Posted on 08/20/2007 5:18:01 PM PDT by kellynla
RICHMOND, Va. -- Michael Vick agreed Monday to plead guilty to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges, a deal that leaves the Atlanta Falcons quarterback facing up to 18 months in prison and puts his NFL career in jeopardy.
Under the plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend Vick be sentenced to between a year and 18 months in prison, according to a government official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the terms have not yet been made final.
That would be a higher penalty than is usually recommended for first-time convicts, and reflects an attempt by the government to show that animal abusers will receive more than a slap on the wrist for their crimes, the official said.
U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson will have the final say on how much time Vick will ultimately spend in jail.
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 during 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."
The NFL noted in a statement that Vick's admission wasn't in line with what he told commissioner Roger Goodell shortly after he was initially charged. League sources told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that Goodell likely will suspend Vick indefinitely and that a final decision on Vick's suspension will be made after his legal case is resolved.
"We totally condemn the conduct outlined in the charges, which is inconsistent with what Michael Vick previously told both our office and the Falcons,'' the league said in a statement. The NFL added that it has asked the Falcons "to continue to refrain from taking action pending a decision by the commissioner."
The Falcons said they were "certainly troubled" by news of the plea but would withhold further comment in compliance with Goodell's request. If the league suspends Vick, the Falcons could then seek to recoup part of his signing bonus of approximately $22 million, because if suspended, then Vick would be in default of his contract, team officials told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio.
The team already was prepared to eat Vick's $8.5 million salary cap hit this season, though the NFL is expected to grant a roster exemption.
Additionally, the Falcons would be liable for about $15 million on next year's cap.
In a telephone interview with the AP, Martin said Vick is paying a high price for allowing old friends to influence his behavior, but he emphasized that his client takes full responsibility.
"There were some judgment issues in terms of people he was associating with," Martin said. "He realized this is very serious, and he decided to plead so he can begin the healing process."
Martin said salvaging Vick's NFL career was never part of the discussions.
"Football is not the most important thing in Michael Vick's life," he said. "He wants to get his life back on track."
Vick is charged with conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and conspiracy to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture. He had pleaded not guilty last month and vowed to clear his name at a November trial.
"I, like all people who know and care about Michael Vick, was very disappointed and saddened by the news," Frank Beamer, who coached Vick at Virginia Tech, said in a statement. "Although all the details are not known at this time, I am greatly concerned that Michael has put himself in this position."
Martin's announcement came as a federal grand jury that could add new charges met in private. Prosecutors had said that a superseding indictment was in the works, but Vick's plea most likely means he will not face additional charges.
Hudson said Vick is not scheduled to visit the courthouse before his hearing next week.
Three of Vick's original co-defendants already have pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against him if the case went to trial. Quanis Phillips of Atlanta and Purnell Peace of Virginia Beach signed statements saying the 27-year-old quarterback participated in executing at least eight underperforming dogs by various means, including drowning and hanging.
In a telephone interview with the AP, Martin said Vick is paying a high price for allowing old friends to influence his behavior, but he emphasized that his client takes full responsibility.
"There were some judgment issues in terms of people he was associating with," Martin said. "He realized this is very serious, and he decided to plead so he can begin the healing process."
In addition to Phillips and Peace, Tony Taylor, who pleaded guilty last month, also said Vick provided virtually all of the gambling and operating funds for his "Bad Newz Kennels" operation in rural Virginia, not far from Vick's hometown of Newport News.
The gambling allegations alone could trigger a lifetime ban under the NFL's personal conduct policy.
Vick's Atlanta attorney, Daniel Meachum, told the AP that Vick is taking a chance with his guilty plea as far as his career is concerned because there have been no discussions with the league in recent days.
"There's no promise or even a request of the league to make a promise," Meachum said.
Meachum said the plea deal involves only the federal case. He said he doesn't know if there have been any discussions about resolving Virginia state charges that may be brought against Vick.
The case began April 25 when investigators conducting a drug search at a massive home Vick built in Surry County found 66 dogs, some of them injured, and items typically used in dogfighting. They included a "rape stand" that holds aggressive dogs in place for mating and a "breakstick" used to pry open a dog's mouth.
