Conrad Black guilty of multiple fraud charges - Telegraph Conrad Black guilty of multiple fraud charges Conrad Black arrives at court before the verdicts were delivered Image 1 of 2 Jack Boultbee, Mark Kipnis and Peter Atkinson were all found guilty of the same fraud charges as Black and face up to 15 years in prison By David Litterick in Chicago and Philip Johnston 12:01AM BST 14 Jul 2007 Analysis: No comfort for Conrad Black Conrad Black , the former media tycoon, last night faced years in jail after an American jury found him guilty of criminal fraud and obstructing justice. The Canadian-born peer, once the head of the world's third largest newspaper group, which included The Daily Telegraph, was cleared of nine other charges , including racketeering. He launched an immediate appeal. Prosecutors said he could expect to go to jail for at least 15 years, though the potential sentence is more than twice that. Related Articles Conrad Black profile: A ruthless tycoon 14 Jul 2007 He could also be forced to pay back millions of pounds in fines and forefeitures to reimburse shareholders in the company he once controlled.

Hollinger International, now called the Sun-Times Media Group, is suing him for $540 million over alleged negligence, breach of contract and "unjust enrichment". His conviction prompted the Conservatives to disown him by removing the whip in the House of Lords and last night MPs called for him to be stripped of his peerage. Black's elevation to the Lords in 2001 was the high point of a glittering financial career. When he took his seat, he was introduced by Margaret Thatcher. But his spectacular fall from grace was complete at the end of a four-month trial in which he was compared to a bank robber who "lied and stole and betrayed the trust of thousands of shareholders''. Prosecutors said he and three others stole millions in a scheme that involved falsifying documents and lying to shareholders to cover it up. The jury in Chicago , which took almost a fortnight to consider its verdicts, heard a tale of greed, lavish living and corporate intrigue during a trial likened to a circus, a soap opera and a re-run of Citizen Kane. Throughout, Black maintained a lofty disdain for the proceedings, which he once called a "toilet seat" hanging around prosecutors' necks.

His defence team did not put him on the stand to give evidence on his own behalf. His composure deserted him towards the end of the hearing when he gesticulated angrily at reporters. His wife, Barbara Amiel, herself a journalist, called her colleagues covering the trial ''vermin''. Black left court holding the hands of his wife and his daughter, Alana, 25. He made no comment. His lawyer, Edward Greenspan, said: "He came here to face 13 counts. Conrad Black was acquitted of all the central charges. We intend to appeal. We disagree with the government's position on sentencing. We believe, based on the convictions, the sentences are far less." Black, 62, was charged after an investigation into his activities at Hollinger International in 2004 concluded that he and other executives oversaw a "corporate kleptocracy." He was also accused of using the company as a "piggy bank" to fund his billionaire lifestyle. Accommodation, personal staff, food, opera tickets, holidays, club membership fees, restaurant bills, jogging attire and even charity donations were charged to the company.

But his undoing was not the use of a private jet to travel on holiday to Bora Bora or the houses in London, New York and Palm Beach - he was acquitted of improperly using company money to subsidise his lifestyle. He was brought down by a device known as a "non-compete fee", under which he paid himself and his co-defendants for agreeing not to compete with themselves. They received the money from a subsidiary of their own company that owned only one paper and was in the process of selling it. Black and his cohorts kept the money without passing it on to his company shareholders. Of the total £3.2 million that was stolen from the company, Black personally received £1.7 million, although his lawyer claimed the figure was £1.4 million. One of those who benefited was David Radler, Black's right-hand man for most of his meteoric rise up the corporate ladder. But Radler turned against him and gave evidence for the prosecution in a deal under which he pleaded guilty in exchange for up to 29 months in jail.

Three other Hollinger executives , Jack Boultbee, 64, former chief financial officer, Peter Atkinson, 60, former vice-president, and Mark Kipnis, 59, a lawyer, were all found guilty of the same fraud charges as Black. They each face up to 15 years in prison. Black was additionally found guilty of obstructing justice by removing files from his office in Toronto to stop them falling into the hands of the authorities. A CCTV camera filmed him doing so. When the first guilty verdict was read out, Black bowed his head and looked pale. He quickly regained his composure and sat impassively as the rest of the verdicts were read out. His wife and daughter, sitting in the first row of the public gallery behind him, remained stoney-faced. Eric Sussman, the prosecutor, wanted Black remanded in custody, claiming there was a risk he would flee to Canada. "He has had his day in court - my concern is whether he will return for his day of sentencing," Mr Sussman said. Edward Greenspan, Black's lawyer, said his client wanted to return to his home in Toronto until he was sentenced but said he had no intention of fleeing.

However, Black was instructed to hand over his passport and remain in Chicago until the court ruled next Thursday whether he should be placed in custody. He was released on his conditional $21 million bail. Although there were calls for Black to be stripped of his peerage, there is no provision for this. The Government once proposed such a law after Jeffrey Archer was jailed for perjury but it was never introduced. David Heath, the Liberal Democrat justice spokesman, said a way should be found as part of the reform of the Lords planned by Gordon Brown. • Black owned The Daily Telegraph from 1986 until 2004, when Hollinger International sold the Telegraph Group to Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay. Since that time he has had no connection with the newspaper. Help for Inmates Before, During and After Prison From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour, PC, OC, KSG (born August 25, 1944) is a Canadian-born former newspaper publisher, an historian, a columnist, a UK peer, and convicted felon for fraud who for a time headed the third-largest newspaper group in the world.

Lord Black controlled Hollinger International, Inc that through affiliates published major newspapers including The Daily Telegraph (UK), Chicago Sun Times( U.S.), The Jerusalem Post (Israel), National Post (Canada), The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), and hundreds of community newspapers in North America. Black is also an author, having written two memoirs (A Life in Progress and A Matter of Principle) and biographies of Maurice Duplessis, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Richard Nixon. In 2004, a shareholder-initiated prosecution of Black began in the United States. Black has publicly maintained his innocence since the original indictment. He was convicted of three counts of fraud and one count of obstruction of justice in a U.S. court in 2007 and sentenced to six and a half years' imprisonment. Two of the charges were overturned on appeal and in 2011 he was re-sentenced on the one remaining count of mail fraud and on the one count of obstruction of justice to an amended prison term of 42 months and a fine of $125,000.

Black was released on May 4, 2012 Fate of Hollinger The Hollinger group of companies was effectively dismantled as a result of criminal and civil lawsuits in relation to sales of papers and Intellectual property to third parties, most alleging misrepresentation and some alleging false or deliberately misleading accounts having been presented. The costs incurred by Hollinger International through the investigation of Black and his associates climbed to over US $200 million, leading some observers, such as The Economist to suggest disproportionality of these expenses in relation to the allegations. A significant portion of the sums paid by Hollinger International went to Richard Breeden, the lead investigator, who was paid approximately $100,000 per week. Since Black was forced to resign from the board of Hollinger, many of Hollinger International’s assets ended up being sold at prices significantly lower than those contemplated by incomplete talks while Black was with the company. In the early 2000s, Black had accurately anticipated the decline in profitability of print media assets and sought to divest those types of assets held by Hollinger before their value was irrevocably diminished. The main criminal sanction on Black not overturned is specifically one of misleading investors.

