So what happened with Mike Vick?

[flying_monkeys]

I missed the last few days of sports pages - - Is he going down or what?


Also, is he going down alone (as the money bags) or are the others facing time, too? Curious here :)


Fill me in?

[Heidi]

1. Boston Herald | Grand jury may hit Vick with more charges

Monday, August 20, 2007

A grand jury is scheduled to convene today in a Richmond, Va., federal court where Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and three co-defendants were indicted on dogfighting charges last month.

There’s no indication whether the grand jury will take up further allegations against Vick, although federal prosecutors have said they plan to seek a superseding indictment in the case.

That would mean more charges against Vick, the lone defendant who has not been convicted now that all three of his co-defendants have reached plea deals.
http://patriots.bostonherald.com/otherNFL/view.bg?articleid=1018063

[jobycom]

2. He's in some stuff, that's for sure.

The other three plea bargained him to the authorities. He was given a deadline to agree to a plea bargain Friday, for one year in jail, and the usual fines and stuff. Otherwise, the feds were threatening to tack on other charges, so he could wind up in jail for six years.

Details of what happened weren't released, but Vick still seems to be negotiating for some type of plea, even after the deadline. Meanwhile, there are hints of even darker issues going on. First, the feds want him to turn over names of other players involved in the dog fighting, but the feeling is that if Vick does this, he'll never play again. There seems little question that others were involved. Second, there was gambling involved in the dog fights, so Vick is also being investigated to see if there was an organized crime connection or a gambling connection to Vick.

Meanwhile, apparently Vick and his lawyers have been calling Roger Godell to find out what penalties he would apply for what charges if Vick pled, or if he was found guilty in court. Typical lawyer stuff. Supposedly, Godell is refusing to make any deals like that, so Vick won't know what will happen until he enters his pleas. However, word is that Godell will suspend Vick for at least a year, and will not allow that year to be counted while he is in jail, so that Vick won't be able to play until a year after he is out of jail.

And there is another federal grand jury considering other charges against Vick in Virginia.

Most of that is hearsay, but it looks like Vick is really screwed. Those who want his blood will likely see it. A one year prison sentence to most people would be bad enough, but with everything it will mean to Vick's career, endorsements, and everything else, he's going to pay severely. And that's if he only gets one year. He'll be lucky to play again, and barring something no one is expecting, he won't play for another three years if he does.

I'm really not a geek on this, I just heard Peter King explaining it at halftime in tonight's exhibition game. :)

[China_cat]

8. He can get away with only a year in jail?

Out in 9 months or less if he keeps his nose clean.

There was a guy here in SC that was convicted of fighting dogs on about the same scale. He originally got 40 YEARS for it. The sentence was later reduced...to -30- years.

[jobycom]

9. 40 years?

Wow. I haven't heard any time frame like that mentioned. People often get less than 40 years for murder.

[China_cat]

11. We all fell over when he got it.

We were expecting 5 at the most. In fact, we were super surprised when it even went to trial. This IS SC, after all. The judge, I guess, was a dog lover. But he did exceed his bounds. The max the guy could legally get on the counts was 30 so it got lowered.

[DaveJ]

3. Are you familair with Google?

I'm not sure anyone here knows any more about it besides what you can gather form Internet search engines. I don't mean to be rude, but if you want to talk about it, IMO, only someone with an intellectual defect would enjoy seeing dogs rip each other apart. It's a reflection of today's world where kids are taught to think education and intelligence are completely unrelated (probably detrimental) to financial success. Just look at our POTUS.

[Kagemusha]

4. The others have cut deals but we don't know details right now.

Vick's lawyers have been trying to negotiate a plea deal. Unless something happens with that REALLY soon, the feds will file extra charges and now the state of Virginia is looking into filing its own.

Among the new allegations is that Vick financed gambling on dogfighting. The gambling angle alone could land him a lifetime ban from football, whatever he's proven to have done to animals. (Which means that Vick seems to have been one really arrogant, really stupid young man.)

[hlthe2b]

5. Arrogant, stupid and...

inhumanely cruel. In short, the picture of a sociopathic "role model" for the kiddies. THrow the book at him if these charges are true. I can not believe those worrying about his future NFL career...:shrug:

[anniebelle]

7. It is truly a reflection on human decency.

The role models that are put forth for the young people are just disgusting. I guess in light of our murdering, lying, thieving, torturing "leaders", we're reaping what we sow. His NFL career is the least of my worries about this walking piece of filth. I have worked with HSUS and PETA for most of my adult life and this is just the tip of the iceberg as to what is seen as a "sport" in this country.

[SoCalDem]

6. Apparenlty they gave him more time to decide.. n/t

[truebrit71]

10. Is Senator Leahy prosecuting this one too?

:eyes:

[Kagemusha]

12. Trials are expensive. If you can win without one, it's often worth it.

Vick better plead guilty to what he can soon though. The hammer waiting to come down on him is a rather big hammer.

[RebelOne]

13. Here's all the info you need.

http://www.wsbtv.com/index.html

[Kagemusha]

14. By the way, seems he's pled guilty finally.

See LBN for details. Have a nice day.

[Mutineer]

15. Plea deal reached.

His three co-defendants had already pled out and flipped on him. He probably won't pull any jail time or if he does it won't be more than a year, max.