Dog-chewed Michael Vick cards sell for $7,400 on eBay

By BRIAN CHARLTON, Associated Press Writer

The woman who paid $7,400 on eBay for 22 Michael Vick football cards, chewed up and slobbered on by two Missouri dogs, acknowledges she hadn't heard of the star football player before he was indicted for dogfighting.

But Laura Norton-Dye, 40, of Cape Girardeau, wanted to send the message that local animal shelters need help -- and she challenged Vick to donate money himself.

Norton-Dye, who outbid 30 others, lives in the town where the auction originated and has requested the money be donated to the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri and to Safe Harbor, a local animal sanctuary.

Norton-Dye, who has incurable gastrointestinal carcinoid cancer, said she has a big heart for animals.

"I really think this was the right thing to do," said Norton, a former teacher. "This is one way I thought I could make a difference."

The success of the auction created a craze of more than 25 other postings this week offering torn-up cards featuring the disgraced NFL superstar, most also promising to donate the money to local animal shelters.

But so far, the original post from Rochelle Steffen, of Cape Girardeau, has been the only auction to attract droves of bidders.

Steffen gave Monte, her 6-year-old Weimaraner, and Roxie, her Great Dane puppy, every Vick card she owned to destroy. The cards, worth $1 to $10 apiece, were crumpled, crimped, chewed, torn and generally in a sorry state. Some even had corners missing.

"When I started this I only expected to get $100 for a local shelter," Steffen told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "But it's received so much attention. It's for such a good cause that jumps every boundary."

Steffen, 31, said she has been overwhelmed with positive responses, including from people who say her auction inspired them to donate money to animal shelters.

The Humane Society of the United States has seen a large spike in donations since Vick was indicted on federal dogfighting charges last month, said Ann Chynoweth, director of the society's Animal Cruelty and Fighting Campaign.

"Americans love football, but they love dogs even more," she said.

The backlash against Vick seemed to grow this week as he apologized after entering a guilty plea to a federal dogfighting charge in Richmond, Va. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 10.

The gnawed cards were by far the most expensive Vick items on eBay, with well-preserved rookie cards, autographed jerseys and other collectibles selling for far less.

"The thought of these cards selling for $7,000 underscores how much this situation with Michael Vick has really captivated Americans," said Tracy Hackler, associated publisher of Beckett Media, the Dallas-based publisher of several card collecting magazines.

Other ads on eBay offered cards chomped on by a pit bull puppy from Indianapolis named Diesel and a Cadillac, Mich., dog named Freak, among others. Another ad offered a jersey torn up by a yellow lab named Trixie from Harker Heights, Texas.

Another posting offered the services of a Destin, Fla., dog named Peggy Sue, saying she will damage mint-condition Vick cards. The ad said proceeds would go to the Canine Rescue and Rehabilitation. The high bid was $188.27 Wednesday afternoon.

While Vick was once considered by collectors as having some of the most-sought after memorabilia, the value of his autographs, cards and other collectibles have dramatically dipped, Hackler said. Even his 2001 SP Authentic rookie card, once valued at more than $1,000, is now being traded at $285 to $400, he said.

The Atlanta Humane Society says some former Vick fans have sent jerseys, often accompanied by financial contributions. Other branches of the Humane Society have said they will take donated Vick items to resell on eBay.

Ex-Coke worker gets eight years for trade-secret theft

By HARRY R. WEBER, AP Business Writer

A federal judge ignored a former Coca-Cola secretary's plea for mercy Wednesday and sentenced her to eight years in prison for conspiring to steal trade secrets from the world's largest beverage maker.

U.S. District Judge J. Owen Forrester told Joya Williams, 42, that he was giving her a longer sentence than recommended by federal prosecutors and sentencing guidelines because, "This is the kind of offense that cannot be tolerated in our society."

Williams had faced up to 10 years in prison on the single conspiracy charge in a failed scheme to sell Coke's trade secrets to rival Pepsi for at least $1.5 million.

But sentencing guidelines, which federal judges are not bound by, called for a sentence of 63 months to 78 months. Williams was convicted Feb. 2 following a jury trial in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, where The Coca-Cola Co. is based.

"I can't think of another case in 25 years that there's been so much obstruction of justice," the judge said.

As for the sentencing guidelines, Forrester said, "The guidelines as they are written don't begin to approach the seriousness of this case."

A co-defendant, Ibrahim Dimson, was sentenced to five years in prison.

Forrester ignored a tearful apology by Williams, which marked the first time she acknowledged what she did. Williams had testified during the trial that she did not commit a crime.

"Your honor, I have expanded my consciousness through this devastating experience," Williams said before she was sentenced. "This has been a very defining moment in my life. I have become infamous when I never wanted to become famous."

She added, "I am sorry to Coke and I'm sorry to my boss and to you and to my family as well."

The government said Williams stole confidential documents and samples of products that hadn't been launched by Coca-Cola and gave them to Dimson and a third defendant, Edmund Duhaney, as part of a conspiracy to sell the items to Pepsi. Duhaney, like Dimson, pleaded guilty to conspiracy.

Duhaney will be sentenced later.

The conspiracy was foiled after Pepsi warned Coca-Cola that it had received a letter in May 2006 offering Coca-Cola trade secrets to the "highest bidder." The FBI launched an undercover investigation and identified the letter writer as Dimson.

Williams was fired as a secretary to Coca-Cola's global brand director after the allegations came to light.

Williams' apology Wednesday lasted for several minutes and she asked the judge to show mercy, though Forrester had told her before she spoke that he planned to depart from sentencing guidelines.

"Punishment is the memories and the moments that I'm going to miss," she said. "Punishment is never having a family of my own."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak told the judge that Williams didn't deserve leniency.

"Choices have consequences and she made those choices," Pak said. "She chose to go to trial and she lied on the stand."

At the hearing, prosecutors disclosed that Williams has two prior convictions, one involving making false statements related to unemployment insurance.

Williams' lawyers had repeatedly asserted in court and out of court that Williams had no criminal past, and the government until Wednesday did not challenge that assertion.