Criminal fraud conviction and Supreme Court review Black was found guilty of diverting funds for personal benefit from money due (to) Hollinger International, and of other irregularities. The embezzlement occurred when the company sold certain publishing assets. For example, in 2000, in an arrangement that came to be known as the "Lerner Exchange," Black personally acquired Chicago's Lerner Newspapers and sold it to Hollinger. He also was found guilty of obstruction of justice.Black was convicted in U.S. District Court in Chicago on July 13, 2007 and sentenced to serve 6.5 years in federal prison and pay Hollinger $6.1 million, in addition to a fine of $125,000. The Supreme Court of the United States heard an appeal of his case on December 8, 2009 and rendered a decision in June 2010. Black's application for bail was rejected by both the Supreme Court and the U.S. District Court judge who sentenced him.

On June 24, 2010, the US Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that the definition of Honest Services Fraud used in the trial judge's charge to the jury in Black's case was too broad In June 2010, "unconstitutionally vague", ruling the law could apply only to cases where bribes and kickbacks had changed hands and ordered the US 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago to review three fraud convictions against Black in light of the Supreme Court's new definition. As ordered the Court reviewed Black's case and determined whether his fraud convictions stood or if there should be a new trial. The Supreme Court upheld the jailed former media baron's obstruction-of-justice conviction, for which he was serving a concurrent 6½-year sentence. Black's lawyers filed an application for bail pending the appeals court's review. Prosecutors contested Black's bail request, arguing in court papers that Black's trial jury had proof that Black committed fraud.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals granted bail on July 19, 2010 under which Black was released pending retrial on a $2 million unsecured bond put up by conservative philanthropist Roger Hertog and ordered to remain on bail in the continental United States until at least August 16, when his bail hearing was to resume, and the date by which Black and the prosecution were ordered by the Court of Appeals to submit written arguments for that court's review of his case. Until July 21, 2010, Black, Federal Bureau of Prisons #18330-424, was incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institution Low, Coleman, FL, a part of the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex. Following his release, coincidentally on his 18th wedding anniversary, Black wrote a column for Canada's National Post on his time in prison.

Black described America's inmates as an "ostracized, voiceless legion of the walking dead." Black was to appear once again in a Chicago court on August 16 to provide full and detailed financial information to the judge, who would then consider his request to be allowed to return to Canada while on bail.In spite of his professed desire to return to his former home in Canada, Black's legal representatives advised the court that they would not provide the requisite accounting and would thus not be interested in petitioning the court further on the matter. Although many have cited this refusal to disclose as more deception on the part of Black,it is possible that the voluminous amounts of information that would have been required for complete disclosure could not be compiled in time or that his wealth would be unlikely to persuade the court to extend his bail conditions. He was under no compulsion to make this disclosure as he had initiated the appeal for a bail variation of his own volition. His next court appearance, where he might reapply for permission to return to Canada was set for September 20, 2010. On October 28, 2010, the US 7th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned two of the three mail fraud convictions.

This left Black convicted of one count of mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice. The court also ruled that he must be re-sentenced.On December 17, 2010, Black lost an appeal as to fact and law on his remaining convictions for fraud and obstruction of justice. The three-person panel did not provide reasons. On May 31, 2011, the Supreme Court of the United States refused to grant Black leave to appeal (to it) his two remaining convictions without comment. The re-sentencing on the two remaining counts by the original trial judge occurred on June 24, 2011.Black's lawyers recommended that he be sentenced to the 29 months he had already served while the prosecution argued for Black to complete his original 6½ year sentence. The probation officer's report recommended a sentence of between 33 and 41 months. At the hearing, Judge St. Eve re-sentenced Black to a reduced term of 42 months and a fine of $125,000, returning him to prison on September 6, 2011 to serve the remaining 13 months of his sentence.

On June 30, 2011, Black published an article for the National Review Online that provided his scathing view of the legal case, detailing it as a miscarriage of justice and an "unaccountable and often lawless prosecution." Seth Lipsky, in an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal that ran on June 28, 2011, called the verdict against Black "head-scratching," noting that Black was found not guilty of the most serious charges brought against him. Lipsky also raised the issue of why Black was denied a retrial by jury as to whether he had committed pecuniary fraud after the Supreme Court unanimously found that Judge St. Eve's instructions to the jury were "incorrect," which led to two of the three fraud counts ultimately being vacated. In the end, the fraud conviction was allowed to stand and the count of obstruction. Black did not return to Coleman Federal Correctional Facility because two female guards at Coleman reported they feared for their safety if Black returned. Instead he was imprisoned on September 6, 2011 at the Federal Correctional Institution, Miami. He was released from prison on May 4, 2012.

Although he waived Canadian citizenship in 2001 in order to receive a British peerage, he has expressed desire to live in Canada after his prison term completed. He was granted a one-year temporary resident permit to live in Canada in March 2012 when he was still serving his sentence. Critics claimed that Black received special treatment from the Canadian government but Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister, denied any political influence. Upon his release from the prison, Black was immediately picked up by the U.S. Immigration officials and escorted to the Miami International Airport. He arrived at Toronto on the same afternoon and returned to his home for the first time in nearly five years. He has been barred from entering the United States for 30 years. On June 5, 2012 lawyers for Black moved that the last remaining counts of conviction be vacated due to prosecutorial misconduct and his claim that he had been denied the right to have the defense counsel of his choice. Black's motion was dismissed on February 19, 2013 along with his request for an evidentitary hearing.

Conrad Black appeals 'honest services fraud' conviction | Business | The Guardian Conrad Black appeals 'honest services fraud' conviction • 'Honest services' law intended for political corruption • Conrad Black claims law was abused by prosecutors Former press baron Conrad Black is claiming that the honest services fraud law was misused by prosecutors. Photograph: Richard A Chapman/AP Andrew Clark in New York Sunday 6 December 2009 12.50 EST First published on Sunday 6 December 2009 12.50 EST Close This article is 7 years old The jailed press baron Conrad Black will get a last-ditch chance to win freedom as his lawyers try to persuade the US supreme court on Tuesday that the former Telegraph owner's criminal convictions for embezzling $6.1m (£3.7m) amounted to misuse by prosecutors of a controversial fraud law. Black, 65, who is serving a six-and-a-half-year sentence at Florida's Coleman prison, will not be at the Washington hearing in person.

