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Date published: 7/9/2008 FORMER Atlanta Falcons star quarterback Michael Vick has filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11. His career derailed by convictions on federal charges related to running a dog-fighting ring, Vick is broke. The bankruptcy filing says that his assets are between $10 million and $50 million, and his debts are in the same range. He's now serving a 23-month sentence in Leavenworth. Meanwhile, the 49 pit bulls seized from Vick's Bad Newz Kennel in Surry County are living the high life. Many experts said that the former fighting dogs should be euthanized, but, instead, a judge ordered...

Just seven months after Michael Vick was sentenced to federal prison, the fallen Falcons quarterback found himself in a "precarious financial position" and filed for bankruptcy protection. One of his creditors is the Falcons. In Chapter 11 documents filed in federal court in Virginia on Monday, Vick cites debts of between $10-50 million dollars. He also cites assets in the same range. In the court documents, Vick lists seven creditors, including the Falcons, that are owed a total of $12.8 million. The debt to the Falcons is for $3.75 million, listed as a pro rated signing bonus. The documents indicate...

When football superstar Michael Vick pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to run a dogfighting operation, we knew he had kept about 50 pit bulls on his 15-acre property in rural Surry County. We knew the dogs were chained to car axles near wooden hovels for shelter. And we knew the dogs that didn't fight were beaten, shot, hanged, electrocuted or drowned. But we didn't know their names. Headlines described the nameless dogs as "menacing." Some animal rights groups called for the "ticking time bombs" to be euthanized as soon as Vick's case was closed and they were no longer...

Marcus Vick was charged with driving under the influence and related traffic charges after fleeing from a bicycle officer early today in Norfolk, police said. Vick, 24, of Suffolk, is the brother of former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick. Marcus VIck was released by the Miami Dolphins in 2007. According to Officer Chris Amos, police spokesman, a bicycle officer approached a couple arguing in a car in the 200 block of Granby Street around 2 a.m. Friday.When the officer asked for the man's identification the car took off at high speed, Amos said. A few minutes later another officer spotted the car and...

Imprisoned Falcons quarterback will not have to repay the full $20 million in bonus money the team sought to recover, according to a ruling Monday by U.S. District Judge David Doty.

(Jan. 27) - His back resting comfortably against her chest, Hector nestles his massive canine head into Leslie Nuccio's shoulder, high-fiving pit bull paws against human hands. The big dog - 52 pounds - is social, people-focused, happy now, it seems, wearing a rhinestone collar in his new home in sunny California. But as Hector sits up, deep scars stand out on his chest, and his eyes are imploring. "I wish he could let us know what happened to him," says Nuccio, the big tan dog's foster mother. Hector ought to be dead, she knows - killed in one of...

Pit bulls trained to fight will go through a program for traumatized animals By Mark Havnes The Salt Lake Tribune KANAB UTAH 17 miles down The road- A charter plane carried 22 dogs here Wednesday for a second chance at life. NFL quarterback Michael Vick raised the dogs for fighting. Now Vick is doing time, and the dogs are under the care of Best Friends Animal Society in a redrock canyon five miles north of this southern Utah city. The turboprop airplane, chartered by Best Friends, arrived shortly after 3 p.m. and the portable kennels containing the dogs were unloaded...

Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall said he and other players plan to visit quarterback Michael Vick in prison. Vick was sentenced to 23 months in federal custody after pleading guilty to federal charges related to dogfighting. "Probably in the next week or so," Hall said. "I think a couple guys are going to go up there to Virginia, get a chance to go see him. We all talked about [doing it] when the season was over. The season is over. We'll try to formulate a plan to get up there to see him." Tight end Alge Crumpler and other players said...

NORFOLK, Va. - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has created a holiday e-card featuring former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who is serving a 23-month federal sentence for a dogfighting conspiracy. Vick and three co-defendants raised pit bulls and trained them for fighting at a house Vick owned in rural Surry County. Several dogs that didn’t perform well in test fights were executed. In the card, a cartoon version of Vick paces across a prison yard inside a snow globe as gun-toting guards and their barking dogs keep watch. He’s wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and football helmet...

SURRY, Va. — Maybe it was the inescapable mind's-eye visions of the brutality inflicted on dogs in the rugged wooded area behind the fence. Or maybe it was the glare of the media spotlight. Something kept Michael Vick's former dogfighting headquarters from selling at auction Saturday, disappointing a real estate developer who has about $500,000 tied up in the place. "I didn't see the people in the crowd I thought we needed," Wilbur Ray Todd Jr. said after rejecting the only serious bid — $747,000, the property's assessed value for real estate tax purposes. Todd said he thought the 15-acre...

