Vick Should Pay to Get to Bankruptcy Hearing: Judge

Government objection to tarnished QB's appearance rejected

NORFOLK, Va. -- Suspended NFL star Michael Vick must appear in person at a bankruptcy hearing in Virginia next month but should pay his own way from a Kansas prison, a judge said Wednesday.

At a hearing Wednesday in Norfolk, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank Santoro rejected the government's objection to Vick's appearance at the April 2 hearing and their suggestions that he either postpone it or allow Vick to testify by video hookup from prison. Officials cited the cost, logistics and security risks of transporting Vick from the federal prison at Leavenworth, where he is serving time for a dogfighting conviction.

"I'm not going to be put in a position of determining credibility or demeanor over a television," said Santoro, who has insisted since Vick filed for bankruptcy in July that he would have to testify in person.

The government provided no evidence to back up the inconvenience and security concerns, Santoro said, but he agreed with the government's claim that the taxpayers should not have to foot the bill, which is more bad news for Vick, whose eight-bedroom, 11-bath home in suburban Atlanta failed to get any bids Tuesday when it went up for auction with a minimum price of $3.2 million. It is being sold to pay off part of his debts.

The government provided no estimate of how much the trip would cost. One of Vick's criminal attorneys, Lawrence Woodward, presented receipts showing it only cost about $3,636 to bring Vick from Leavenworth to Surry County, Va., in November to plead guilty to state dogfighting charges. Vick paid for that trip.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Coulter also argued that Vick's transfer would compromise "the integrity of the corrections system" by temporarily springing him from the federal penitentiary to tend to his personal affairs. Santoro disagreed, saying Vick probably would rather stay put.

"Mr. Vick is not going to more luxurious accommodations by moving from Leavenworth to the Newport News lockup," where he will be housed while in Virginia, the judge said.

Santoro also balked at delaying the hearing, citing the rights of creditors who are owed millions of dollars.

For the first time, Vick's attorneys publicly confirmed that he has been approved for transfer to home confinement home no sooner than May 21, about two months before his scheduled release from federal custody.

Vick's attorneys had been saying his move to a halfway house was imminent, but Woodward said Vick's probation officer told him Tuesday that Vick will serve the last few weeks of his 23-month sentence at his home in Hampton.

Coulter cautioned that problems still could arise that would delay the move. Though he did not elaborate, Santoro rejected the idea of postponing the confirmation hearing without any assurance that Vick's transfer to home confinement will come off as planned.

Vick's Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan is based largely on his intention to resume his NFL career. Vick was suspended indefinitely after his 2007 indictment, and league Commissioner Roger Goodell said he will review Vick's status after he is released.

The Falcons still hold the contract rights to Vick but have said they will try to trade him. Vick's bankruptcy plan would allow him to keep the first $750,000 of his annual pay. After that, a percentage would go to his creditors based on a sliding scale.
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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