Conrad Black, the brash media mogul who vacationed in Bora Bora, rode around London in a Rolls Royce and ended up convicted of swindling shareholders out of millions of dollars, is headed for prison where inmates are paid US$0.12 an hour for such jobs as washing windows and mopping floors.
Strong willed, possessed of a powerful ego and given to dizzying flights of rhetoric, the 63-year-old British baron known as Lord Black of Crossharbour is expected to be sentenced tomorrow. Federal prosecutors say the sentence could be as much as 24 to 30 years, though a recent court filing suggested he could get a more lenient term.
Any stay in the pen will be an inglorious next step for a man who famously brushed aside questions about his expenses as boss of the Hollinger International Inc newspaper holding company.
"I will not reenact the French Revolutionary renunciation of the rights of the nobility," Black said when asked about his use of the corporate jet for a vacation on the South Pacific island of Bora Bora.
When grumbling about money went on, the CEO chortled that his company had become awash in "an epidemic of shareholder idiocy."
Under Black, Hollinger was a media colossus that once owned the Daily Telegraph in London, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Jerusalem Post, plus hundreds of community newspapers across the US and Canada.
The Canadian-born Black, two other Canadian executives and a Chicago lawyer were convicted on July 13 of siphoning off US$6 million through a sell-off of Hollinger-owned papers and related deals. They were acquitted of nine charges that the government says would have brought the total loss to US$32 million.
Black was also found guilty of trundling a dozen boxes of documents out of his Toronto offices to keep them from investigators.
Black's attorneys have already asked for a new trial, saying it would be "a miscarriage of justice" to let the verdict stand. And while they beef up their ranks for an appeal, George Tombs, author of a Black biography titled Robber Baron, said the erstwhile corporate titan is on a collision course with the reality of federal prison.
"He doesn't want to be learning new skills in a machine shop and wearing a prison uniform at his age," Tombs said. "And he may have a cellmate who will tell him, do this, don't do that or even to shut up."
Longtime friends say that for all his pomp and circumstance there is another side to Black that could help him adjust to the shock of life as an inmate.
Black is possessed of "a strong equilibrium, he is quite judicious, he is extremely polite and considerate of other people," Canadian writer George Jonas said. In fact, he said, the Black he knows is exactly the opposite of the portrait that often emerges of an arrogant and dominating figure.
Jonas was formerly married to Black's wife, conservative columnist Barbara Amiel Black. Black and Jonas have long since developed a close friendship.
"Frankly, he won me over," Jonas said. "He's a good guy."
Black's legal team argue that the deposed press lord isn't the one who ought to be taking the blame. They point the finger at F. David Radler, Black's partner in building the Hollinger empire.
After decades by Black's side, Radler agreed to plead guilty and became the government's star witness. Under the deal, he expects a lenient 29-month sentence and a US$250,000 fine. And Radler expects to serve his time in Canada, where the government may cut short the sentence.
Black's situation is more complicated for a number of reasons.
Prosecutors say he should get more time in prison because he was the mastermind of the scam, that the loss was greater than US$20 million and he tried to obstruct the investigation. While he was convicted of crimes that resulted in a US$6 million loss, prosecutors say the sentencing ought to take account of all US$32 million that they say was pocketed by Black and his co-defendants.
Black's hopes of getting a lighter sentence got a boost recently from the pre-sentence report ordered by US District Judge Amy St. Eve. The report, prepared by the government's probation office, clashed sharply with prosecutors on a key point -- exactly how big a loss to Hollinger International should be blamed on Black.
Defense attorneys, who won Black acquittal on nine of the 13 counts against him at trial, have recently brought in Jeffrey Steinback, best known as a plea bargain specialist. Black has also hired Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz to help with the appeal.
However much legal muscle he brings in, Black will serve time. A key question is where.
If he tries to serve time in Canada, prosecutors may say that he gave up his Canadian citizenship to enter the British House of Lords. As for a US prison, it isn't clear that he will be assigned to the kind of minimum-security camp a nonviolent corporate executive might expect.
Wherever he goes, Black must work and there are no executive jobs. Duties include washing windows, swabbing and buffing the floors, cleaning the toilets and picking up cigarette butts.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
LEISURE: The new law adds Confucius’ birthday, the anniversary of the Battle of Guningtou, Constitution Day and Little New Year as national holidays The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed new legislation adding four national holidays and making Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party used their combined majority in the legislature to push the jointly proposed draft through its third and final reading. This new law supersedes the existing regulations for the implementation of memorial days and state holidays, which are administered by the Ministry of the Interior. The new law recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the anniversary of the Battle of Guningtou on Oct. 25, Constitution Day on Dec. 25 and “Little New Year,”
RSS