(AP) -- Michael Vick declared, "I am not the bad person or beast I've been made out to be" and asked for leniency in a letter to the federal judge who sentenced him to 23 months in prison for a dogfighting conspiracy. Vick wrote: "I was suffering from a deep state of depression, and after my father attacked me in the media, I was heartbroken. ... That's no excuse for using marijuana, but I didn't know how to cope with all the difficulties I was facing because it was all new to me."

RICHMOND, Va. — Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison Monday for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy that involved gambling and killing pit bulls. The suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback could have been sentenced up to five years by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. Vick, who turned himself in Nov. 19 in anticipation of his sentence, was wearing a black-and-white striped prison suit. After Vick apologized to the court and his family, Hudson told him: "You need to apologize to the millions of young people who looked up to you." "Yes, sir," Vick answered. Vick acknowledged he...

Vick given a 23 month sentence. Plus 3 years of probation. Breaking.

Former professional basketball player Jason Caffey had two children with his wife, and at least six other children with women in metro Atlanta, Alabama, Louisiana and Illinois. Professional football player Travis Henry, a Denver Broncos running back with a $25 million contract, has nine children by nine women in four Southern states, including a Lithonia boy fathered out of wedlock three years ago. Caffey, who earned as much as $5 million a season in a 10-year NBA career with the Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks, filed for bankruptcy in Alabama in August. His wife, who lives in...

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Michael Vick surrendered to U.S. marshals Monday and will remain in jail until his sentencing on a dogfighting charge in three weeks. The Atlanta Falcons quarterback is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 10 but turned himself in because he anticipates a prison term on the federal dogfighting conspiracy charge, according to a court document. Vick could be sentenced to up to five years in prison."From the beginning, Mr. Vick has accepted responsibility for his actions, and his self-surrender further demonstrates that acceptance," Billy Martin, one of Vick's lawyers, said in a statement. "Michael wants to again...

Michael Vick's woes continue. Banks are lining up to sue him for unpaid loans. See links posted below.

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Texas Tech has banned the sale of a T-shirt bearing the likeness of Michael Vick hanging the dog mascot of rival Texas A&M. The red and black shirts, with text that says "VICK 'EM" on the front in an apparent reference to the Aggies' slogan "Gig 'em," was created by a Tech student who was trying to sell them before Saturday's game in Lubbock. The back of the shirt shows a football player wearing the No. 7 Vick jersey holding a rope with an image of the mascot Reveille at the end of a noose. Vick, who...

PETA announced today that Michael Vick, the embattled Atlanta Falcons quarterback who plead guilty to dog fighting charges, completed an eight-hour class in empathy and animal protection. A little late, no? Vick took the course at PETA's Norfolk, Virginia headquarters on September 18, was given home study materials, and came back a third time to take a test. PETA is asking the NFL to make empathy training mandatory for all players. If you would like to repair your public image following an embarrassing federal trial, you can find all the materials at PETA.org.

All but one of the 49 dogs still in custody after the prosecution of Michael Vick on a dogfighting charge have the potential for placement, the office of U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg announced Monday. A team of certified animal behavior experts evaluated the dogs and deemed only one an immediate candidate for euthanasia, according to a document filed in U.S. District Court in Richmond . That dog has a history of biting people and showed “intense aggression to humans to the point where the evaluation could not safely be completed,” the document said. At the prosecutors’ request, District Judge Henry...

Indiana bank suing Vick over car loans Associated Press, Updated 4 hours ago SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - An Indiana bank sued suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick for not repaying loans involving a car rental business. 1st Source Bank of South Bend said in a federal lawsuit it suffered damages of at least $2 million because Vick and Divine Seven LLC of Atlanta had refused to pay for the vehicles. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. Last week, the Royal Bank of Canada sued Vick in federal court in Virginia for more than $2.3 million that it said he had...

TORONTO -- The legal woes of former NFL superstar quarterback Michael Vick took an unexpected Canadian twist yesterday as the country's biggest financial institution, the Royal Bank of Canada, revealed in court documents it's suing the suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback for more than US$2.3 million. The Toronto-based bank, which also does business in the U.S. South under its RBC Centura banner, is arguing Vick's guilty plea on federal dogfighting charges and the resulting impact on his career have prevented him from repaying money he borrowed. Vick borrowed $2.5 million from the Royal's private banking arm in January, with plans to...

