Some were wondering (aloud) why federal charges left little hope for Vick.
The feds don't go after NFL players often but when they do, their
prosecution successes against the NFL rise against the numbers of the
general population
FEDS' HOLD WINNING RECORD AGAINST NFL PLAYERS
NFL players and their clashes with the feds:
L - Former Falcons WR Tony Martin was found not guilty of money
laundering.
W - RB Jamal Lewis, an Atlanta native, served four months after pleading
guilty to using a cellphone to make a drug deal.
W - Defensive ends Eric Moore and Mark Duckens both pleaded guilty to
misdemeanor possession of steroids.
W - RB Bam Morris pleaded guilty in a marijuana distribution case.
W - LB Mike Bell served four months for using a phone for a cocaine
transaction.
THE INDICTMENT OF MICHAEL VICK: Vick an underdog vs. feds
By Thomas Stinson
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/19/07
Even in the NFL, where 27 players have been hit with felony charges in the
past eight years, there are still two words that bring pause to even the
most brazen miscreant: federal investigation.
While the league copes with a rash of court proceedings, including another
281 misdemeanor offenses, what simultaneously rivets the attention of
Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is the
U.S. Justice Department's record whenever it indicts a player.
Of the only six players believed to have faced federal charges while still
on an active roster, only one was exonerated. Four served time in prison.
But, by the same token, only two of the six saw their NFL careers end.
Vick cannot exactly be reli****ng his day in court. When then-San Francisco
49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo learned he was about to be indicted on fraud
charges in 1997, he quickly sold the team before the feds could finish
their
paperwork.
It is not as if federal prosecutors avoid cases involving NFL players. But
the two entities rarely have cause to intersect.
"It may just be that they're not often looking at the crimes that NFL
players get involved in," said Don Samuel, noted Atlanta attorney, who
represented running back Jamal Lewis in his 2000 cocaine case. "The feds
are
usually interested in big drug deals, white-collar crime, bank robberies.
"And not many NFL players are out robbing banks."
The government had reason to believe Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tony
Martin was laundering drug money when he was hit with a five-count
indictment in Florida in 1999. Martin not only was found not guilty, but
he
went on to play three more seasons, fini****ng his career with the Falcons
in
2001.
Lewis, who faced a possible 10-year sentence if convicted of cocaine
conspiracy charges, served four months after pleading guilty to the lesser
charge of using a phone to make a drug deal. He was suspended for two
games
after entering the guilty plea but still was out of jail in time to play
15
games for the Baltimore Ravens in 2005.
The government's pursuit of a steroid case in 1992 led investigators to
the
New York Giants' Eric Moore and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Mark Duckens,
two
brothers-in-law described by prosecutors as "pawns in an international
steroid ring."
After both were hit with charges of possession of anabolic steroids and
conspiracy to distribute, Moore pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges,
drew
three years of probation, served a four-game suspension and played out the
1993 season with the Giants. Duckens' career ended after the Bucs released
him following a plea to lesser charges.
Though running back Bam Morris pleaded guilty to two federal marijuana
distribution charges a year after he had retired in 2000, the case
developed
while he was still playing for the Kansas City Chiefs. The leading rusher
in
Super Bowl XXX for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1997, Morris abruptly
retired
just before his indictment was announced.
Minutes before his trial was to begin, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to
distribute 220 pounds of marijuana and is currently serving a 10-year
sentence.
Perhaps no player rebounded stronger from a federal case than Mike Bell, a
Kansas City linebacker who was convicted in 1986 on two counts of using a
telephone to arrange a cocaine sale. Bell, who was 28 when he was
arrested,
served a four-month sentence, filed for reinstatement and played through
the
1991 season.
http://tinyurl.com/2fc3eo
Drew
--
RävNsfän ®
"Talk is cheap..., lets go play"
(Johnny Unitas - Baltimore Colts)
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