A former Falcon sells Vick out on dog fighting

Flowery Branch "? Another report has surfaced that claims Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was involved in illegal dog fighting.

Fox Sports Radio's Chris Landry told a Tampa Bay radio station on Friday that he was told by former Falcons player Ray Buchanan that Vick is directly involved in dog fighting.
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Former teammate Ray Buchanan says Michael Vick 'not only knew about [alleged dog fighting], he is behind all of it.'

Attempts by the Journal-Constitution to reach Buchanan through a representative were unsuccessful. Landry could not be reached for comment.

Landry told the radio station that Buchanan told him at last month's NFL draft that Vick was definitely involved. "He tells me that Michael has been into this dog fighting for so long that ... he not only knew about, he is behind all of it, he's paying for all of it. ... Apparently, he's into it big time," Landry said.

An investigation of illegal dog fighting at property Vick owned, and has since sold, in Virginia is ongoing. Police were at the property in a drug investigation involving Vick's cousin when nearly 70 dogs, mostly pit bulls, were discovered. No charges have been filed in the case.

Buchanan played for the Falcons with Vick for three seasons from 2001-03.

Buchanan isn't one to talk, is he? I've heard stories in the news that his cousin's are saying he knew about it as well.

Buchanon is such an odd figure. Known as Mr. Clean and gets the service award or whatever, and caught soliciting the night before the Super Bowl in 98. Now, implicates Vick, and some say himself as well. Very strange.

Agree that anything coming from him is questionable, but at least it is a name, which is opposite of the anonymous people who were saying Vick knew last week.

I agree. Do I think Vick was organizing what was going on? I don't think so, unless he is a lot dumber than I thought. Do I think he knew what was going on? Yes. I would be very shocked if he didn't.

He knew what was going on. Of course he's trying to deny it to save face. Who wouldn't? Can't wait unit VTHokie chimes in on this one.

There are rumblings that he ( Vick) may be suspended.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 1inStripes</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Buchanon is such an odd figure. Known as Mr. Clean and gets the service award or whatever, and caught soliciting the night before the Super Bowl in 98. Now, implicates Vick, and some say himself as well. Very strange.</div></div>

That was Eugene Robinson

On the night before the Super Bowl, Falcons safety Eugene Robinson was arrested for the solicitation of prostitution. While driving alone in a rented car along a downtown Miami street, he approached a female undercover police officer posing as a prostitute and offered $40 for oral sex. Although he was released from jail and allowed to play the game, he was widely denounced by the press and fans for the incident. Robinson's arrest was especially ironic because on the very morning of the day it happened, he had received the Bart Starr Award for his "high moral character".

He should be. He's no better than any of the others. A guy actually called into a talk show today defending Vick saying that it wasn't a big deal that he was messing around with dog fights. This world has gone to hell.

If they find any evidence that Vick knew about this, I hope they prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law. Roger Goodell should then suspend him and make an example of him like PacMan Jones.

Michael Vick may have elevated VT as a football program, but he and his brother have done nothing but drag that university's reputation down since they left.

I agree that vick should be punished but let's not put him and PacMan Jones on near the same level.

I am still waiting on vthokie22 to respond to this one, he must be on vacation or is tired of defending Mr. Vick. [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img]

I wouldn't put him in the class of Pac-Man Jones just yet, about 3 or 4 more acquisations and he will be.

and a couple of people dead or shot

Who did Pac-Man kill? No one.

I didn't say he did, but i'm sure his posse has been involved, we were joking about PacMan, i don't even care about the guy, i aint gonna fight about this.

Whos fighting about it? Damn...no wonder this forum has went down the (Edit).

It was just a warning, but can you believe all the crap pro athletes get away with, since when did having athletic talent make you exempt from the law. Not just football either, remember when allen iverson got away with the whole incident with his wife?

Former Falcons player Ray Buchanan denied comments attributed to him during a radio talk show about having direct knowledge of Falcons quarterback Michael Vick being involved in illegal dogfighting.

"I don't know anything about Mike being involved in dogfighting, and that's for real, coming from the Mouth of the South," Buchanan told the Journal-Constitution Monday. "For me to say something like that is wrong because I'd never throw another player under the bus. I don't know and I didn't say anything about Mike Vick, who I know, who I live by, having anything to do with dogfighting.