SUSSEX, Virginia (CNN) -- Suspended NFL quarterback Michael Vick must adhere to tightened restrictions after he tested positive for marijuana use, a federal judge said Wednesday. Vick tested positive for the drug on September 13, a court document from the Eastern District of Virginia shows. As a result, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson ordered Vick to "submit to any method of testing required by the pretrial services officer or the supervising officer for determining whether the defendant is using a prohibited substance." Those methods could include random drug testing, a remote alcohol testing system "and/or any form of prohibited...

Falcons quarterback Michael Vick tested positive for marijuana and will face stricter release conditions from a federal court judge, according to court documents. Vick will be sentenced on Dec. 10 after entering a plea agreement in federal court on charges related to dogfighting. He faces up to five years in prison. A probation officer, Patricia Locket-Ross, petitioned Judge Henry E. Hudson to impose stricter pretrial release conditions after Vick tested positive for marijuana in a urine sample he submitted on Sept. 13. In court documents Wednesday, Hudson ordered that Vick submit to any method of testing, "for determining whether the...

SUSSEX, Va. (AP) - Michael Vick and three co-defendants were indicted by a grand jury Tuesday on state charges related to a dogfighting ring operated on Vick's Virginia property. Vick, who already pleaded guilty in federal court to a dogfighting conspiracy charge and is awaiting sentencing on Dec. 10, was indicted for beating or killing or causing dogs to fight other dogs and engaging in or promoting dogfighting. The grand jury passed on indicting the Atlanta Falcons quarterback and two co-defendants on eight counts of animal cruelty, which would have exposed them to as many as 40 years in prison...

Federal investigators are looking into connections between trained fighting dogs bred by a man found shot to death in rural North Carolina and the dogfighting operation headed by suspended NFL quarterback Michael Vick. The sheriff investigating the North Carolina killing said he plans to pursue links between the dogfighting groups to see if they can answer any questions in the unsolved homicide. But for now, federal investigators are the ones searching the shooting victim's records for more evidence that might implicate Vick and other members of Bad Newz Kennels in interstate dogfighting, the sheriff said. (snip) "Everybody we've talked to...

After long search, football star finds Jesus “hangin’ out” in courthouse restroom Michael Vick trades up! RICHMOND, VA – They say all dogs go to heaven. Well, after punching more than his share of canine tickets to paradise, Michael Vick seems to have finally found a little salvation for himself. After pleading guilty to federal dogfighting charges last month, the world heard Michael Vick proclaim his newfound faith in Christ. “I found Jesus,” Vick told reporters outside the courthouse. “And turned my life over to God.” What most people don’t know is that Vick had actually been looking for Jesus...

The judge in the Michael Vick dogfighting case ordered Vick’s long-time friend and co-defendant to stay in jail until his sentencing. Judge Henry Hudson revoked Quanis Phillips’ bond in August after the Atlanta man admitted he failed a drug test. Vick, Phillips and two others are required to pass drug screens to stay free on bond until their sentencings in December.

Michael Cook | Friday, 31 August 2007 The crimes of Michael Vick When dogs die in Virginia, there's a media frenzy. When patients die in New Orleans, there's silence. NFL quarterback Michael Vick faces 12 to 18 months in jail and the ruin of his brilliant career with the Atlanta Falcons -- for killing six or eight pit bulls and running a dogfighting operation in Virginia. "Barbaric". "Reprehensible". "Odious". The media was outraged. Even a remorseful Michael Vick sniffled that it was "a terrible thing". The leading animal rights groups, the Humane Society and People for the Ethical Treatment...

As someone who once lived in the heart of Newport News, Va., and, in fact, in Michael Vick's school district, I was amused to hear Whoopi Goldberg's assessment that dogfighting is endemic to the Deep South and the sophisticates of our urban jungles do not understand. Vick's supporters sometimes appear to want it both ways. One day he is from the mean streets of Newport News and the next day he is from the Deep South. I happened to live on one of those mean streets of Newport News, and not once did I ever have to dodge bullets after...

An update on the Montgomery trial. She killed the mother and stole her baby. Finally there's a trial. What crazed defense do her attorneys plan to present as they pee upon our feet and tell us it's raining? More on the lovely Mike Vick, a narrative on lawsuit abuse and links to previous big cases.

