VICK CO-DEFENDANTS RECEIVE PRISON TERMS

From CNN.com:

RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) -- The judge who will decide how long Michael Vick stays in prison sentenced two of the fallen NFL star's dogfighting parnters to prison on Friday.

Purnell Peace, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Quanis Phillips, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to 21 months.

Federal sentencing guidelines suggested a year to 18 months. Vick faces the same potential prison time.

U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson, who has presided over the dogfighting case, is not bound by the guidelines. Vick will be sentenced December 10. Tony Taylor of Hampton, Virginia, who was the first to plead guilty, will be sentenced on December 14.

Peace, Phillips and Taylor pleaded guilty last summer and agreed to testify against Vick, prompting the suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback to enter his own plea agreement a few days later.

"You may have thought this was sporting, but it was very callous and cruel," U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson told Phillips.

Sentencing guidelines called for punishments of 12 to 18 months for Peace and 18 to 24 months for Phillips, who has a more extensive criminal record.

Prosecutors recommended sentences at the low end of the range because of the co-defendants' cooperation. But Hudson said he felt sentences on the high end of the range were appropriate because of the nature of the crime.

Hudson told Peace that he was concerned because a pre-sentencing report quoted Peace as saying he saw he nothing wrong with dogfighting.

According to court papers, Vick financed virtually the entire "Bad Newz Kennels" dogfighting enterprise at his 15-acre property in Surry County in rural southeastern Virginia and participated in executing several underperforming dogs by drowning, hanging and other means.

Vick publicly apologized for his role in the dogfighting operation and unexpectedly turned himself in Nov. 19 to begin serving his prison term early. He is being held in a state jail in Warsaw, Virginia.

All four men also face state charges. Vick's attorneys this week requested a jury trial, which is set to begin in Ap

IS MICHAEL VICK GOING BROKE?

From CNN.com:

(CNN) -- Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick has agreed to pay nearly $1 million for the care of about 54 pit bulls found on his property during a dogfighting raid.

His lawyer William R. Martin said in court documents that Vick will deposit $928,073.04 by Friday to an escrow account.

The money is "to be used to pay whatever restitution money is ultimately ordered in this case," states the document, known as a consent order.

The order was filed a week after federal prosecutors asked a federal court in Virginia to order Vick -- also known as "Ookie" -- to keep that much money on hand to cover the dogs' care.

Vick had agreed under his plea agreement to pay "restitution for the full amount of the costs associated with the disposition of all dogs" in the case.

Those costs, Vick agreed, could include "the long-term care and/or the humane euthanasia of some or all of those animals." They were seized from the Bad Newz Kennels on his property in Surry County, Virginia.

Prosecutors pointed in court documents to Vick's deteriorating financial condition. Among the points cited:

• The Atlanta Falcons' attempt to recoup bonus money from his 10-year, $130 million 2004 football contract,
• Vick's alleged default on a $1.3 million bank loan for a wine store,
• Another bank's lawsuit seeking payment for default on a $2.5 million line of credit,
• A third bank's lawsuit seeking at least $2 million for loans related to a car-rental business.

"In addition, published reports also indicate that Vick is in the process of selling assets, specifically a suburban Atlanta home listed at $4.5 million," the court papers said.

Vick, 27, surrendered November 19 to federal authorities to get a jump start on the sentence for his August guilty plea to a federal conspiracy charge of bankrolling a dogfighting operation.

He is being held at Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Virginia, until an upcoming sentencing hearing.

Vick pleaded guilty to the federal charge after three associates admitted their own roles in the operation and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

The quarterback, who has been suspended indefinitely by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, faces 12 to 18 months in prison on the conspiracy charge.

On September 25, a Virginia grand jury indicted Vick and the three co-defendants on state charges of running a dogfighting ring.


The Surry County grand jury brought two felony charges against the four men: one count of unlawfully torturing and killing dogs and one of promoting dogfights. Each could result in a five-year prison term.

MICHAEL VICK FACES $900,000 BILL FOR DOG CARE

From CNN.com:

The government asked a federal court Tuesday to order former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick to keep on hand assets valued at more than $900,000 -- the amount earmarked for the care of 54 pit bulls.

The animals were found on his property when a dogfighting operation was busted last April.

Vick turned himself in to authorities Monday to get a jump start on serving his sentence for running the ring.

In a motion filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson noted that Vick, in his plea agreement, agreed to pay "restitution for the full amount of the costs associated with the disposition of all dogs" in the case.

Vick agreed that those costs could include "the long-term care and/or the humane euthanasia of some or all of those animals," which were seized from the "Bad Newz Kennels" on his property in Surry County, Virginia.

The motion said that only a restraining order can ensure that Vick's assets are not placed beyond the reach of the government.

It noted that Vick's financial condition is deteriorating, and cited the team's attempt to recoup bonus money from his 10-year, $130 million 2004 football contract; his alleged default on a $1.3 million bank loan for a wine store; another bank lawsuit seeking payment for default on a $2.5 million line of credit; and yet another bank's lawsuit seeking at least $2 million for loans related to a car-rental business.

"In addition, published reports also indicate that Vick is in the process of selling assets, specifically a suburban Atlanta home listed at $4.5 million," it said.

Vick, 27, is being held at Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Virginia, until an upcoming sentencing hearing.

He pleaded guilty in August to a federal conspiracy charge of bankrolling the dogfighting operation after three associates admitted their own roles in the ring and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

Vick, who has been suspended indefinitely by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, faces 12to 18 months in prison on the conspiracy charge.

The sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 10.

On September 25, a Virginia grand jury indicted Vick and the three co-defendants on state charges of running a dogfighting ring.

The Surry County grand jury brought two felony charges against the four men: one count of unlawfully torturing and killing dogs and one of promoting dogfights. Each could result in a five-year prison term.