But to have his case heard by the supreme court is a coup – the judges only grant oral hearings to about 100 of the 10,000 petitions they receive annually. America's highest court will scrutinise Black's case as part of an examination of a controversial concept known as "honest services fraud" that has been central to a string of white-collar cases including the conviction of the former Enron chief executive, Jeffrey Skilling. The law, initially intended to target political corruption, allows for the prosecution of individuals who deprive constituents, or shareholders, of their entitlement to so-called "honest services". Black, Skilling and other critics contend that its definition has been stretched to become a "catch all" clause for conduct viewed as unethical. At the height of his fortunes, Black's Hollinger media empire owned 200 papers including the Daily Telegraph , the Chicago Sun-Times and the Jerusalem Post. But along with three fellow executives, he was convicted in 2007 of cheating investors by siphoning off millions through bogus "non-compete" clauses attached to the sale of titles.

In a submission to the supreme court, lawyers for Black and his co-appellants, Jack Boultbee and Mark Kipnis, argue that investors did not suffer any damage from the Montreal-born magnate's actions and that his management actually enriched stockholders. "Under Black's leadership over nearly two decades, the Telegraph alone enriched Hollinger and its shareholders to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars," says the brief. "Black built Hollinger's international newspaper empire from a mere $20,000 in equity to market capitalisation in excess of $1bn." They say the "honest services" law was abused by prosecutors: "The government has stretched this malleable phrase, unknown in common law, far beyond the public corruption context that gave rise to its enactment." The supreme court will hear a similar appeal from Enron's former boss in the new year. If the nine judges decide to redraw the definition of honest services, Black's case and many others could be referred back to the lower courts – and a raft of pending prosecutions, including a high-profile corruption case against a former Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich, could be thrown into disarray. This prospect alarms ethical watchdogs.

Melanie Sloan, director of pressure group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, dismissed the idea Black was unfairly treated: "It would be clear to an elementary school student that what these guys did was wrong. I don't think it's fair to say this statute is so vague that nobody knows what's right or wrong." Black was convicted on three counts of fraud plus a single conviction of obstruction of justice, arising from the removal of boxes of documents from his Toronto office in contravention of a court order. Lawyers say this obstruction charge could stand even if his fraud convictions fall. Since his conviction, Black has been stripped of the Conservative whip in the House of Lords. In the country of his birth, he was voted the tenth worst Canadian of all time in a poll by a leading history magazine. Black convicted of swindling millions - USATODAY.com Need help financing or refinancing a home?

Click here Black convicted of swindling millions Posted E-mail | Print | By Mike Robinson, Associated Press Writer CHICAGO  Former media mogul Conrad Black was convicted Friday of swindling the far-flung Hollinger International newspaper empire he once ran out of millions of dollars, becoming the latest in a wave of disgraced corporate executives to face prison time for financial fraud. Black, 62, who once renounced his Canadian citizenship to become a member of the British House of Lords, was found guilty by a federal jury of three counts of mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice for spiriting documents out of his Toronto office in defiance of a court order. Black was acquitted of nine other counts ranging from tax fraud to the most serious charge -- racketeering. He was also acquitted of fleecing Hollinger shareholders through such perks as taking the corporate jet on a two-week vacation to the island of Bora Bora. The three-month trial drew international media attention, heightened by the silver-haired British lord's posh lifestyle and sometimes haughty comments.

When shareholders grumbled about the cost of the Bora Bora trip, he wrote a memo saying: "I'm not prepared to re-enact the French revolutionary renunciation of the rights of the nobility." Three other former Hollinger executives, John Boultbee, 65, of Victoria, British Columbia, Peter Y. Atkinson, 60, of Oakville, Ontario, and Mark Kipnis, 59, of Northbrook, Ill., were also convicted of fraud charges. Prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve to have Black jailed immediately, saying he could face approximately 15 years to nearly 20 years in federal prison for the conviction. But defense attorneys said the actual sentence was likely to be much less. In contrast to the $84 million in fraud prosecutors blamed on Black when he was indicted two years ago, the jurors found him guilty of a fraction of that -- defense attorneys put the amount at $3.5 million. Still, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said the government was "gratified" by the verdict.

"We think the verdict vindicates the serious public interest in making sure that when insiders in a corporation deal with money entrusted to them by the shareholders, that they not engage in self-dealing, that they not break the law to benefit themselves instead of the shareholders," Fitzgerald said. St. Eve set a Nov. 30 sentencing date, confiscated Black's passport and ordered him to remain in the Chicago area while she considers the government's request that she revoke his $21 million bond, partly secured by a seaside estate in Palm Beach, Fla. A hearing on the bond issue is scheduled for Thursday. Black defense attorney Edward M. Genson argued that Black had "wanted his day in court and now wants his day on appeal" and would not run away. "He has had his day in court," countered prosecutor Eric H. Sussman, "and now the question is whether he will have his day of sentencing." Black was stony faced as he handed over the passport. When St. Eve asked if he would appear for sentencing, he said: "Absolutely." Black avoided reporters' questions as he left the courthouse Friday afternoon.

Edward Greenspan, Black's Canadian defense attorney, promised an appeal on "viable legal issues." "We came here to face 13 counts and an indictment. Conrad Black was acquitted of all the central charges. They have been dismissed," Greenspan said, reading from a statement and refusing to answer questions. "We vehemently disagree with the government's position on sentencing," he said, but did not offer what he believes is a proper sentencing range. Hollinger International, based in Chicago, was at one time one of the world's largest publisher of community newspapers as well as the Chicago Sun-Times, the Daily Telegraph of London and Israel's Jerusalem Post. At the core of the charges against Black was a strategy he arrived at starting in 1998 to sell off the bulk of the small community papers, which were published in smaller cities across the United States and Canada. Black and other Hollinger executives received millions of dollars in payments from the companies that bought the community papers in return for promises that they would not return to compete with the new owners. Prosecutors said the executives pocketed the money, which they said belonged to shareholders, without telling Hollinger's board of directors.

In the end, jurors convicted Black in connection with two sets of noncompete payments. One involved $2.6 million in such payments he received in exchange for a noncompete pledge made to the American Publishing Co. The company was a Hollinger subsidiary and thus Black and executives who also got such payments were effectively getting money not to compete with themselves. The other were "supplemental payments" made in April 2001 after Hollinger executives realized there had been no non-competition money in sales of community newspapers to Horizon Publications Inc. in March 1999 and to Forum Communications Inc. in September 2000. Realizing that no such non-competition money for them had been included in the deals, the executives ordered up "supplemental payments." Black's share of that money came to $285,000. The American Publishing money and supplemental payments were covered in three counts of the indictment. The fourth count Black was convicted of involved the removal of documents from his Toronto offices after a court had ordered them frozen unless otherwise permitted by a court monitor. The government's star witness at the trial was F. David Radler, Black's partner in building the Hollinger empire over three decades.