Vick contended he knew nothing about a dogfighting operation at the home, where one of his cousins lived, and said he rarely visited. The former Virginia Tech star also blamed friends and family members for taking advantage of his generosity and pledged to be more scrupulous.
The July 17 indictment said dogs that lost fights or fared poorly in test fights were sometimes executed by hanging, electrocution or other brutal means. The grisly details fueled public protests against Vick and cost him some of his lucrative endorsement deals.
About a dozen bright red Vick jerseys have been donated -- often accompanied by financial contributions -- to the Atlanta Humane Society since he was indicted last month. The shelter uses them for dog blankets, and to clean up after the animals.
"Kind of appropriate," said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States.
In a statement issued Monday, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called on the league to incorporate cruelty to animals into its personal conduct policy.
"This case has clearly shown that NFL fans are just as outraged by cruelty to animals as any of the other antisocial behaviors outlined in the policy," PETA's statement read.
In a separate legal run-in, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Vick was cited for not wearing a seat belt during a traffic stop in Virginia on Thursday. The car Vick was riding in was pulled over because the tint on the windows was too dark.
I certainly hope he is finished in the NFL, and any other public venue. What he did is beyond repugnant. And, he lied about it until such time as he knew he couldn’t lie any more. A real man would have owned up to it immediately if he was responsible. Thus, the take-away from all of this is that Michael Vick is still a punk, a gangbanger.
Which will ensure his martyrdom in the black community.
I’m not so sure about that. The pundits seem to think that the “gambling” issue is what’s going to get him. Alex Karras and I believe Paul Hornung were caught betting-and only go one year suspensions.
I’m suprised he is taking a plea deal rather than going to trial. No way a jury of “his peers” in Atlanta (which I believe is where the trial would be held) would ever convict him.
As someone else pointed out in another thread, it won't be the cruelty that does Vick in (although it ought to), it'll be the gambling.
The Feds were prepared to start adding charges.
And if you read the indictment, you will realize no owner in the N.F.L. wants the baggage that Vick would bring to any team. The way they executed those dogs will make you sick to your stomach!
If he gets one minute more time than Ray Lewis got for shooting another human being, then something is wrong.
My feelings exactly.
Anybody that works to turn these dogs into fighting monsters
then murders them for not being a good enough monster is beyond a monster.
Vick is evil. I hope he meets an animal lover in prison that wants to prove something.
Ol’ Bubba awaits his ingress into the slammer.
Semper Fidelis,
fontman
Any odds that he departs incarceration as Muhammad, Ahmad or Abdullah Vick?
----
Send treats to the troops...
Great because you did it!
www.AnySoldier.com
You may not want to hear this, but if Michael Vick is so evil, what about the zillions of peaceful flossie the cows we kill and eat every year? We don't eat dogs? But most of the world does. What about bull fighting?
How many dogs are killed in animal shelters every single day? Oh, that's humane killing.
Vick did something wrong, illegal, even brutal. But I'm not putting him up there with rapists and murderers.
An excellent question, actually, one I don’t have the answer to. Anyone?
Correctomundo. And more specifically, the taxes that he did not pay on those winnings. The Feds want to make it out to be a case of some thug hurting puppies. It will get them points in the court of public opinion. But what really bites their ass is the income taxes that he is not paying on his (gambling) winnings.
Nice... ;^)
Vick needs to be banned. The line has to be drawn somewhere. Maybe athletes will stop “keeping it real” with their loser friends when they hit the big time.
BTW, this statement in the article caught my eye:
["That would be a higher penalty than is usually recommended for first-time convicts, and reflects an attempt by the government to show that animal abusers will receive more than a slap on the wrist for their crimes, the official said."]
I found this comment interesting in light of an article I had read over the weekend about an illegal alien who raped a five year old girl while out on parole for an earlier rape conviction, and was sentenced only to probation by a "Federal Judge".
If he ever steps foot on a professional football field again, he and the league had better be prepared for the resulting wave of outrage and thrown dog biscuits directed at Vick at every venue he plays........home games included.
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