[Source: Reuters]

Two weeks into the sex trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, witnesses have accused the hip-hop mogul of everything from breaking into a rival’s home to taking ecstasy and attempting to intimidate or pay off witnesses in the case.

Combs is not charged with any of these alleged crimes, but legal experts say these allegations could provide powerful fodder for the prosecution’s use of a sweeping mafia-busting law that has widened the scope of the case against Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records who helped turn hip-hop mainstream.

Known as the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, “RICO” allows prosecutors to introduce evidence of crimes that are not charged in the indictment or even tied directly to the defendant, known as predicates or “bad acts.”

That has allowed the prosecutors in Combs’ case to show jurors evidence they would not have seen if he was charged only with sex trafficking, helping prosecutors paint a more compelling picture of his alleged criminal activity, said Bobby Taghavi, a defense lawyer and former prosecutor.

“RICO allows you to bring in the bigger picture,” Taghavi said. “His lifestyle, his power, his anger issues the way people had to obey him — the 360-degree view of his conduct.”

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court to one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

The trial, which could last two months and will enter its third week of testimony on Tuesday, has drawn intense media attention.

The jury of 12 must vote unanimously to convict on any of the charges. If convicted, Combs faces 15 years to life in prison.

Manhattan federal prosecutors allege Combs violently coerced and blackmailed women and paid for male escorts to participate in drug-fueled sex parties he called “Freak Offs.” An indictment against Combs last September alleges he did this through the “Combs Enterprise,” a group of businesses and employees engaged in a pattern of prostitution, forced labor and a half-dozen other crimes dating to 2008.

Combs’ lawyers have conceded the rapper abused his ex-girlfriend but have argued prosecutors are trying to criminalize consensual sex and his “swingers’ lifestyle.”

Combs will be able to call his own witnesses after the prosecution rests.

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