Affluent Attorney Howard C. Vick Exiled from Legal Community for Corruption

Howard Crawford Vick Jr.'s legal wings clipped as complaints filed in the courts exposed the corruption of the Virginia Shadow Government.

In 2019, McGuireWoods forced Howard C. Vick, 66 years old, into early retirement with a golden parachute with the condition that he never practice law again. Normally, attorneys aged 60 to 80 years old are considered highly valuable assets because of their experience and connections; as the saying goes, "attorneys don't retire; they just pass away." Elderly attorneys are kept on as mentors for the younger generation of attorneys, but Howard Vick's legal wings were clipped if he was to retain his golden pension with McGuireWoods.

Howard Vick's corruption spanning over 20 years was too much for McGuireWoods to ignore, and even Richard Cullen, the Godfather of the Virginia Shadow Government, could not save Howard Vick from the ethics complaints filed in the courts exposing Cullen's Shadow Government.

The Virginia State Bar attorney directory shows that Vick can still practice law but has turned his law license in for retired status. Despite being retired, Vick exiled from the legal community still attends legal social functions holding his head down in shame, as told by lawyers who want to remain confidential.

Howard Vick's story is a perfect example when one case of corruption and the lies and obstruction of justice can erase an impeccable reputation and affluent status as a top lawyer in Virginia. Vick's obstruction of justice spanned over 20 years in the Spanos 600 kilo cocaine case, entangling 3 generations of commonwealth attorneys, judges, DOJ officials, FBI agents, and even the Director of the FBI James B. Comey. Click to Article

The arrest of Spanos in the Philippines by FBI agents assisted by Philippine DOJ officials was supposed to be a simple extradition request, but Howard Vick extorted Commonwealth Attorney Shannon Taylor with threats of losing McGuireWoods support and favors if she extradited Spanos to Virginia to face 13 indictments for the distribution of cocaine amounting to 600 kilos. Click to Article

Howard Vick started his illustrious career as a DOJ Official from 1979 to June 2000, Howard Vick had twenty-one years’ experience as a prosecutor before joining the McGuire-Woods law firm, specializing in organized crime and drug trafficking; his resume includes:

a) Commonwealth's Attorney, Henrico County, Virginia;

b) Head of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia’s Organized Crime-Drug Enforcement Task Force;

c) Head of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida’s (Miami) Organized Crime-Drug Enforcement Task Force;

d) Member of the DOJ’s Organized Crime Strike Force in New Orleans;

e) Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney in Arlington, Virginia

f) Assistant Attorney General, Commonwealth of Virginia (Richmond),

In 1998, Vick was investigating a "hub of a 600 kilo cocaine organization" that had been operating in the Richmond, Virginia (RVA) area for 10 years and initiated a multi-jurisdictional grand jury to indict four co-conspirators.

What Vick described to the news media was Nickolas G. Spanos was the "hub of the 600 kilo cocaine organization" that linked distributors to the "affluent, middle to upper class professionals consisting of lawyers, doctors, and businessmen".

A couple of weeks before the December 3, 1998, grand jury, Vick summoned Spanos and his attorney Murray Janus to a meeting at his office with the two detectives that were investigating the alleged 600 kilo cocaine organization.

What Vick offered Spanos in three options stunned the detectives, "leave for Greece and never come back", Vick had shown Spanos a chart of the alleged co-conspirators and witnesses that were involved.

Spanos after consulting with his attorney decided to leave for Greece and see what would happen, as Murray Janus told Spanos, "if Vick wants you bad enough, he will have you deported/extradited from Greece and you won't be able to stop it."

On December 13, 1998 and April 15, 1999, the multi-jurisdictional grand jury handed down 13 indictments against Spanos for the alleged distribution of cocaine in the RVA area. On December 10, capias and a UFAP warrant were issued for Spanos, the UFAP warrant was issued to have Spanos either deported or extradited. Since Spanos had not formalized his Greek citizenship, Vick only needed to have the U.S. State Department cancel Spanos's U.S. passport and notify the U.S. Embassy Athens, who would have informed that Spanos was undocumented and a fugitive from justice. Greek authorities would have gladly arrested Spanos and quickly deported him without a trial.

Vick boosted to the media that efforts were underway to bring back the 600 kilo cocaine fugitive and assured the public that "Spanos would stand trial in Henrico County for the 13 indictments." Despite Spanos starting a media debate and daring Vick to bring him back, as the 13 indictments were a witch hunt and Vick had no material evidence, only coerced testimony of witnesses and their main witness Sierra E. Cooke was lying, as Spanos had won a joint custody case for their son. Spanos submitted evidence of Sierra Cooke's false testimony and that she had been held for a seventy-two hour suicide watch, which she ingested a bottle of tranquilizers. Click to Article

Spanos was a client of McGuireWoods law firm, his family held assets of over 10 million Dollars with McGuire Woods, but more importantly the grand jury witness list contained McGuireWoods clients and lawyers, who would be further investigated if Spanos were to stand trial in Henrico County.

Richard Cullen, the managing partner of McGuireWoods, made a deal that was too tempting for Vick to turn down and paved the road of disgrace and exile for Vick some 20 years later. Cullen offered a golden partnership with McGuireWoods to head the white-collar crime division in exchange for Vick's dereliction of his sworn oath to the Constitution, end the investigation of Spanos and do not deport or extradite Spanos.

For over twenty years, Vick made sure Spanos was kept off international criminal databases by having UFAP warrants dismissed so Spanos could renew his U.S. passport. Vick further obstructed justice in 2007, when the FBI filed an affidavit for a UFAP warrant to be issued for Spanos and have Commonwealth Attorney Wade Kizer file an extradition request for Spanos after the FBI confirmed that Spanos renewed his U.S. passport and had his known address. Despite Kizer agreeing to file for extradition, Vick instructed Kizer to not have Spanos extradited as it would create a can of worms. Click to Article

The 4 ethics complaints against Richard Cullen's Shadow Government are currently in the Court of Appeals, where the corruption of the 9 accused has been exposed further with motion for sanctions, but unfortunately, Virginia's appellate courts are being exposed as the foundation of corruption in Virginia's judicial system. Click to Article