VICK’S BANKRUPTCY CASE COULD DELAY HIS ARRIVAL AT HALFWAY HOUSE

The headline of the latest AP item regarding the ongoing Mike Vick dogfighting saga focuses on the possibilty that he could be moved from federal prision to a halfway house as early as January 20, six months before his scheduled release date from custody. But those of you who have been following our stories of late regarding Mr. Vick know that his November 25 guilty plea to a felony charge in Virginia was aimed at making Vick eligible to leave Leavenworth as early as January 20. Since Vick can’t get to a halfway house with state-level charges still pending, he needed to cop a plea in order to be eligible to get out of jail. The January 20 angle caught the headline because one of Vick’s lawyers explained in bankruptcy court on Tuesday that Vick could be headed for a halfway house on or after January 20, and that a court appearance by Vick in the bankruptcy matter scheduled for January 30 could screw up the timetable regarding his arrival at a halfway house. Said Judge Frank Santoro in response, “Mr. Vick came into this court voluntarily. I am not going to try to schedule around what may or may not be the convenience of Mr. Vick.” Also buried in the AP story is the fact that Judge Santoro rejected a financial disclosure statement from Vick, because it lacked detail about his current financial position and contained no evidence to back up Vick’s contention that he will resume his career in the NFL after he is released from prison. “The disclosure statement is not ripe for consideration,” Judge Santoro said. “It needs to be redrafted in some respects -- perhaps in some major respects.” The problem, frankly, is that Vick won’t be able to back up his claims regarding the resumption of his NFL career. He is on an indefinite suspension. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello previously has told us that the league won’t even take up the issue of Vick’s status until he has served his time. Even then, we think there’s a good chance that Vick will be required to sit out for another year, if not longer. At the January 30 hearing, Judge Santoro will consider the redrafted financial disclosure statement. He also will take up the question of whether a trustee should be appointed to take control of Vick’s assets. Vick filed for bankruptcy protection because he claims that his assets ($16 million) are exceeded by his liabilities ($20.4 million). Much of the debt comes from a requirement that he repay million to the Falcons in bonus money.