Michael Vick Dogfighting Case Opens Racial Divide

Not sure what the penalties would be. He's been charged under the brand new FEDERAL dogfighting charge, just made law in April. Its gotta be tougher than State laws. The NFL player I prosecuted was fined $5000 per charge, pay vet bills and housing and ordered to surrender his dogs. Done deal.

As an aside..... Michael Vick's cousin was arrested last week on a drug
charge. No courts date has been set.

Charles

Vick's Last 2 Co-Defendants Set To Make Plea Deals

By Dave Forster
The Virginian Pilot

Michael Vick stands alone.

On Monday, the remaining two co-defendants who were
indicted with the NFL star in a federal dogfighting con-
spiracy case set hearings to accept plea deals.

The decisions by Purnell A. Peace, 35, of Virginia Beach
And Quanis L. Phillips, 28, of Atlanta surprised Vick's
legal team, said Collins Spencer III, a spokesman for the
Newport News, Va. native.

A third co-defendant, Tony Taylor, 34, of Hampton, Va.,
accepted a deal and pleaded guilty two weeks ago, but he
does not appear as close as Peace and Phillips. A written
admission that Taylor submitted with his guilty plea said
he left the group that called themselves "Bad Newz Kennels"
in 2004 following a disagreement with Phillips and others.

The news of the plea hearings spread late Monday afternoon,
Spencer said he had not heard from the Atlanta Falcons quarter-
back. Spencer said he had talked with one of Vick's five
attorneys, Daniel Meachum, who said his client plans to take
the case to trial.

It won't effect how they move forward with the case, Spencer said.

Peace's plea hearing is set for 9 a.m. Thursday before Judge Henry
E. Hudson in Richmond, Va. Phillips hearing is set for the following
Day, also at 9 a.m.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gill said at the men's July arraignment
that the prosecutors planned to present a new indictment by the end of
August, which could bring more charges against Vick or name additional
defendants.

The conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison
And a $250,000.00 fine.

New allegations could surface when Peach and Phillips accept plea agree-
ments. When Taylor pleaded guilty, prosecutors released a summary of
facts that he agreed were true and that the U.S. government could prove
beyond a reasonable doubt.

Among the new details in Taylor's plea agreement was the assertion that
Vick "almost exclusively funded" the dogfighting operation and supplied
The money the men used to gamble on it.


Charles

Vick plea deal could be possible before end of the week

Michael Vick

By DAVE FORSTER AND TIM MCGLONE, The Virginian-Pilot
August 15, 2007

One of Vick's five attorneys said he had not had discussions with federal prosecutors. The two lead lawyers did not return phone calls.
On Monday, it became public that two of Vick's co-defendants had set hearings to accept plea deals. The other co-defendant pleaded guilty two weeks ago and agreed to testify for the government.

The conspiracy charge Vick has been indicted on carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, but judges rely largely on sentencing guidelines imposed by Congress to set specific punishments.

If Vick pleads guilty to the conspiracy charge, the guidelines call for a term of no more than six months in jail for someone with no previous criminal record.
That likely would mean probation for Vick, said Norfolk defense attorney Andrew A. Protogyrou, who practices in federal courts but is not involved in the Vick case.

"I think the court will consider so much of what he has already lost - his reputation, his career, his endorsements - and he'll have an opportunity to redeem himself," Protogyrou said.

"Under the guidelines, he'll get probation and probably a fine," he said.
If Vick does not accept a deal, according to the source with knowledge of the investigation, prosecutors plan to seek a superseding indictment against Vick with an additional charge. That charge would fall under the federal Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, according to the source, who requested anonymity.
The federal grand jury, which must approve any new charges, will reconvene next week in Richmond, per its regular schedule.

Federal prosecutors expect Vick to partly base his decision on what National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell decides to do, according to the source. If Goodell, who is having his own investigation done on whether Vick violated league conduct policy, decides Vick should be banned for life from the NFL if convicted, the government expects Vick to refuse a plea deal and go to trial, the source said. At that point, an acquittal would be his only chance to play again, according to the source.

If, however, Goodell tells Vick he could someday play again despite a federal conviction, Vick is expected to accept a plea deal, avoid the RICO charge, and take whatever leniency in sentencing his cooperation would get him, the source said.

The decisions by Purnell A. Peace, 35, of Virginia Beach and Quanis L. Phillips, 28, of Atlanta to accept plea deals Monday surprised Vick's legal team, Spencer said. Their plea agreement hearings - scheduled Thursday for Peace, Friday for Phillips - will come a little more than two weeks after Tony Taylor, 34, of Hampton took the first deal in the case and pleaded guilty. Taylor is scheduled to be sentenced in December.

Peace, Phillips and Taylor all have criminal records. Vick does not.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league has had no discussions "with anyone representing Michael Vick." Goodell is awaiting a report on the league's independent review of the case. A decision by the league on what action to take on Vick will not come by the end of this week, Aiello said.
Vick and his co-defendants are accused of starting "Bad Newz Kennels" in 2001 on property in Surry County that Taylor found and Vick purchased. The men are also accused of executing some of the dogs that lost or performed poorly, and of traveling to several states for matches and to gamble on them.

