapons, or by a disguised person, or by several persons acting together, or if the violence consists in placing someone in a state of incapacity to act (Italian Penal Code, art. 629, and Legislative Decree of 21 October 1947, no. 1230). Blackmail is punished by imprisonment from eight to fifteen years and a fine from 80,000 to 160,000 lire; but the penalty of imprisonment is from twelve to eighteen years if the guilty party achieves his aim (Italian Penal Code, art. 630, and the cited decree).
Concussion is also partly a qualified form of extortion; it is the act of a public official who, abusing his position or functions, compels or induces someone to give or promise, to him or a third party, money or other benefit improperly (it is no longer considered qualified extortion when there is no compulsion but only inducement, and when the effect consists in obtaining or promising a non-economic benefit). In the Italian penal code, concussion is punished by imprisonment from four to twelve years, a fine from 2,000 to 100,000 lire, and disqualification from public office (normally perpetual) (Italian Penal Code, art. 317, and the cited decree).
In canon law and moral theology, the crimes and sins discussed here are not specifically provided for, but, depending on the case, fall under the more general delictual categories of robbery, theft, or serious violence, as enumerated in can. 2354 of the *Codex Iuris Canonici*: the penalty for laypersons is exclusion (*latae sententiae*) from legitimate ecclesiastical acts and from any ecclesiastical office; for clerics, according to the gravity of the deed, penances, censures, deprivation of office, benefice, or dignity may be applied, and, if necessary, even deposition. A particular case of concussion is also envisaged in can. 2408, according to which anyone who exacts *stola rights* (v. **STOLA, DIRITTI DI**) or other ecclesiastical taxes in an amount exceeding that established must be punished by a heavy fine, and, in case of recidivism, by suspension from office or removal therefrom.
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