He pleaded guilty to mail fraud and agreed to testify in exchange for a lenient 29-month sentence and a $250,000 fine. Black had said that he was busy with newspaper interests in Britain and eastern Canada and left most of the sales of community newspapers and noncompete arrangements to Radler. But Radler said that Black was well aware of how and why the money was being paid. ___ Associated Press Writers Don Babwin, Carla K. Johnson, Dave Carpenter and Dan Strumpf in Chicago contributed to this report. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Posted "Black 'Played Trick to Put $51M in His Pocket'; Tom Bower, Conrad Black's Biographer, Assesses the Latest Evidence in the Fraud Trial of the Fallen Press Baron" - The Evening Standard (London, England), April 20, 2007 | Online Research Library: Questia Article excerpt BREATHING a sigh of relief, American prosecutors broke into smiles last nig ht in the Chicago court room hearing the case against Conrad Black.

At the end of a gruelling week, the government's young lawyers believed that the aggressive British peer had been silenced. Last Monday, Lord Black had arrived at the courthouse with his 24-year old daughter Alana boisterously cursing the prosecutors: "I've always said they had no case and nothing has changed. So what are we doing here?" Yesterday, Black left the building without repeating his challenge. In between, the jury had heard four lawyers testify how the payment and concealment by Black and his co-directors of millions of dollars was illegal under American law. The jury also heard how Black had received completely contradictory advice about the "non-compete" payments. That contradiction is the basis of his defence of innocence because he was ignorant of the law. Black, the former owner of the Daily Telegraph group, is charged with defrauding the shareholders of Hollinger, his former American media company, of $60 million and faces up to 101 years imprisonment if convicted. To his discomfort, yesterday's witness, Paul Saunders, was the most persuasive of the conflicting lawyers. Saunde r s advises Henry Kissinger, the former American secretary of state.

Before he was accused of fraud, Conrad Black counted Kissinger as a friend and had appointed him a director of Hollinger International, Black's media company. For several years, Kissinger had been a frequent passenger on Black's Gulfstream jet and his dinner companion on both sides of the Atlantic. That relationship was abruptly broken in early 2004 after Kissinger voted to dismiss Black a s Hollinger's chief executive because of allegations of fraud. With crisp delivery, Saunders described to the jury the circumstances of the beginning of Black's fall. In 2001, Hollinger International was seeking bank loans. Hiredby a bank, Saunders, a partner at Cravath Swaine and Moore, scrutinised Hollinger's records. Saunders discovered that Black and his co-directors had in 2000 taken $51.8 million from Hollinger in non-compete payments without declaring it to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. In court filings, the payments are described by the Cravath lawyers as "weird" and a "trick" to get money to Black and his executives without disclosing all the circumstances to Hollinger's independent directors.

The concealment, according to the prosecution, was part of Black's conspiracy to defraud Hollinger's shareholders. The $51.8 Cursing: million was the non-compete payments within the $2. … Subscribe to Questia and enjoy: Full access to this article and over 10 million more from academic journals, magazines, and newspapers Over 83,000 books Access to powerful writing and research tools Article details Conrad Black to be released on bail - Telegraph Conrad Black to be released on bail Lord Black of Crossharbour, the former media tycoon, has been granted bail from prison. Conrad Black has been granted bail from prison. Photo: AFP By Robert Winnett in Washington and James Quinn in New York 6:30AM BST 20 Jul 2010 Lawyers acting for the Canadian-born peer successfully argued that his previous trial may have been invalid following a recent ruling from the US Supreme Court. In 2007, Lord Black was sentenced to six and a half years in an American jail for criminal fraud and obstructing justice.

The peer and three co-defendants were found to have defrauded Hollinger International, of which Black was chairman and chief executive, of $6.1 million by skimming money from the sale of hundreds of newspaper companies. The jail term followed a spectacular fall from grace for Black, 65, a well-known figure in Conservative circles, whose newspaper group, which previously included The Daily Telegraph, was once the third largest in the world. He was previously estimated to be worth £136 million. However, his conviction will now be reviewed by an appeal court following a ruling by the Supreme Court which may have implications for the way in which the jury that originally tried Black were directed. He may face a new trial but will be released on bail – with a substantial bond – while his case is reconsidered. Related Articles Black asks Bush for pardon 21 Nov 2008 Black has launched several unsuccessful appeals. He said an interview before he was jailed: "This story is not over … This isn't like a fall and it is not an end. Even on a worst case, I'll be back." In a newspaper article written from prison, the peer described the "putrification of the US justice system".

Miguel Estrada, Black's American lawyer, welcomed the decision to bail the peer. He said: "The Supreme Court has now unanimously ruled that a violation affecting Mr Black's Sixth Amendment just trial right occurred." Black has spent the last two and a half years in a low-security prison in Florida. The prosecution's fraud case alleged Black's receipt of millions of dollars in bonuses thinly disguised as "non-compete" payments attached to the sale of newspaper businesses. It formed part of a wider crackdown on white collar crime by the US government. During the four-month trial, which ended in July 2007, he was compared to a bank robber who "lied and stole and betrayed the trust of thousands of shareholders". Details of his opulent lifestyle were disclosed during the trial. Earlier this month, it emerged that the American tax authorities are pursuing Black for more than $70 million in back taxes. Black argues that he is not liable for US taxes as he is neither a citizen nor resident in the US, according to reports. He was made a peer in 2001. Conrad Black - Metapedia Conrad Black Jump to: navigation , search This section or article contains text from Wikipedia which has not yet been processed.

It is thus likely to contain material which does not comply with the Metapedia guide lines . You can help Metapedia by editing the article and cleaning it from bias and inappropriate wordings. The Lord Black of Crossharbour Barbara Amiel , Lady Black (1992—Present) Children Religion Roman Catholic Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour, PC (Can.) , OC , KCSG (born August 25 , 1944 ) is an expatriate Canadian historian , columnist and publisher who was for a time the third biggest newspaper magnate in the world. [1] He was convicted of fraud in a US court in 2007 and sentenced to six and a half years' imprisonment. On July 19, 2010 Black was granted bail. [2] He was released from Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Florida, USA two days later pending a decision by the court on whether to retry his 2008 criminal fraud conviction. [3] Before the regulatory investigation that led to his conviction, Black controlled Hollinger International , Inc.