Dear Ms. Whoopi Goldberg, don't tell me that torturing animals (dog-fighting) -- "hanging, drowning, and slamming at least one dog's body to the ground" -- is an integral part of Southerners' "cultural upbringing." I've lived in the Deep South for about 5 years, visited family there many times, and vacationed there more times than I can remember. My experiences? Good, decent people, and beautiful cities, countryside, and beaches. So how did this dog-fighting controversy get started? Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was busted red-handed running a chamber of horrors for canines. Not only was he fighting dogs, but torturing them...

NEW YORK -- Whoopi Goldberg started her stint on ABC's "The View" Tuesday by coming to the defense of convicted felon Michael Vick. Just 15 minutes into the show she brought up Vick's conviction on dogfighting charges. "You know from his background this is not an unusual thing for where he comes from," said Goldberg. "There are certain things that are indicative to certain parts of our country." Co-host Joy Behar seemed shocked at Goldberg's statements. "How about dog torture and dog murdering," Behar asked.

Whoopi Goldberg defends Michael Vick's dogfighting in first day on 'The View' THE ASSOCIATED PRESS So much for the sedate alternative to Rosie O'Donnell on "The View." Whoopi Goldberg used her first day on the daytime chat show Tuesday to defend football star Michael Vick in his dogfighting case. Goldberg said that "from where he comes from" in the South, dogfighting isn't that unusual. "It's like cockfighting in Puerto Rico," she said. "There are certain things that are indicative to certain parts of the country." The Atlanta Falcons quarterback pleaded guilty to federal dogfighting charges last week, admitting that he...

Goldberg defends Vick in 'View' debut 44 minutes ago NEW YORK - So much for the sedate alternative to Rosie O'Donnell on "The View." Whoopi Goldberg used her first day on the daytime chat show Tuesday to defend football star Michael Vick in his dogfighting case. Goldberg said that "from where he comes from" in the South, dogfighting isn't that unusual.

Tonya Irizarry was uneducated about pit bulls when she saved Buster from certain death. The dog's owners had abandoned him at a local shelter a few years ago in the middle of a divorce. Worried over his fate, Irizarry rescued him with the intention of fostering him until a permanent home could be found. When no one stepped forward, Irizarry, a volunteer with the Henrico Humane Society, decided to keep him. Within a few weeks, she said, she forgot everything she had heard about pit bulls. "Before I got Buster, I thought the same thing everyone else thinks about pit...

-- SNIP -- Former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., quit last fall over sexually explicit Internet communications with male pages who had worked on Capitol Hill. Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Ore., resigned in 1995 amid allegations he had made unwanted sexual advances to 17 female employees and colleagues and altered his personal diaries to obstruct an ethics investigation. On Saturday, Craig said he would pursue legal options to clear his name. He has retained Billy Martin, a Washington lawyer who represented Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick in his dogfighting case, to pursue his legal options. Washington lawyer Stan Brand will represent Craig...

Taxpayers spared hit from Michael Vick's dogfighting misdeeds BY CHRISTIAN REDDAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITERSaturday, September 1st 2007, 7:41 PM John Goodwin, the deputy manager for animal cruelty issues for The Humane Society of the United States, says that another negative fallout from dogfighting cases is that "the taxpayer gets hit" with the costs of housing and caring for the animals."That's one more cost of the (Michael) Vick case and these cases," says Goodwin. "These animal-control centers are municipal buildings funded by the government, so the taxpayer gets hit as a result."In the case of Vick, the disgraced Atlanta Falcons...

"Vick's crime is both brutal and cruel....I'm no hunter (never held a gun in my life and think the second amendment should be abolished)..."

If there is a lesson for the young, gifted and black to learn from the Michael Vick saga, it's that at some point you have to decide if you truly want success or not. Vick, the quarterback who earned millions from his talent with a football, has seen his career go up in flames in a few months after being identified as the main player in a dogfighting enterprise he funded as a diversion for himself and a group of his longtime friends. After pleading guilty to federal charges Monday in Richmond, Va., Vick stands at the crossroads of his...

The Michael Vick dogfighting scandal is morphing into a broader NFL dogfighting scandal, as other NFL players also appear to be involved in this very weird pastime. But as animal-rights groups get more aggressive in their accusations and demands, the whole scene is getting stranger. And the closer you look, the more you see the deep conflicts in core values that fracture our society. among PETA's prohibitions, is the use of animal skins. The ball, as in football, is an inflated leather object endearingly called the "pigskin." Why does PETA oppose existing NFL conduct policy, and not football itself? J.C....

