|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Aiding and abetting Chiefs' Vanover pleads guilty to stolen vehicle charge
Posted: Tuesday February 22, 2000 01:37 PM
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Kansas City Chiefs return specialist Tamarick Vanover pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal charge of aiding and abetting in the sale of a stolen motor vehicle. The charge stemmed from the theft of a 1999 Ford Expedition from a Kansas City dealership and its sale in Tallahassee, Fla., the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Vanover, 25, entered the plea under an agreement with federal prosecutors. He agreed to cooperate with the office of U.S. Attorney Stephen Hill "in ongoing matters," Hill's office said. Shortly before appearing before U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner to enter the plea, Vanover was released on personal recognizance by a federal magistrate. A sentencing date has not been set. Details of the plea agreement -- and of the matters in which Vanover pledged to cooperate -- were not disclosed during Tuesday's proceedings. However, Vanover's name appeared repeatedly in court records released this month, charging his personal assistant, Gregory E. Burns, with federal cocaine and marijuana violations. The affidavit, dated Jan. 25 from FBI agent Larry Tongate, linked Vanover to at least two stolen vehicles and noted that he had come under FBI surveillance during important moments in the case against Burns. Vanover lives in suburban Leawood, Kan. The affidavit also made mention of former Chiefs running back Bam Morris, who retired after the season. Federal court records have linked the ring to a smuggling operation based in Fresno, Calif., with ties to Kansas City and Nashville, Tenn. That investigation, which began in November 1997, already has led to drug-trafficking convictions of at least six men and pending criminal charges against seven others. Hill, outside the courthouse, called today's developments "very helpful" in an investigation which, he said, was "broader in scope" than a stolen car ring. Hill declined to speculate where the investigation might go from here. Vanover's 11-page plea agreement was not made public Tuesday. He and his attorney left Fenner's courtroom immediately after entering the plea, and they offered no comment.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