Through affiliates, the company published major newspapers including The Daily Telegraph (UK), Chicago Sun Times (USA), Jerusalem Post (Israel), National Post (Canada), and hundreds of community newspapers in North America. Contents 10 External links Early life and family Conrad Black was born in Montreal , Quebec , Canada , to a wealthy family originally from Winnipeg , Manitoba . His father, George Montegu Black, Jr. , C.A. , was the president of Canadian Breweries Limited , an international brewing conglomerate that had earlier absorbed Winnipeg Breweries (founded by George Black Sr.). Conrad Black's mother was the former Jean Elizabeth Riley, a daughter of Conrad Stephenson Riley, whose father founded the Great-West Life Assurance Company , and a great-granddaughter of an early co-owner of the Daily Telegraph . Biographer George Toombs said of Black's motivations: "he was born into a very large family of athletic, handsome people. He wasn't particularly athletic or handsome like they were, so he developed a different skill - wordplay, which he practiced a lot with his father." [4] Education Black was first educated at Upper Canada College (UCC), during which time, at age 8, he purchased shares in General Motors .

[4] Six years later, according to Tom Bower's biography Dancing on the Edge, [5] he was expelled from UCC for selling stolen exam papers. He then attended Trinity College School where he lasted less than a year, being expelled for insubordinate behaviour . Black eventually graduated from a small, now defunct, private school in Toronto called Thornton Hall , continuing on to post-secondary education at Carleton University (History, 1965). For a time, he attended Toronto's Osgoode Hall Law School of York University ; however, his studies ended after he failed his first year exams. [5] He completed a law degree at Université Laval (Law, 1970), and in 1973 completed a Master of Arts degree in history at McGill University . [6] Black's thesis, later published as a biography, was on Quebec premier Maurice Duplessis . Marriages Conrad Black's first marriage was in 1978 to Joanna Hishon of Montreal , who worked as a secretary in his brother Montegu's brokerage office. The couple had two sons and a daughter. [7] The couple separated in 1991.

Their divorce was finalized in 1992; the same year Black married Watford -born journalist Barbara Amiel . Black flattered Amiel, describing her variously as "beautiful, brilliant, ideologically a robust spirit" and "chic, humorous and preternaturally sexy". Courtroom evidence revealed that the couple exchanged over 11,000 emails. [4] Religion "My family," Black wrote in 2009, "was divided between atheism and agnosticism , and I followed rather unthinkingly and inactively in those paths into my 20s." By his early 30s, however, he "no longer had any confidence in the non-existence of God." Thereafter, he "approached Rome at a snail's pace," and was finally received into the Catholic Church on June 18, 1986. [8] Career Black became involved in a number of businesses, mainly publishing newspapers, and briefly in mining. In 1966, Black bought his first newspaper, the Eastern Townships Advertiser in Quebec.

Following the foundation, as an investment vehicle, of the Ravelston Corporation by the Black family in 1969, Black, together with friends David Radler and Peter G. White, purchased and operated the Sherbrooke Record , the small English language daily in Sherbrooke , Quebec . In 1971, the three formed Sterling Newspapers Limited, a holding company that would acquire several other small Canadian regional newspapers. Corporate ownership through holding companies George Black died in June 1976, leaving Conrad and his older brother, Montegu, a 22.4% stake in Ravelston Corporation , which by then owned 61% voting control of Argus Corporation , an influential holding company in Canada. Argus controlled large stakes in 7 major Canadian corporations, Labrador Mining , Noranda Mines , Hollinger Mines , Standard Broadcasting , Dominion Stores , Domtar and Massey-Ferguson . [9] Through his father's holdings in Ravelston, Conrad Black gained early association with two of Canada's most prominent businessmen: Bud McDougald and E. P. Taylor , president and founder of Argus, respectively.

Following McDougald's death in 1978, Conrad Black paid $30-million to take control of Ravelston and thereby, control of Toronto -based Argus. This controversial arrangement resulted in accusations that Black had taken advantage of the aging widows of Ravelston Directors McDougald and Eric Phillips. Other observers admired Black for marshaling enough investor support to win control without committing a large block of personal assets. [9] Some of the Argus assets were already troubled, others did not fit Black's long term vision. Black resigned as Chairman of Massey Ferguson company in 1979, after which Argus donated its shares to the employee's pension funds (both salaried and union. [10] ) Hollinger Mines was then turned into a holding company that initially focused on resource businesses. [9] In 1981 Norcen Energy, one of his companies, acquired a minority position in Ohio-based Hanna Mining Co. A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stated that Norcen took "an investment position" in Hanna. However, the filing failed to disclose that Norcen's board planned to seek majority control.

Black subsequently was charged by the SEC with filing misleading public statements, charges that were later withdrawn by "consent decree" after Black and Norcen agreed not to break securities laws in the future. Dominion pension dispute In 1984, Black withdrew over $56 million from the Dominion workers' pension plan surplus without consulting plan members. The firm said it considered the surplus the rightful property of the employer (Dominion Stores Ltd.). The Dominion Union complained, a public outcry ensued, and the case went to court. The Supreme Court of Ontario eventually ruled against the company, and ordered the company to return the money to the pension fund, claiming that though the most recent language in the plan suggested the employer had ownership of the surplus, the original intention was to keep the surplus in the plan to increase members' benefits. [11] The company appealed the case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada , which upheld the lower court's decision. [12] Industrial holdings shifted to publishing Over time, Black focused formerly diverse activities of his companies on newspaper publishing. Argus Corporation, once Canada’s most important conglomerate, divested itself of interests in manufacturing, mining, retailing, banking and broadcasting.

Canadian writer John Ralston Saul argued in 2008, "Lord Black was never a real "capitalist" because he never created wealth, only dismantled wealth. His career has been largely about stripping corporations. Destroying them." [13] Growth and divestment of press holdings In 1985, Andrew Knight , then editor of The Economist , asked Black to invest in the ailing Telegraph Group. By this investment, Black made his first entry into British press ownership. Five years later, he bought the Jerusalem Post , and subsequently fired the majority of its staff. [14] By 1990, his companies ran over 400 newspaper titles in North America , the majority of them small community papers. Hollinger bought a minority stake in the Southam newspaper chain in 1993 and acquired the Chicago Sun Times in 1994. Hollinger International shares were listed on New York Stock Exchange in 1996, at which time the company boosted its stake in Southam to a control position. Becoming a public company trading in the U.S.

has been called "a fateful move, exposing Black's empire to America's more rigorous regulatory regime and its more aggressive institutional shareholders." [10] Under Black, Hollinger launched the National Post in Toronto in 1998. From 1999 to 2000 Hollinger International sold several newspapers in five deals worth a total of US$679-million, a total that included millions of dollars in "non-compete agreements" for Hollinger insiders. Later in the year, Hollinger International announced the sale of thirteen major Canadian newspapers, 126 community newspapers, internet properties and half of the National Post to CanWest Global Communications Corp . Hollinger International sold the rest of the National Post to CanWest in the summer of 2001. Lifestyle Born to a rich family, Black acquired the family home and 7 acres (28,000 m2) of land in Toronto 's exclusive Bridle Path neighbourhood after his father's death in 1976. Black and first wife Joanna Hishon maintained homes in Palm Beach, Toronto and London. After he married Barbara Amiel, he acquired a luxury Park Avenue apartment in New York.