Ex-Falcon Ray Buchanan is accusing a Tampa radio talk show host of ratcheting up rumors of possible dog-fighting activity involving Michael Vick.

"All I know is what everybody else knows, and that's the stuff I see on the news or read about."

Vick is under investigation for animal cruelty and dogfighting in Surry County, Va. Nearly 70 dogs, mainly pit bulls, were discovered at a property Vick sold last week, after police initially went to the property as part of a drug investigation.

During a radio broadcast aired in Tampa on Friday, Fox Sports analyst Chris Landry said Buchanan told him Vick was deeply involved in dogfighting and that Vick funded it. Landry also said Buchanan, who works for Fox Sports Radio, told him Vick openly spoke to players about his involvement.

Buchanan said that he did speak with Landry about Vick's situation, but it was in an office of another Fox Sports employee last month at the NFL draft. Buchanan described it as a casual conversation where nothing was recorded, to his knowledge.

Landry did not back down from his comments Monday.

"I went on a radio station there and said what I had to say," Landry said. "I'm not looking to make news with this thing."

When told about Buchanan's denial, Landry was stunned.

"I'm going to stand by comments that I made on the show," Landry said. "That's all I'm going to say about it."

The radio host, Steve Duerring, said Monday that Landry "was pretty convincing."

Buchanan, a teammate of Vick from 2001-03, was steadfast in his assertion that Landry spoke out of line and was using him to legitimize rumors and innuendo that have circulated about the dogfighting investigation.

"That stuff he said I said is stuff he was saying to me, that 'He heard this and he heard that,'" Buchanan said. "I told him that I didn't have common knowledge about that. I told him that I knew that Mike loves dogs. Everybody knows that Mike loves his dogs. But I never heard anything about Mike and dogfighting.

"I did make a joke about Mike making $130 million and why would he need to be involved in dogfighting making that kind of money. Maybe he took something out of that to try and legitimize some of the things he came at me with. I guess he was trying to get something out of me."

Buchanan said he and Landry have a good relationship and that he did not know about Landry's comments until Monday morning when they appeared in the Journal-Constitution.

"Chris might want to retract some of the things he said," Buchanan said.

Michael Vick has said that he was rarely at the Virginia house he owned where officials have found evidence of dog fighting and that he never took part in the practice. Investigators don't agree.

Kathy Strouse, the animal control coordinator for the City of Chesapeake in Virginia which is investigating the case at the Smithfield home, told Yahoo.com on Tuesday she has spoken with individuals who can "put Vick on that property" during matches.

Saying she is "very confident" that Vick will be tied directly to the dog fighting on the property, Strouse has challenged Surry County Commonwealth attorney Gerald Poindexter to bring charges.

"He [Poindexter] was at the home and saw the equipment that we seized," Strouse said. "When we were there, he said he had enough right there to issue an indictment. He didn't say who he would indict, but he said he had enough.

"Now, with what he has said, it makes you think, 'What in the world is going on in Surry County?' This certainly doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy about the Surry County attorney."

Strouse indicated that the individuals who place the Falcons quarterback at the scene have been reluctant to testify. In Virginia, dogfighting is a felony and punishable by up to five years in prison.

According to a report Wednesday on the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Web site, Poindexter will meet with Sheriff Harold Brown and investigators Monday to review evidence in the case.

A grand jury in Surry County is expected to convene Tuesday, but Poindexter told the newspaper it was unlikely a review of the evidence would be completed in time to submit it to the grand jury by Tuesday.

Poindexter has declined to reveal the status of the investigation or whether charges are likely.

"I don't try cases in the press," Poindexter told WVEC-TV, the ABC affiliate in Norfolk, Va. "Lawyers who do that are despicable.

"I'm not going to be a party to a witch hunt," Poindexter said, according to the Journal Constitution. "This [process] will not be driven by people who hate Michael Vick, love Michael Vick or people who love animals."

Police conducting a drug investigation at the end of April raided the Vick-owned house and reported finding dozens of dogs, some injured and emaciated. Investigators also discovered items associated with dog fighting, including veterinary supplies, blood-soaked carpeting, treadmills used for training and tools used to pry apart a dog's jaws.

When the story broke, Vick told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "I'm never at the house. I left the house with my family members and my cousin. They just haven't been doing the right thing."

Since that time, a Web site was discovered that showed Vick's name was being used to promote dog breeding that specialized in rare pit bull terriers and "the highly intelligent and powerful Presa Canario."

