Former newspaper mogul Conrad Black was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison for swindling shareholders in his Hollinger International media empire out of millions of dollars to help finance his lavish lifestyle.
Black, 63, a Canadian-born member of the British House of Lords renowned for his flamboyant way with words, had faced up to slightly more than eight years in prison under sentencing guidelines determined earlier on Monday by US District Judge Amy St. Eve.
Prosecutors had asked for as many as 30 years in prison for Black, saying he had not shown "one shred of remorse" for looting the company that once owned the Chicago Sun-Times, Daily Telegraph of London, Jerusalem Post and hundreds of US and Canadian community newspapers.
"Obviously, there's a great deal of relief" at the lighter-than-expected sentence, said Black attorney Jeffrey Steinback, who delivered a passionate, hour-long appeal for leniency.
"The bottom line is Mr. Black will do six-and-a-half years in jail. That's a serious amount of time," US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald told reporters.
Before he was sentenced, Black was variously described as generous and highly charitable, as well as defiant and without remorse.
NO APOLOGY
"I do wish to profess my profound regret and sadness at the severe hardship of all the shareholders at the evaporation of US$1.8 billion in shareholder value under my successors," Black said before the sentencing.
But he did not apologize for any actions he took while heading Hollinger.
Black left the courthouse without commenting.
St. Eve ordered Black to report to prison in 12 weeks, though she did not immediately give a specific date, and said he could remain free on his US$21 million bond in the meantime.
A major point of dispute among attorneys had been how to calculate the total loss to shareholders. Prosecutors put it at US$32 million.
But a pre-sentence report, prepared by the probation department, figured the loss at US$6 million, which could have factored into the decision to keep Black's sentence at the low end of the guidelines.
The judge said Black's sentence should be closer to that of F. David Radler, his former business partner, who became the government's star witness at the four-month trial.
Under a plea agreement with prosecutors, Radler will get a 29-month sentence and US$250,000 fine.
Radler is also expected to serve much of his time in a Canadian prison, where sentences for nonviolent offenders are often cut down further.
ACQUITTAL
Black was acquitted of nine of the counts against him, including racketeering, but convicted of siphoning off US$6 million through bonuses disguised as such "non-compete" payments.
Black was also convicted of obstruction of justice for removing documents from his offices.
Black, Radler and three co-defendants were charged with siphoning money out of the company through payments made by buyers of Hollinger International's community papers in return for promises not to compete with the new owners.
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