When sold in 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice seized net proceeds of $8.5 million, pending resolution of court actions. [15] His London townhouse in the Kensington district sold in 2005 for about US$25 million. [16] Black's Palm Beach mansion was listed for sale in 2004 at $36 million. [17] According to biographer Tom Bower , "They flaunted their wealth." [5] Black's critics, including former Daily Telegraph editor Charles Moore , suggested it was Black's second wife, Amiel, who pushed him towards a life of opulence, citing extravagant expenditures such as items billed to Hollinger expenses that included $ 2,463 ( £ 1,272) on handbags, $2,785 in opera tickets, and $140 for Amiel's "jogging attire." [4] Black was ranked 238th wealthiest in Britain by the Sunday Times Rich List 2003, [18] with an estimated wealth of £136m. He was dropped from the 2004 list.

[19] Criminal fraud conviction and Supreme Court Review Black was convicted in Illinois U.S. District Court on 13 July 2007 and sentenced to serve 78 months in federal prison, pay Hollinger $6.1 million and a fine of $125,000. Black was found guilty of diverting funds for personal benefit from money due Hollinger International when the company sold certain publishing assets and other irregularities. For example, in 2000, in an illegal and surreptitious arrangement that came to be known as the "Lerner Exchange," Black acquired Chicago's Lerner Newspapers and sold it to Hollinger. [20] He also obstructed justice by taking possession of documents to which he was not entitled. [21] The case is still under appeal. The Supreme Court of the United States heard an appeal of his case on 8 December 2009 [22] and rendered a decision in June 2010. Black's application for bail was rejected by both the Supreme Court and the US District Court judge who sentenced him. [23] On June 24, 2010, The U.S.

Supreme Court ruled that the definition of " honest services" fraud used in the trial judge's charge to the jury in Black's case was too broad and ordered the Illinois appeal court to review three fraud convictions against Black in light of the Supreme Court's new definition. The appeal court will review Black's case and determine whether his fraud convictions will stand or if there should be a new trial. [24] The jailed former media baron's obstruction of justice conviction, for which he is serving a concurrent 6 ½ year sentence, remains in place. [25] Black's lawyers filed an application for bail pending the appeal court's review. [24] Prosecutors contested Black’s bail request arguing in court papers that Black’s trial jury had proof that Black committed fraud. [26] He was granted bail on July 19, 2010 by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and will be released on a $2 million unsecured bond put up by conservative philanthropist Roger Hertog . [27] Black has been released from custody and has ordered to remain in the continental United States for now pending a ruling by Judge St.

Eve on whether his bail conditions will permit him to return to Canada until he is required to attend court. [28] [27] [2] [29] Until July 21, 2010, [27] Black, Federal Bureau of Prisons #18330-424, was incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institution Low, Coleman, [30] a part of the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex [31] [32] Prior to being granted bail, his scheduled release date was October 30, 2013. [30] IRS action against Black In 2010, the Internal Revenue Service initiated a legal proceding in the United States Tax Court against Black for $71 million in back taxes which it claims is owed on $120 million in unreported income between 1998 and 2003. Black is challenging the claim, arguing that he is not subject to US taxing authority [26] claiming that he was, “neither a citizen nor a resident of the United States” and was not obliged to pay taxes in the U.S.

[33] Peerage controversy and citizenship Upon the advice of British Prime Minister , Tony Blair , Queen Elizabeth II was to honour Black by raising him to the peerage . However, Canadian Prime Minister , Jean Chrétien , gave the conflicting advice that a Canadian citizen should not receive a titular honour, citing the 1919 Nickle Resolution . Books and other publications Black has written an autobiography and three substantial biographies of controversial twentieth-century figures. In each he casts his hero as a man of incorrigible intellectual strength buttressed and not weakened by partisan attack and personal malady. His revisionist works rescue Duplessis and Nixon from their status as moral pariahs, and portrays Roosevelt as an centrist who saved capitalism. Black writes in a highly erudite, if idiosyncratic, manner. His purple style and pointed criticism have been the subject of much derision in reviews, though his factual rigour is beyond dispute. Duplessis [34] : Black re-worked his 1973 Master's thesis on Maurice Duplessis into a rehabilatory biographical re-examination of the controversial long-serving Quebec premier, published in 1977.

A Life in Progress [35] : An autobiography, published in 1993. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Champion of Freedom [36] : While Black was CEO of Hollinger International, the company spent millions of dollars purchasing collections of private papers of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt . [37] Black subsequently completed a 1,280-page biography, in 2003. [38] What Might Have Been [39] : A 2004 essay of speculative history depicting the latter half of the 20th century as it may have unfolded had Japan not bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, edited by Andrew Roberts. Richard M. Nixon: A Life in Full [40] : Continuing in the vein of Duplessis, Black's 1,152-page 2007 biography of Richard Nixon sought to rehabilitate the former U.S. President's legacy. This approach was criticized by some reviewers, who felt that it attempted to exculpate Nixon of some negative aspects of his time in office.

[41] Black continues to contribute regular features to the National Post , the newspaper he founded in 1998 and sold in 2001. In an article there, Black indicated that his next book will describe how his business empire was destroyed while court-protected managers enriched themselves and eradicated shareholder value. He says, "The judiciary and regulators in both countries are complicit in these events. They will have much to answer for. This is the real story, and I will publish it soon." [42] In the November 2008 issue of Spear's magazine, Black wrote a diary piece from jail, [43] detailing 'the putrification of the US justice system' and how 'the bloom is off my long-notorious affection for America'. On March 5, 2009, Black contributed a piece to the online version of the conservative magazine National Review (NRO). Called 'Roosevelt and the Revisionists' and based on his earlier biography of Roosevelt, it argued that FDR's New Deal was intended to save capitalism, and so deserved conservative support.

In her March 9 critique of this piece on NRO, author Amity Shlaes observed, "I will be co-hosting, with Dean Thomas Cooley of NYU/Stern, a Second Look conference on March 30 to permit scholars to present the multiple studies that suggest the New Deal and Great Depression are worth taking a look at from every angle. The great shame here is that Conrad would have added much to this event, and yet he cannot attend." Biographies and portrayal in popular culture The documentary film Citizen Black, which premiered at the 2004 Montreal and Cambridge film festivals, traces Black's life and filmmaker Debbie Melnyk's attempts in 2003 to interview Black, and her eventual interview. [44] US prosecutors subpoenaed unused footage of a 2003 shareholders meeting for use in Black's trial. [45] Canadian actor Albert Schultz portrayed Black in the 2006 CTV movie Shades of Black. Tom Bower 's biography Conrad and Lady Black: Dancing on the Edge ( ISBN 0007232349 ) was published in 2006 by Harper Collins .