And it looks like he won't play at all this season. As far as I'm concerned, I wouldn't mind if he never plays again. We don't need bad guys in sports.

I honestly dont think he will play again at all. I hope not atleast.

He also deserves a lot more punishment then he is going to get.

Here's the latest on Michael Vice

Vick offered plea deal recommending at least a year in prison

Michael Vick faces a felony dogfighting conspiracy charge. FILE PHOTO
By DAVE FORSTER , The Virginian-Pilot
August 16, 2007

Federal prosecutors have offered Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick a plea deal that would recommend he serve at least one year in prison on a felony dogfighting conspiracy charge, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
Vick has until 9 a.m. Friday to accept the offer or he could face additional charges when a grand jury convenes next week in U.S. District Court in Richmond, one of the sources said. At least two of Vick's attorneys have been discussing the offer with prosecutors since early this week, the source said.

Two co-defendants are scheduled to appear in court Friday morning, where they are expected to accept deals and enter guilty pleas. Quanis L. Phillips, a friend of Vick's since middle school and a high school football teammate of his in Newport News, has a plea agreement hearing set for 9 a.m. Friday. That is to be followed by a plea agreement hearing for a second co-defendant, Purnell A. Peace.

The third co-defendant in the case, Tony Taylor, pleaded guilty and accepted a deal last month. His sentencing is set for Dec. 14.
Taylor signed an agreement in which he promised to cooperate fully with prosecutors. A similar requirement would be expected of Vick if he accepts a deal, one of the sources said.

"He's got to tell us everything," the source said.
Both sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the case.

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office would not comment.
Two of Vick's attorneys, Lawrence Woodward Jr. and Billy Martin, did not return calls for comment. A third Vick attorney, Daniel Meachum, said he had no comment when reached early Wednesday evening.

Vick and the other men are charged with conspiring to create a dogfighting operation known as "Bad Newz Kennels" in 2001 on property that Vick bought in Surry County. The men raised pit bulls and sponsored fights against dog owners from other states, sometimes traveling outside Virginia for matches, according to the federal indictment.

The men gambled on the fights, sometimes betting $10,000 or more on a match, and executed dogs that lost or performed badly, the indictment said.
Vick, who is from Newport News and played at Virginia Tech, said after he was first charged in the dogfighting case that he is innocent of the allegations and that he intended to clear his name of any wrongdoing. The federal charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The NFL has banned Vick from attending the Falcons' training camp and is reviewing the case to determine whether the star quarterback violated league conduct rules. A spokesman for the league said a decision by Commissioner Roger Goodell is not expected by the end of this week.

Charles

They should put him away for life for what he did. Poor animals.

elmilitaro said:

They should put him away for life for what he did. Poor animals.

Click to expand...

Life is a little severe, but he should get more than a year. Also should be banned from ever playing again in the NFL.

TO

A year is not eneogh. He should get the max penelty for this which I believe is 6 or 7 years.

It's almost a certainty that he will not play for the Falcons. However, he's
hoping that after he serves his sentence (whatever that is), another team
will want him.

Charles

I hope he never plays professional football again.

More Problems for Michael Vick.....

Embattled NFL quarterback Michael Vick, facing federal charges related to his alleged participation in dogfighting, has been hit with a "$63 billion dollar" lawsuit filed by a South Carolina inmate who alleges the Atlanta Falcons star stole his pit bulls and sold them on eBay to buy "missiles from Iran"

Jonathan Lee Riches filed the handwritten complaint over "theft and abuse of my animals" on July 23 in the U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va.

Riches alleges that Vick stole two white mixed pit bull dogs from his home in Holiday, Fla., and used them for dogfighting operations in Richmond, Va. The complaint goes on to allege that Vick sold the dogs on eBay and "used the proceeds to purchase missiles from the Iran government."

The complaint also alleges that Vick would need those missiles because he pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda in February of this year.

"Michael Vick has to stop physically hurting my feelings and dashing my hopes," Riches writes in the complaint.

Riches wants $63 billion dollars "backed by gold and silver " delivered to the front gates to the Williamsburg Federal Correctional facility in South Carolina. Riches is an inmate at the facility serving out a wire fraud conviction.

This from Fox News

Methinks this guy is in the wrong facility.....

Charles

For as much as I do not like Vick, that is just rediculous...

This Riches guy is a nutcase.

NJ.com: Everything Jersey

Vick can add copyright issues to list of problems
Thursday, August 16, 2007
As if things aren't bad enough for pro-football player Michael Vick, being accused of involvement with illegal dog fighting, now he's being sued.

Jonathan Lee Riches says Vick stole his pit bulls. But that's not all.

Riches, who puts a "copyright" symbol behind his whole name, is doing time for fraud in the Federal Correctional Institution Williamsburg, in Salters, S.C.

This lawsuit was handwritten. I read it and thought the guy was crazy. Then I realized or hoped he might just be a comedian.

The federal lawsuit demands damages of "63,000,000,000.00 Billion dollars."

