Go to Jail and Do Not Pass GO.
Bye bye Mr. Black looks good on you.
CHICAGO (CP) - Conrad Black fixed jurors with a venomous stare as they found the former press mogul guilty on three counts of mail fraud and one of obstruction of justice Friday.
The convictions carry a maximum penalty of 35 years in jail, if served consecutively, as well as US$1 million in fines.
As the charges were read, Black gazed at the table in front of him, then glared at the jury with his brow furrowed in a dark frown.
The former chief executive of the Hollinger International Inc. newspaper empire, once one of the world's biggest newspaper groups, had been accused of swindling shareholders of the company out of millions of dollars.
Black's three co-defendants - former Hollinger International vice-presidents John Boultbee, 64, of Vancouver and Peter Atkinson, 60, of Toronto, as well as Chicago lawyer Mark Kipnis, 59, were all found guilty of three counts of mail fraud.
The jury's decisions follow 12 days of deliberations. They heard more than 40 witnesses, 30 hours of closing statements and saw the presentation of hundreds of documents throughout the three-month trial.
"This is the probably the best possible outcome for the government. All they needed was a guilty verdict on one count for each defendant. They went well beyond that," said Jacob Frenkel, a former U.S. prosecutor who has been following the trial.
It was not immediately known whether former newspaper baron will appeal the verdict.
But another former prosecutor, Terry Sullivan, said the "mixed verdict" for Black "is very good grounds for appeal."
The fraud trial against Black and the others reflected an increasing trend of aggressive U.S. government pursuit of senior corporate executives, following the Enron, Tyco and WorldCom scandals that wiped out billions of dollars of shareholder value after accounting frauds.
Prosecutors are also seeking a forfeiture of as much as US$92 million because they say the money comes from the proceeds of crime. St. Eve said she will decide that issue.
The most memorable moments of the trial came when Black, who did not testify, made statements outside the court asserting his innocence and his wife Barbara Amiel Black called reporters "vermin" and referred to one as a "[censored]."
U.S. prosecutors alleged Black and three other former Hollinger International executives orchestrated a scheme to pocket about US$60 million in non-compete payments negotiated with buyers when that company sold newspaper assets, money that should have gone to shareholders. The so-called "non compete payments" - stemming from the sale of Canadian papers to Winnipeg-based CanWest Global Communications and U.S. papers to several U.S. buyers in 2000 - were at the heart of the government's case.
Government lawyers also accused Black fraudulently misused about $20 million in company funds on perks such as a lavish party for Amiel Black, a personal vacation to Bora Bora and a luxury Park Avenue apartment in New York.
The jury had 42 charges in all to consider - some interrelated - including 13 counts against Black, 11 against former Hollinger International executive Jack Boultbee and 10 against Peter Atkinson, as well as eight against former company lawyer Mark Kipnis.
Black was facing one count of mail fraud, eight mail and wire fraud counts, one count of obstruction of justice, two tax evasion counts and one charge of racketeering. A money laundering count was dropped in May when prosecutors rested their case.
According to U.S. statute the charges carry serious penalties - up to 20 years for each mail and wire fraud count, three to five for obstruction of justice, 20 or 30 years for racketeering and five to 10 for tax evasion.
The maximum penalty is rarely imposed, however, and the length of any prison sentence will be decided by Judge Amy St. Eve at a later sentencing hearing.
Black had consistently denied all the allegations against him, calling the prosecutors case "pure fiction" and suggesting he was the victim of an unfair prosecution.
Here is a breakdown of the charges:
GUILTY:
-Count 1: Mail fraud. $2.9 million in non-compete fees in deal with Alabama-based American Publishing Co. (APC) in the U.S. in the late 1990s. Maximum penalty is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
-Count 6: Mail fraud. APC non-compete in late 1990s. Maximum penalty is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
-Count 7: Mail fraud. $600,000 non-compete fee in deals with Forum Communications and Paxton Media in 2000. Maximum penalty is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
-Count 13: Obstruction of justice. Stems from Black's removal of a dozen boxes from his Toronto offices in 2005 despite a Canadian court order sealing the premises. Maximum penalty is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. GUILTY.
NOT GUILTY:
-Count 5: Mail fraud. $4.3 million non-compete fee in a second sale of newspapers to Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. (CNHI II) in 2000. Maximum penalty is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
-Count 8: Wire fraud. May 2001 memo to James Thompson, former governor of Illinois and chair of Hollinger International's audit committee, discussing fees in deal with CanWest Global Communications in 2000. Maximum penalty is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
-Count 9: Mail fraud. May 2001 memo to Marie-Josee Kravis and Richard Burt, the two other members of Hollinger's audit committee, discussing fees in deal with CanWest Global Communications in 2000. Maximum penalty is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
-Count 10: Wire fraud. 2001 proxy disclosing perks. Relates to use of corporate funds to pay for a $62,000 birthday party for his wife Barbara Amiel Black, his use of a corporate jet for a vacation to Bora Bora in 2001 and the purchase of a New York apartment from Hollinger for $3 million. Maximum penalty is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
-Count 11: Wire fraud. 2002 proxy disclosing perks. Relates to use of corporate funds to pay for a $62,000 birthday party for his wife Barbara Amiel Black, his use of a corporate jet for a vacation to Bora Bora in 2001 and the purchase of a New York apartment from Hollinger for $3 million. Maximum penalty is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
-Count 12: Wire fraud. Transfer of money for $2.15-million payment for the New York apartment. Maximum penalty is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
-Count 14: Racketeering. Relates to allegation that there was a "criminal enterprise" for Black and his co-accused collect money through fraud. Usually reserved for the Mob and difficult to prove. Maximum penalty is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
-Count 15: Tax fraud. Relates to allegations that of underreporting income. Maximum penalty is three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
-Count 16: Tax fraud. Relates to allegations that of underreporting income. Maximum penalty is three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
© The Canadian Press , 2007
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