It was republished in August 2007 with an additional chapter reporting on the trial and its outcomes. There is talk of two dramas based on his life: one from Tom Bower and Andrew Lloyd Webber and another from Alistair Beaton . [46] The last authorized portrait busts of Conrad Black and Barbara Amiel were created between 2001–2002 by Canadian sculptor Dr. Elizabeth Bradford Holbrook and arranged by noted Canadian artist Christian Cardell Corbet who himself also created a portrait of Black. A book "Robber Baron: Lord Black of Crossharbour" was published in 2007 by ECW press and written by George Tombs.

ISBN 978-1-55022-806-9 The IT Crowd , a Channel 4 British sitcom , series 3 episode 1 originally aired 21 November 2008 references Conrad Black as "The first rich man to go to jail in 300 years." References Conrad Black (Columnist) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News Conrad Black Male Born Aug 25, 1944 Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour, OC, KCSG, PC is a Canadian-born member of the British House of Lords, and a historian, columnist and publisher, who was for a time the third largest newspaper magnate in the world. Lord Black controlled Hollinger International, Inc. Through affiliates, the company published major newspapers including The Daily Telegraph (UK), Chicago Sun Times (U.S.… Read More related links Conrad Black: What The Pope Must Say In Cuba Natiobak Post - Mar 24, 2012 ' Zoraida Diaz/Reuters Pope John Paul II meets with Fidel Castro during his visit to Cuba in 1998.

\n In regard to Pope Benedict XVIâs visit to Cuba next week, the official version of events from the Vatican and from the cardinal in Havana, Jaime Ortega y Alamino, is one of uplift and celebration of the Churchâs progress since the visit of Pope John Paul II to Cuba in 1998. What the pope actually expects to accomplish is disconcertingly unclear. \n According to Britainâs Catholic Her... Conrad Black: James Q. Wilson: The Impact On Crime He Never Had The Huffington Post - Mar 15, 2012 'I liked and admired the late James Q.

Wilson; he was a fine man and a rigorous intellect who made a positive difference, but where was he while American criminal justice was becoming the terrible conveyor-belt of corruption, hypocrisy, and abuse that it now is?' Conrad Black: A Few Words For Bob Hepburn And My Other Ignorant Critics Natiobak Post - Mar 10, 2012 ' Chris Mikula/Postmedia News <a class=\"fplink fp-839189\" href=\"/Conrad+Black+1\"><mark>Conrad Black</mark></a> receives the Order of Canada from governor general Ray Hnatyshyn in 1990. \n Columnist Bob Hepburnâs polemic in the Toronto Star of Mar. 1, expressing outrage that I remain an officer of the Order of Canada,Â was composed almost entirely of false assertions. \n The Advisory Council of the Order, which governs membership, and whose rules are readily available to the public... Conrad Black: Canada Is Not A Dull Country Natiobak Post - Mar 03, 2012 ' U.S. Diplomacy Center British forces burn the U.S.

capitol in 1814. \n The estimable American military writer <a class=\"fplink fp-598222\" href=\"/Max+Boot+1\">Max Boot</a>, a guerrilla-war expert associated with the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, wrote in Commentary magazine last month that Canada is a country that most Americans consider a âdull but slavishly friendly neighbour, sort of like a great St. Bernard.â \n Thatâs true. The world knows Canada as a comparative... Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Conrad Black. CHILDHOOD 1944 Birth Born on August 25, 1944. TWENTIES 1966 21 Years Old Black became involved in a number of businesses, mainly publishing newspapers, and briefly in mining. In 1966, Black bought his first newspaper, the Eastern Townships Advertiser in Quebec. 1969 24 Years Old Following the foundation as an investment vehicle of the Ravelston Corporation by the Black family in 1969, Black, together with friends David Radler, and Peter G.

White, purchased and operated the Sherbrooke Record, the small English language daily in Sherbrooke, Quebec. … Read More In 1971, the three formed Sterling Newspapers Limited, a holding company that would acquire several other small Canadian regional newspapers. Read Less THIRTIES 1976 - 1977 2 More Events 1976 31 Years Old George Black died in June 1976, leaving Conrad Black and his older brother, Montegu, a 22.4% stake in Ravelston Corporation, which by then owned 61% voting control of Argus Corporation, an influential holding company in Canada. … Read More Argus controlled large stakes in seven Canadian corporations: Labrador Mining, Noranda Mines, Hollinger Mines, Standard Broadcasting, Dominion Stores, Domtar and Massey-Ferguson. Read Less 1977 32 Years Old In 1977, Black became a director of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Black's first marriage was in 1978 to Joanna Hishon of Montreal, who worked as a secretary in his brother Montegu's brokerage office.

… Read More The couple had two sons and a daughter. They separated in 1991. Read Less Through his father's holdings in Ravelston, Black gained early association with two of Canada's most prominent businessmen: Bud McDougald and E. P. Taylor, president and founder of Argus, respectively. Following McDougald's death in 1978, Black paid $30 million to take control of Ravelston and thereby, control of Toronto-based Argus. … Read More This arrangement resulted in accusations that Black had taken advantage of the widows of Ravelston Directors McDougald and Eric Phillips. Though these accusations were never proven, interviews with the widows in their retirement homes in Florida were aired 21 September 1980 in the episode of the CBC's The Canadian Establishment entitled "Ten Toronto Street." This program is still available through the National Film Board of Canada Library. This episode covered the period during which Conrad Black became chairman of Argus Corporation following the death of John A. "Bud" McDougald. Patrick Watson, the host and narrator of series interviewed the two widows in their Florida retirement homes.

Black, for his part, recorded that the widows "understood and approved every letter of every word of the agreement". Other observers admired Black for marshaling enough investor support to win control without committing a large block of personal assets. Read Less 1979 34 Years Old Some of the Argus assets were already troubled, and others did not fit Black's long-term vision. Black resigned as Chairman of Massey Ferguson company in 1979, after which Argus donated its shares to the employees pension funds (both salaried and union). … Read More Hollinger Mines was then turned into a holding company that initially focused on resource-based businesses. Read Less 1981 36 Years Old In 1981 Norcen Energy, one of his companies, acquired a minority position in Ohio-based Hanna Mining Co. … Read More In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a disclosure was made to the effect that Norcen took "an investment position" in Hanna. The filing did not include a disclosure that Norcen's board planned to seek majority control. Black subsequently was charged by the SEC with filing misleading public statements. These charges were later withdrawn.

