Flamboyant former media tycoon Conrad Black faces up to 35 years in prison after a Chicago jury found him guilty yesterday of mail fraud and obstruction of justice.
After two weeks of deliberation, the jury cleared the former Daily Telegraph owner of eight other charges of fraud and one of racketeering, but convicted him of three fraud charges and the more serious offence of obstructing justice.
Black's three co-defendants, former chief financial officer Jack Boultbee and company attorneys Peter Atkinson and Mark Kipnis, could each face up to five years in prison after they were convicted of three fraud charges.
The government is seeking millions of dollars in fines and prosecutor Eric Sussman urged Judge Amy St Eve to send Black to jail.
"Even in the most conservative estimate, Mr Black is looking at between 15 and 20 years," Mr Sussman said.
Black (62) has been free on $21 million bail, secured in part on his Palm Beach house and his wife's $2.6 million diamond ring, but Mr Sussman said the bail should now be revoked. "He has had his day in court. Will he show up for sentencing?" Mr Sussman asked.
Black was allowed to remain free on a $21 million bond pending a July 19th hearing on whether bond should be continued. His lawyers said he would appeal and sentencing was set for November 30th. Black surrendered his passport in court.
Black, who gave up his Canadian citizenship to accept a British peerage, was accused of stealing $60 million from Hollinger, once the world's third-largest publisher of English-language newspapers.
Prosecutors said the money was disguised as fees he received for agreeing not to compete with buyers of newspapers Hollinger sold for about $3 billion.
Black was forced to resign as Hollinger's chief executive in November 2003 after an internal investigation found that he and the other executives paid themselves $15.6 million without board approval. Two months later, the board fired Black as chairman and sued him for $200 million.
The first criminal charges came in November 2005, with star prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, who earlier this year succeeded in convicting former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby, leading the attack.
The prosecution's key witness was David Radler, Black's partner for many years, who pleaded guilty to one count of fraud in a deal that required him to testify in exchange for up to 29 months in jail.
The three mail fraud charges relate to two payments of more than $2.9 million made by American Publishing Company for the partial acquisition of Hollinger, and a separate $600,000 payment from the Kentucky-based newspaper group Paxton Media.
The obstruction of justice charge arose after Black was caught on tape loading 13 boxes of documents from his office into his car after the US Securities and Exchange Commission notified him that he was under investigation.
Black was found not guilty of siphoning off company funds to illegitimately fund his famously lavish lifestyle.
Born into a wealthy Canadian family, Black dabbled in a number of businesses before he started his newspaper empire with a few local papers.
He hit the international big time when he bought the Daily Telegraph in 1985 and it was this acquisition that opened the door into a political and social elite that fascinated him.
