The VLW Blog

That seems to be a key question for U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank Santoro as he seeks to make sense of Michael Vick’s financial affairs.

As reported in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Santoro has ordered a hearing on Sept. 5 to explore the quarterback’s finances.  Questions have arisen about the reliability of both Vick’s “trusted advisor” and his business manager, and the U.S. Trustee has moved to step in to protect Vick’s assets.

An earlier hearing, set for Aug. 22, concerns the status of Vick’s former advisor, David Talbot.  Santoro has ordered Talbot to appear.

Meanwhile there is talk that Vick, who has less than a year to serve on his dog fighting convictions, might be quarterbacking a team in the new United Football League in 2009.

Posted by Peter Vieth

Michael Vick, the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback now doing time in federal prison on dogfighting charges, can keep nearly $20 million in bonuses paid by the team, a federal judge in Minneapolis ruled this morning.

A special master found in October that Vick needed to pay back the money, but the judge said return of the funds would violate the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement.

The Daily Press has an AP report on the ruling.

Michael Vick could play professional football in 2009, but he would have to shake off two years of rust and miss much of the pre-season training for whatever team is willing to accept bad publicity and uncertain performance.

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson sentenced Vick today to 23 months in prison on a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge. Because Vick began serving his sentence early on Nov. 19 and federal prisoners serve 85 percent of their nominal sentence, he probably will be released in mid-July 2009.

Vick appeared in black-and-white-striped prison garb and apologized to the judge, his family and his children. Hudson responded, “I think you should have apologized also to the millions of young people who look up to you.”

The sentence was above the 12- to 18-month term that defense attorneys and prosecutors mentioned when Vick pleaded guilty, but Hudson said Vick’s initial lack of candor in acknowledging that he participated in the hanging of two dogs and in the circumstances that he smoked marijuana while awaiting trial were factors in the higher term.

Court documents suggested that Vick bought property in Surry County and built a house and outbuildings on it largely for dogfighting. Those documents said that Vick paid for the “Bad Newz Kennels” operation and divided all his winnings from gambling on the fights among his colleagues without keeping any of the money himself.

One of three people arrested with Vick was sentenced to 18 months, another to 21 and the third will be sentenced Friday.

The Washington Post has the details of the court proceedings.

A Valparaiso University law professor who is an expert in animal control law has been selected to decide what to do with the 48 pit bulls seized at Michael Vick’s Surry County property. The Daily Press has the story.

Before suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick pleaded guilty in Richmond federal court to a dogfighting charge a few weeks ago, it seemed like the news in central Virginia was all Vick, all the time. Since then his name mostly has been showing up low in the stories about yet another Falcons loss.

But today’s papers have two new items about him.

This one is no surprise: Surry County Commonwealth’s Attorney Gerald G. Poindexter says that he will ask a grand jury for state indictments of Vick on dogfighting-related charges today. The Associated Press has the story.

And The Daily Press has an item about a bank that is suing Vick for $2.3 million, claiming default on a loan. Claiming his indefinite suspension by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell may be a change in employment jeopardizing his ability to repay, the Royal Bank of Canada says that Vick is in default and it wants its money back. The bank filed papers in Newport News federal court last week.

Two judicial proceedings were conducted at the same time today. In one, a defendant pleaded guilty to a felony with a maximum punishment of five years, and the government will be asking for a fifth of that.

In the other, high-powered lawyers argued about the constitutionality of Virginia’s $3 billion transportation plan, which includes projects, taxes and fees that affect everyone in the state. Guess which hearing attracted 31 satellite trucks and a Richmond Times-Dispatch blogging crew that included at least four reporters and an editor.

Granted, the criminal case involves conduct by one of the country’s best known athletes that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell succinctly described as “cruel and reprehensible.” But the relative attention given Michael Vick and the most important public policy issue confronting the state suggest that it’s all celebrity, all the time for the media.

Please, guys, give us—and yourselves—a break.

That was the clear message, although it was said more judiciously—not judicially—because U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson was in a suit rather than in his robe, even if he did speak from the bench.

Hudson took the extraordinary step today of personally telling the news media that a defendant had agreed to plead guilty and when he would do so. Of course, it is Michael Vick who will appear next Monday at 10:30 a.m. Vick is expected to plead guilty to the same charge that three co-defendants already have pleaded to: one count of engaging in an interstate dogfighting conspiracy.

The judge emphasized that Vick is most unlikely to be at the courthouse before then and that any unexpected appearance would be posted on the court’s Web site in plenty of time for the media to gather. “You will be advised of everything as it occurs,” Hudson said. “Govern yourselves accordingly.”

Hudson prefaced his marks by noting the constant presence of the media on the courthouse steps in recent days.

Mary Kay Hatton, the chief deputy clerk for the Richmond Division, made a rare courtroom appearance to hear Hudson’s remarks. “He knows these people want a life,” she said with a nod to reporters. “He’s trying to do it in a nice way.”

A co-defendant of Michael Vick has acknowledged spending most of his time taking care of and training the pit bulls fought by “Bad Newz Kennels” through September 2004.

Tony Taylor, a 34-year-old Hampton man, pleaded guilty today to a felony count of conspiring to engage in interstate dog fighting beginning in early 2001. Taylor faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on Dec. 14. As part of his guilty plea, he agreed to cooperate with the government.

The guilty plea was accompanied by a “Summary of the Facts” available on the Web site of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. In it, the government alleges that the “Bad Newz Kennels” operation in Surry County and gambling monies were almost exclusively funded by Vick. Winnings were split among the other three co-defendants, and Taylor admitted using a large portion of his share for living expenses.

The summary lists 14 dog fights, with Vick present at nine of them. The fights involved dogs from Virginia and five other states.

Taylor acknowledges executing two dogs that did not perform well in testing sessions and alleges that two co-defendants, Purnell A. Peace and Quanis L. Phillips, each executed a dog. The summary says nothing about Vick killing an animal. Vick, Peace and Phillips have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled for trial in November.

Taylor said he left the operation in September 2004 after “a disagreement with Phillips and others.”