Vick has reportedly entered a contract to sell the house, but reports regarding his involvement in the operation keep surfacing.

Sports Illustrated reported on its Web site on Thursday that two friends of Vick said the QB knew about the dog fighting operation at the home. WAVY-TV in Norfolk reported that clerks at a store near the property said Vick bought items such as syringes typically used in dog fighting.

The Humane Society has told the NFL that past and present players say that the league has a serious problem with animal abuse.

Vick has now been advised by his attorney to stop talking publicly about the case.

"It is still under investigation, and once it is over, we will talk about it. As of right now, I cannot talk about the situation," Vick said.

Surry County, meanwhile, is being taxed by the investigation. WVEC reported on Tuesday that boarding the animals confiscated from Vick's property is costing the county $25,000.

Saw a similar article on Yahoo this morning that claimed there were videotapes showing Vick at matches. However, the authorities have yet to secure those tapes.

Thanks for correcting my mistake mega. It was Robinson.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/117245

Informant says Vick was at dog fights
By Dave Forster and Bill Burke
The (Norfolk) Virginian - Pilot

Authorities investigating possible dog fighting on property owned by NFL quarterback Michael Vick say they have a confidential informant who has seen the Newport News native at dog fights.

The informant "will place him at these dog fights, yes," said Kathy Strouse, a member of the Virginia Animal Fighting Task Force who has helped in the investigation of Surry County property owned by Vick.

Mark Kumpf, a dog-fighting expert who has worked in animal control in both Norfolk and Newport News, said the informant Strouse named to him has helped in several prior criminal investigations and always provided "100 percent reliable" information. Kumpf is acting as a consultant to help investigators.

No charges have been filed in the case.

Surry County Commonwealth's Attorney Gerald Poindexter told The Associated Press on Wednesday that as many as six to 10 people could be involved.

"I'm convinced from what I saw that dog fighting has occurred down there, but who was involved in it I don't know at this point," Poindexter said, noting that he saw what looked like blood spatters in a room over a garage.

"We're going to find out."

Vick, who plays for the Atlanta Falcons and was a star at Virginia Tech, has denied any knowledge of dog fighting at the property and said he is never there. His attorney, Lawrence Woodward, has declined to comment on the case and did not return phone calls Wednesday.

Authorities found 66 dogs -- more than 50 of them pit bulls -- and several items associated with dog fighting when they searched Vick's Surry County property, about 20 miles from Smithfield, in late April.

The police originally were searching the home for drugs and drug paraphernalia after the arrest of Davon Boddie, a cousin of Vick who lived at the house. Boddie had given the address when police arrested him in Hampton on suspicion of possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute.

State police and sheriff's investigators on the dog-fighting case are scheduled to meet Monday with Poindexter, said State Police 1st Sgt. Jake McCoury.

Vick sold the 15-acre property in Surry last week. A real estate agent asked to help with the sale said Vick was seeking $350,000 for the home, which was valued at $747,000 in county records. The buyer hasn't been recorded in county records yet.

Participating in dog fights or allowing them on one's property is a felony in Virginia punishable by up to five years in prison.

In January, for example, a Richmond jury recommended a four-year prison sentence for a man in a dog fighting case that involved 16 pit bulls.

The jury convicted Stacey Albert Miller, 40, of two counts of animal cruelty and one count of dog fighting. A judge will issue his sentence in June.

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Alexander Taylor, the prosecutor in the case, said he used all circumstantial evidence and no eyewitnesses to convict Miller.

Kumpf, who works in Ohio now, testified as an expert witness.

Taylor's circumstantial evidence hinged on a multitude of items found at the house that suggested dog fighting, such as heavily scarred dogs, medical supplies and treadmills for training.

Poindexter said investigators still are collecting evidence.

"It includes analyzing forensic evidence. It's not traditional. You can't go to the state sources that we usually have to do analysis of dog blood."

Federal authorities may get involved in dogfighting cases if illegal gambling is suspected and the operation is "of the magnitude that would warrant our resources," said Patrick Brown, a spokesman with the Internal Revenue Service.

Brown said he is not aware of any prosecutions by the IRS for illegal dog fighting in the commonwealth.

Where the heck is vthoakie22?????? He should have been on here long ago setting these facts straight for us!!!!!! I'm sure Vick had nothing to do with this, I'd say he's up there helping with the investigation!!!!