Riches says in the suit that Vick stole his pit bulls, used them in dog fights, then sold them on eBay and used the proceeds to buy missiles from Iran; that the football player has sworn allegiance to al Qaida; that he stole Riches' identity and used it, not only to sell Jonathan Lee Riches T-shirts and coffee mugs, but to open accounts at pet stores to buy dog food; and, perhaps most frighteningly, "Michael Vick subjected me to microwave testing."

Man! Microwave testing is a seriously bad thing to be doing.

I knew I needed to research this, so I turned to Google.

Riches' lawsuit was filed at the beginning of this month and already, some enterprising entrepreneur has started making "Jonathan Lee Riches vs Michael Vick, $63,000,000,000.00 billion dollars worth of crazy!" T-shirts and selling them via cafepress.com!

There are even discussions about whether Riches is demanding 63 billion dollars or 63 billion billion bucks, because of the unusual way he wrote the amount.

Since suing Vick, he has reportedly filed another suit to get an unnamed federal magistrate removed from the case because of conflict of interest.

Riches is no stranger to litigation.

He has filed suits against the Israeli Mossad, the CIA and Larry King and against a list of defendants that runs from George W. Bush to Tony Danza. I did exhaustive research, but for the life of me, I can't figure what those suits were about.

He has also sued Cindy Sheehan and Nancy Pelosi in one suit and Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron's bat in another. It's my understanding that none of these suits has made it to court.

Riches appears to have developed quite a cult following, at least on the Internet. When I Googled him, there were 913,000 hits on him.

According to his lawsuit, Riches wants his cash delivered by UPS to the front gate of the prison. Guess he figures it will be pretty safe inside the Big House.

He also "prays this court will issue" a restraining order to keep Vick from stealing "anymore of my animals (dogs)" and so Vick can "no longer sell my copyrighted materials," namely those Jonathan Lee Riches T-shirts.

Oh, and Jonathan Lee Riches wants one final thing. "Michael Vick has to stop physically hurting my feelings and dashing my hopes."

You shouldn't have to sue someone for dashing your hopes. It should be a criminal offense.

VICK ATTORNEY SAYS STAR QUARTERBACK WILL PLEAD GUILTY IN DOGFIGHTING CASE
Monday, August 20, 2007


The lead attorney for pro football star Michael Vick said Monday that the Atlanta Falcons quarterback will plead guilty to dogfighting and related charges and will "accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made."

Billy Martin, heading up Vick's legal team, issued the following statement:
"After consulting with his family over the weekend. Michael Vick ask that I announce today that he has reached an agreement with Federal prosecutors regarding the charges pending against him. Mr. Vick has agreed to enter a plea of Guilty to those charges and to accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made. Michael wishes to apologizes again to everyone who has been hurt by this matter. The legal team and Mr. Vick will appear in court in Richmond on August 27th."

The statement apparently took federal officials by surprise.

Jim Rybicki, a spokesman for U.S. States Attorney Chuck Rosenberg, said he had not heard of an agreement in the Vick case, and that he was trying to reach prosecutors.
Vick's attorneys hope to hear back from National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell's office sometime Monday about Vick's career options, sources said.

Vick's three codefendants in the dogfighting case have accepted agreements to plead guilty in exchange for reduced sentences.

This from Fox News

Charles

ccheese said:

The lead attorney for pro football star Michael Vick said Monday that the Atlanta Falcons quarterback will plead guilty to dogfighting and related charges and will "accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made."

Billy Martin, heading up Vick's legal team, issued the following statement:
"After consulting with his family over the weekend. Michael Vick ask that I announce today that he has reached an agreement with Federal prosecutors regarding the charges pending against him. Mr. Vick has agreed to enter a plea of Guilty to those charges and to accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made. Michael wishes to apologizes again to everyone who has been hurt by this matter. The legal team and Mr. Vick will appear in court in Richmond on August 27th."

Click to expand...

What a phony this bum is! First he pleads not guilty, and when his "buddies" flip on him, Vick changes his tune, "will accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made." That's real big of you Mike!

Here's hoping we never have the displeasure of seeing him play another NFL game.

When you're backed into a corner, and your legal case is going down the
tubes, what choice do you have, except to go out "gracefully" !

Charles

Unfortunatly I dont see him being punished as deserved. I believe he will get off rather easy. Money can buy justice...

Yeap as I said, he will serve only 12-18 months in jail. That is bullshit!

"RICHMOND, Va. -- Michael Vick's lawyer said Monday the NFL star will plead guilty to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges, putting the Atlanta Falcons quarterback's career in jeopardy and leaving him subject to a prison term.


The offense is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, although federal sentencing guidelines most likely would call for less. Vick's plea hearing is the morning of Aug. 27.

Lead defense attorney Billy Martin said Vick reached an agreement with federal prosecutors after consulting with his family over the weekend.

"Mr. Vick has agreed to enter a plea of guilty to those charges and to accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made," Martin said in a statement. "Michael wishes to apologize again to everyone who has been hurt by this matter."

Martin later told The Associated Press he could not divulge any specifics of the plea agreement or how much time Vick can expect to serve in prison. Prosecutors are seeking a prison term of 12 to 18 months."