Extortion, such as that which was allegedly committed by top
officials of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, provides a good
example. Extortion is defined as the “obtaining of property from
another, with his consent, induced by wrongful use of actual or
threatened force, violence, or fear, or under color of official
right.”38 In order to be convicted under the federal Hobbs Act,
however, one need not actually obtain any property from
another.39 It is enough that one simply attempt to obtain property
in this manner. In other words, federal law merges completed
and inchoate extortion into a single, undifferentiated offense,
and imposes the same penalty on both.