The Complaint, Part 1
A federal complaint was recently filed in the government's ongoing investigation into Michael Vick's alleged malfeasance. (For the curious, you can download the PDF here: http://media.hamptonroads.com/media/content/pilotonline
/2007/07/affidavit070207.pdf (remember to edit out the unnecessary spaces or you'll get bupkiss)
I have posted a link to the document, not only in the interest of full disclosure, but so that anyone who might disagree with me can see where I will make the following observations. To wit:
1. I am reminded once again that we are now dealing with the Feds, a/k/a The Varsity. These are the guys that got Al Capone, Sammy The Bull, and The Teflon Don his own self, John Gotti. Their conduct with respect to this investigation stands in sharp relief against the conduct of the alleged prosecutor of Surry County, Virginia, one Gerald Poindexter. For all of Poindexter's doublespeak, bumbling, foot-dragging, and downright obstruction of justice, this case was too big to let rot on the vine, as it is becoming increasingly clear he hoped would happen. Did this backwoods blowhard actually believe that we would just forget about 50-something dogs in various conditions being taken from the house of a star NFL quarterback?
2. For those who are concerned that Michael Vick might beat the rap, I offer the following responses.
First, if he escapes this mess without so much as incurring a single charge, to say nothing of eventual acquittals in the event of charges being filed, Vick automatically qualifies for sainthood because he will have pulled off three miracles for the price of one: he will have proven that he didn't support the operation financially, that he had absolutely no idea that such an operation was occurring on his property, and that he was never there in the first place. (Somewhere, St. Peter is getting a little nervous about Vick as a future bunkmate because he knows that the other side has all the good lawyers...)
It sez so right here that even the late, great Johnny Cochran couldn't help Vick pull off a hat trick of that magnitude...but, just for the sake of the argument, let's assume he does. Do you really believe that anyone with more than a milligram of sense will trust Ron Mexico again? What sponsor would commit brand suicide by putting Vick's face on their product after this? What right-thinking person (which, by definition, excludes any person answering to the name "Falcons fan") could look at him and say that all has been forgotten?
Second, I would remind you that these are the Feds we are dealing with, not Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane and Flash. This document is but the first of many that will be filed in federal court, all stating things that will rightly horrify us in the clear and dull prose of the federal bureaucrat. These guys know how to dot the i's and cross the t's, how to properly document a chain of evidence, how to flip a witness, basically, how to make a case. The band is warming up as we speak, and eventually Michael Vick will have to face the music, all stalling attempts by his lawyers to the contrary.
Speaking of lawyers, ProFootballTalk.com (must-reading for the football fan) noted that Vick's attorney was present when the feds took the second lot of dog carcasses from the property on Moonlight Road. While I agree with the guys at ProFootballTalk (their take is simple: why would a guy who has nothing to hide have his attorney present at the proceedings?), I might be able to add one more unpleasant thought for the Vick defenders to mull over: the attorney was there because the feds told him that they believed that they had evidence linking Vick to the dogfighting, and Vick's attorney would have to be noticed up and given an opportunity to examine the evidence against his client before it could be presented in trial. I don't know whether it is procedurally common for the attorney of a "person of interest" to be present during a federal evidentiary investigation (after all, Vick isn't a defendant...yet...), but it says to me that the Feds are acting like a guy in Texas hold 'em poker holding pocket aces when the last two come up on the flop. In other words, the presence of Vick's attorney might actually speed the case to a conclusion rather than drag it out, because Vick's attorney might become convinced of the inevitability of conviction if that evidence sees the light of day. Most likely, he was there hoping that some Gomer would foul up the chain of evidence in his presence...but these are the Feds, not Wojo and Fish from Barney Miller.
The Feds will get their man. It's only a matter of time now.