Read Less 1984 39 Years Old In 1984, Black withdrew over $56 million from the Dominion workers' pension plan surplus without consulting plan members. … Read More The firm said it considered the surplus the rightful property of the employer (Dominion Stores Ltd.). The Dominion Union complained, a public outcry ensued, and the case went to court. The Supreme Court of Ontario ruled against the company, and ordered the company to return the money to the pension fund, claiming that though the most recent language in the plan suggested the employer had ownership of the surplus, the original intention was to keep the surplus in the plan to increase members' benefits. Eventually, the pension dispute was settled in equal shares between the shareholders and the plan members.<br /><br /> Over time, Black focused formerly diverse activities of his companies on newspaper publishing. Argus Corporation, once Canada's most important conglomerate, divested itself of interests in manufacturing, mining, retailing, banking, and broadcasting. Canadian writer John Ralston Saul argued in 2008, "Lord Black was never a real 'capitalist' because he never created wealth, only dismantled wealth. His career has been largely about stripping corporations.

Destroying them." Journalist and writer George Jonas, the former husband of Black's wife Barbara Amiel, contends that Hollinger made its "investors... billions dollars". Read Less FORTIES 1985 40 Years Old In 1985, Andrew Knight, then editor of The Economist, asked Black to invest in the ailing Telegraph Group, and Black was able to gain control of the Group for Â£30 million. … Read More By this investment, Black made his first entry into British press ownership. Read Less Show Less Five years later, he bought The Jerusalem Post, and by 1990, his companies ran over 400 newspaper titles in North America, the majority of them small community papers. … Read More For a time from this date he headed the third-largest newspaper group in the world.<br /><br /> Hollinger bought a 23% stake in the Southam newspaper chain in 1992 and acquired the Chicago Sun-Times in 1994. Hollinger International shares were listed on New York Stock Exchange in 1996, at which time the company boosted its stake in Southam to a control position.

Becoming a public company trading in the U.S. has been called "a fateful move, exposing Black's empire to America's more rigorous regulatory regime and its more aggressive institutional shareholders." Read Less Black was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1990. … Read More In September 2011, after Black returned to prison due to the failure of his appeal, Rideau Hall, the seat of the Chancellery of Honours, confirmed that the honour accorded to Black was under review by the order's Advisory Council, which has the power to recommend "the termination of a person's appointment to the Order of Canada if the person has been convicted of a criminal offence."<br /><br /> Once the review process started, Black submitted a written application in defence of keeping his place in the Order of Canada, but failed in his efforts to persuade the Advisory Council he should appear before them to defend his case orally. Black then took the matter to the Federal Court of Canada, which ruled that the council had no obligation to change its regular review process (which allows for written submissions only) simply to accommodate Black. Black attempted to appeal the court's decision without success.

Read Less 1992 47 Years Old Their divorce was finalized in 1992; that same year Black married British-born journalist Barbara Amiel. … Read More Black flattered Amiel, describing her variously as "beautiful, brilliant, ideologically a robust spirit" and "chic, humorous and preternaturally sexy." Courtroom evidence revealed that the couple exchanged over 11,000 emails. In a February 2011, public Valentine greeting, Black wrote: <br /><br /> "My family," Black wrote in 2009, "was divided between atheism and agnosticism, and I followed rather unthinkingly and inactively in those paths into my twenties." By his early thirties he "no longer had any confidence in the non-existence of God." Thereafter, he "approached Rome at a snail's pace," and began to study the writings of Roman Catholic thinkers such as St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Cardinal Newman, and Jacques Maritain.

Having accepted the possibility of miracles and thus of the Resurrection of Christ, Black was received into the Roman Catholic Church on 18 June 1986 by Cardinal Gerald Emmett Carter, Archbishop of Toronto. Read Less FIFTIES 1998 53 Years Old Under Black, Hollinger launched the National Post in Toronto in 1998. … Read More From 1999 to 2000 Hollinger International sold several newspapers in five deals worth a total of US$679-million, a total that included millions of dollars in "non-compete agreements" for Hollinger insiders. Later in the year, Hollinger International announced the sale of thirteen major Canadian newspapers, 126 community newspapers, internet properties and half of the National Post to CanWest Global Communications Corp. Hollinger International sold the rest of the National Post to CanWest in the summer of 2001.<br /><br /> The Hollinger group of companies was effectively dismantled as a result of criminal and civil lawsuits in relation to sales of papers and intellectual property to third parties, most alleging misrepresentation and some alleging false or deliberately misleading accounts having been presented.

The costs incurred by Hollinger International through the investigation of Black and his associates climbed to US$200 million. Black claims a significant portion of the sums paid by Hollinger International went to Richard Breeden, the lead investigator. Read Less 2003 58 Years Old Black was ranked 238th wealthiest in Britain by the Sunday Times Rich List 2003, with an estimated wealth of Â£136m. 2004 59 Years Old He was dropped from the 2004 list. … Read More Black is a former Steering Committee member of the Bilderberg Group. Read Less LATE ADULTHOOD 2007 - 2009 2 More Events 2007 62 Years Old Black was convicted in U.S. District Court in Chicago on 13 July 2007. … Read More He was sentenced to serve 6Â½ years in federal prison and to pay Hollinger $6.1 million, in addition to a fine of US$125,000.

Appeals resulted in all the criminal fraud charges being dropped, resulting only in an obstruction of justice charge, and civil penalties from the SEC. In November 2014, settlements were reached resolving all claims. As a result of the initial verdict, he was fined $125,000 and sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison, serving a total of 37 months after two fraud charges were overturned by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, leaving one fraud charge and one obstruction of justice charge, and the 6 1/2 year sentence was reduced to 42 months. The $6.1 million fine to the SEC was reduced to $4.1 million in 2013.<br /><br /> Black was initially found guilty of diverting funds for personal benefit from money due to Hollinger International, and of other irregularities. The alleged embezzlement occurred when the company sold certain publishing assets. In 2000, in an arrangement that came to be known as the "Lerner Exchange," Black acquired Chicago's Lerner Newspapers and sold it to Hollinger. He was also found guilty of one charge of obstruction of justice.

Read Less 2009 64 Years Old The Supreme Court of the United States heard an appeal of his case on 8 December 2009 and rendered a decision in June 2010. … Read More Black's application for bail was rejected by both the Supreme Court and the U.S. District Court judge who sentenced him.<br /><br /> On 24 June 2010, the US Supreme Court ruled 9â0 that the definition of Honest services fraud used in Judge St. Eve (the trial judge)'s charge to the jury in Black's case was too broad, "unconstitutionally vague", ruling the law could apply only to cases where bribes and kickbacks had changed hands and ordered the US 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago to review three fraud convictions against Black in light of the Supreme Court's new definition. As ordered, the Court reviewed Black's case and determined whether his fraud convictions stood or if there should be a new trial. The Supreme Court upheld the jailed former media baron's obstruction-of-justice conviction, for which he was serving a concurrent 6Â½-year sentence. Read Less

Question: Conrad Black, jailed in the USA in 2007 for fraud, was the former publisher of which UK daily newspaper?
Answer: DAILY TELEGRAPH