Who's Killed More Animals? Vick Case Ignites Battle Over Animal Rights PETA Defends Euthanasia for Sick, Dying Pets: 'A Tragic Kindness' By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES Aug. 27, 2007 The fur is flying in an increasingly acrimonious fight over animal rights between two nonprofit groups after revelations that NFL star Michael Vick ran a dogfighting ring. The Center for Consumer Freedom took a full-page ad in The New York Times today, citing the Vick case and accusing rival organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) of hypocrisy and animal euthanasia. "Who's Killed More Animals," the ad asked  Michael...

The Michael Vick dogfighting scandal is morphing into a broader NFL dogfighting scandal, as other NFL players also appear to be involved in this very weird pastime. But as animal-rights groups get more aggressive in their accusations and demands, the whole scene is getting stranger and stranger. And the closer you look, the more you see the deep conflicts in core values that fracture our society. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) wants the NFL to "add cruelty to animals -- in all its forms -- to its personal conduct policy." What, for PETA, is "cruelty to animals...

"What I did was very immature so that means I need to grow up," he said. He said, "Through this situation I've found Jesus."

Now that Michael Vick is going to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge related to the dog fighting allegations against him, he is likely to be suspended from the National Football League, possibly for life. He and his co-defendants (who have already pleaded guilty) should rest assured, however, that a multitude of job opportunities await them that will make extensive use of their unique talents. As reported by the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/24/AR2007082402081.html?hpid=topnews), In or about April 2007, PEACE, PHILLIPS, VICK, and two others “rolled” or “tested” additional “Bad Newz Kennels” dogs by putting the dogs through fighting sessions at 1915...

Michael Vick was always something of an Allen Iverson for Atlanta. Without him, the team is terrible, and with him, the team can never be great. He’s a wonderful athlete who dominates little more than the highlight reel. Truth be told, I seriously doubt the Falcons would have ever succeeded with Vick at the helm. As far as I’m concerned, the dog-fighting scandal was one of the best things that could have happened to the Falcons. They had to get rid of him somehow, even if they didn’t want to accept it. Michael Vick had a special appeal with the...

One of the aspects of the Michael Vick dog fighting investigation that hasn't gotten much attention is how it all started. So let's explain: It all started with a dog named Troy. Troy is a Dutch shepherd (that's a Dutch shepherd in the photo, but it's not Troy) who joined the police department in Hampton, Va., last year. During a patrol outside a Hampton nightclub in April, Troy alerted his handler that he smelled drugs in the trunk of a car. Police found marijuana in the car, which turned out to belong to Vick's cousin, Davon Boddie. After arresting Boddie,...

The Falcons will try to recoup $22 million already paid to suspended quarterback Michael Vick, a person with knowledge of the team's plans told the Journal-Constitution on Saturday. Vick was suspended indefinitely by the NFL on Friday after he pleaded guilty to federal dogfighting charges in Virginia. That cleared the way for the Falcons to pursue money paid to Vick in signing bonus money.

Here's the evolution of the sports celebrity in America over the past 60 years: We've gone from Classic Hero to Anti-Hero to Tragic Hero to Complete Idiot. In other words, we've gone from Stan Musial to Joe Namath to Darryl Strawberry to Michael Vick. I don't know what comes after Michael Vick. I don't want to know what comes after Michael Vick. Back in the day - time out while all the young people roll their eyes - the thing athletes guarded more zealously than anything else was their reputation. With so much less media, it was easier to do....

Falcons quarterback Michael Vick's guilty plea on federal dogfighting charges could wind up costing him well over $100 million. Vick will lose $71 million in salary over the next seven years if the Falcons eventually terminate his contract, which legal experts say the team has the right to do. He also figures to lose as much as $50 million in endorsement income over the next decade, according to an estimate by the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center.

Dog fighting case unmasks fixers' of US sport By Tim Shipman in Washington, Sunday Telegraph Last Updated: 1:42am BST 26/08/2007 When American football star Michael Vick enters a guilty plea in a Virginia courtroom tomorrow on dog fighting charges, he will not be the only one facing judgment. Michael Vick arrives at court in Virginia last month The disgrace of one of the sport's most exciting young players - who plays for the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League (NFL) - has drawn attention to what critics say is a culture of criminality and cover-up in US professional sport....