/2007/07/affidavit070207.pdf (remember to edit out the unnecessary spaces or you'll get bupkiss)
I have posted a link to the document, not only in the interest of full disclosure, but so that anyone who might disagree with me can see where I will make the following observations. To wit:
1. I am reminded once again that we are now dealing with the Feds, a/k/a The Varsity. These are the guys that got Al Capone, Sammy The Bull, and The Teflon Don his own self, John Gotti. Their conduct with respect to this investigation stands in sharp relief against the conduct of the alleged prosecutor of Surry County, Virginia, one Gerald Poindexter. For all of Poindexter's doublespeak, bumbling, foot-dragging, and downright obstruction of justice, this case was too big to let rot on the vine, as it is becoming increasingly clear he hoped would happen. Did this backwoods blowhard actually believe that we would just forget about 50-something dogs in various conditions being taken from the house of a star NFL quarterback?
2. For those who are concerned that Michael Vick might beat the rap, I offer the following responses.
First, if he escapes this mess without so much as incurring a single charge, to say nothing of eventual acquittals in the event of charges being filed, Vick automatically qualifies for sainthood because he will have pulled off three miracles for the price of one: he will have proven that he didn't support the operation financially, that he had absolutely no idea that such an operation was occurring on his property, and that he was never there in the first place. (Somewhere, St. Peter is getting a little nervous about Vick as a future bunkmate because he knows that the other side has all the good lawyers...)
It sez so right here that even the late, great Johnny Cochran couldn't help Vick pull off a hat trick of that magnitude...but, just for the sake of the argument, let's assume he does. Do you really believe that anyone with more than a milligram of sense will trust Ron Mexico again? What sponsor would commit brand suicide by putting Vick's face on their product after this? What right-thinking person (which, by definition, excludes any person answering to the name "Falcons fan") could look at him and say that all has been forgotten?
Second, I would remind you that these are the Feds we are dealing with, not Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane and Flash. This document is but the first of many that will be filed in federal court, all stating things that will rightly horrify us in the clear and dull prose of the federal bureaucrat. These guys know how to dot the i's and cross the t's, how to properly document a chain of evidence, how to flip a witness, basically, how to make a case. The band is warming up as we speak, and eventually Michael Vick will have to face the music, all stalling attempts by his lawyers to the contrary.
Speaking of lawyers, ProFootballTalk.com (must-reading for the football fan) noted that Vick's attorney was present when the feds took the second lot of dog carcasses from the property on Moonlight Road. While I agree with the guys at ProFootballTalk (their take is simple: why would a guy who has nothing to hide have his attorney present at the proceedings?), I might be able to add one more unpleasant thought for the Vick defenders to mull over: the attorney was there because the feds told him that they believed that they had evidence linking Vick to the dogfighting, and Vick's attorney would have to be noticed up and given an opportunity to examine the evidence against his client before it could be presented in trial. I don't know whether it is procedurally common for the attorney of a "person of interest" to be present during a federal evidentiary investigation (after all, Vick isn't a defendant...yet...), but it says to me that the Feds are acting like a guy in Texas hold 'em poker holding pocket aces when the last two come up on the flop. In other words, the presence of Vick's attorney might actually speed the case to a conclusion rather than drag it out, because Vick's attorney might become convinced of the inevitability of conviction if that evidence sees the light of day. Most likely, he was there hoping that some Gomer would foul up the chain of evidence in his presence...but these are the Feds, not Wojo and Fish from Barney Miller.
The Feds will get their man. It's only a matter of time now.
Labels: dog-fighting, federal complaint, Michael Vick, NFL
posted by van walker | 4:26 AM
2 Comments:
The problem isn't *if* -- because I do think you're right, the problem is *when*
Barry Bonds may be an a-hole, but he's not a Bond villain. If the Senate can't find a needle mark on his butt, how can we expect the feds to get a timely answer on Vick, especially when it seems so apparent that the evidence is right frikkin there?
My real concern is that both players will continue under dark clouds and bad PR, only to get hammered after their playing days are long over.
Hopefully I'm wrong.
Vick's attorney was probably there because it was Vick's property and Vick wanted to protect his "rights". It probably had nothing to do with the Fed's wanting Vick's lawyer aware that they were interested in further checking of the facts of the upcoming case.
Oh - Wojo and Fish were fine detectives. Smear not their good names.
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