Black convicted of fraud and obstruction
By Leah McBride Mensching, Friday 13 July 2007 at 22:07 :: General :: #256 :: rss
The media tycoon who built an vast newspaper empire was convicted by a Chicago federal jury Friday of a count of obstruction of justice and three counts of mail fraud and could face up to 35 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
Conrad Black, 62, was acquitted of nine other charges, including racketeering and wire fraud, for a scheme to steal millions of dollars from shareholders of Hollinger International. Sentencing has been set for Nov. 30.
As head of the company, the Canadian turned British Lord Black of Crossharbour, once stood at the helm of the media empire that included The Daily Telegraph, The Chicago Sun-Times and The Jerusalem Post.
Black, who was ousted as the company's chairman in 2004, will return to federal court Thursday to continue a hearing that will decide whether he will be allowed to return to his home in Toronto, stay out on bond in the United States or be taken into jail. He has already given up his British passport.
Another federal jury in Chicago found each of Black's co-defendants guilty of three counts of mail fraud. Former Hollinger International vice presidents John Boultbee, 64, of Vancouver; Peter Y. Atkinson, 60, of Toronto; and former attorney Mark Kipnis, 59, of Chicago, each face up to 15 years in prison and fines of up to $750,000. They are all out on bond.
Hollinger began in Quebec, and became the third-largest newspaper company in the world by the 1990s. The company also owned the London Telegraph and the National Post in Canada, in addition to many other smaller newspapers. In the late '90s, the company began selling assets to reduce debt, and is now known as the Sun-Times Media Group Inc.
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