‘They were like bank robbers …’

DAMIEN HENDERSON July 14 2007

The extravagant parties, opulent trappings and flamboyant lifestyle of Conrad Black and his second wife Barbara were given a thorough airing during his lengthy fraud trial.

The couple's flat near New York's Central Park - bought and furnished using company funds - featured Napoleon Bonaparte's shaving stand and a set of marble elephant carvings that cost £8900, a heated towel rail which cost £2200 and a £4900 set of Louis XVI painted stools with rails carved in a Guilloche pattern.

They were known among the world's political and business elite for throwing decadent parties in their home in Kensington, London. The couple also owned mansions in Toronto and Palm Beach, Florida.

Black was accused of cheating Hollinger International by taking the company plane for a holiday to Bora Bora in French Polynesia, billing shareholders £20,000 for his wife's birthday party and paying below the market rate when he bought a company apartment on New York's Park Avenue.

One of the jury's most important tasks was to decide whether this itinerary of wealth was the result of deliberate fraud by the media baron or, as the defence claimed, had been played upon by the prosecution simply to stir up jealously.

The former Daily Telegraph owner and once-powerful chief executive of the Hollinger newspaper empire was portrayed as a lying, scheming and ruthless businessman who, along with his co-defendants, swindled the firm's shareholders out of £30m and created an elaborate but bogus paper trail to cover his tracks.

Assistant US attorney Julie Ruder said Black and his three co-defendants were akin to bank robbers and street thugs as they "decided on their own" to secretly take a slice of the company's profits. "It was stealing, plain and simple," she said.

Black's conviction for fraud brings to end what some have called the "white collar trial of the century" and puts the final nail in his now-defunct empire.

The larger-than-life character with a ruthless business mind bought his first newspaper more than 40 years ago and went on to run hundreds of titles around the world.

But Lord Black of Crossharbour has seen his empire and power unravel in four years as he faced the racketeering, fraud and obstruction of justice charges.

Born in Montreal, Canada, on August 25, 1944, his entrepreneurial skills first caused him trouble when, at the age of 14, he was expelled from Toronto's elite Upper Canada College after selling his classmates' stolen exams.

He went on to read history at Carleton University, law at Laval and achieved an MA from McGill before buying his first newspaper, the Eastern Townships Advertiser in Quebec, in 1966.

His media empire began to develop as he bought more small Canadian newspapers before co-founding the Sterling Newspapers Group in 1971. Seven years later, he became chairman of the Argus Corporation, from which he launched the Hollinger group.

By the 1990s, Hollinger controlled 60% of Canadian newspapers and hundreds of dailies in the UK, US, Australia and Israel. At its peak in 1999, Hollinger had revenues of more than $2bn and Black was publisher of the third-biggest group of newspapers in the world.

His first marriage was to Joanne (born Shirley) Hishon, of Montreal, by whom he has two sons, Jonathan David Conrad and James Patrick Leonard Black, and a daughter, Alana Whitney Elizabeth Black. The couple divorced in 1992, the same year that Black married Watford-born Barbara Amiel.

When the British government moved to ennoble him, it was opposed by Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien, who used the Nickle Resolution of 1919 to rule foreign governments could not grant honours to Canadians that carry a title of privilege.

After an unsuccessful court challenge, Black renounced his Canadian citizenship and was officially inducted into the House of Lords as Lord Black of Crossharbour on October 31, 2001. Crossharbour lies near to what was then the site of the Daily Telegraph building in the Docklands. He developed a reputation as a merciless businessman with a love of suing anyone who crossed him.

But by 2003, his downfall had begun. Black lost control of Hollinger International when minority shareholders in the US accused him of siphoning off millions of dollars of their money in unauthorised payments to himself. A special committee of Hollinger's board found what it called evidence of "excessive" fees paid to Black and other executives, and demanded repayment.

He was ousted as chief executive in November 2003 and, two months later, also lost his chairmanship as the company sought £100m in damages in a suit filed against him in Chicago. Hollinger Inc, the Toronto-based parent company of the publishing company, also filed lawsuits.

Black countersued, then tried to sell Hollinger's key newspaper titles to the Barclay brothers, but was blocked in court by Hollinger International.

In August 2004, the special committee's damning report, which accused Black of running Hollinger like a "corporate kleptocracy", was made public by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. It accused Black and other executives of taking hundreds of millions of dollars that they were not entitled to. Black sued the special committee for defamation.

Then in September 2005, Black's former associate and long-term friend David Radler pleaded guilty to a single count of mail fraud as part of a scheme to divert more than £16m from Hollinger International. Radler agreed to testify for the US government and was given a reduced sentence of 29 months in jail.

Criminal charges of racketeering, obstruction of justice and money laundering were laid against Black in December 2005, followed by charges of criminal tax evasion the following year.

Black said he was entitled to the so-called "non-compete" payments which he was given and described the allegations as "monstrous defamations". He is now due to face a torrent of further litigation which could see anything that remains of his fortune drained.

He is also likely to be barred from serving as an officer or director of any publicly traded US company as the US Securities and Exchange Commission resumes its multi-million dollar civil lawsuit against him.

Ironically, he will be allowed to remain in the House of Lords, though the Conservative Party quickly acted yesterday to withdraw the party whip and the LibDems criticised the rules which allow criminals to sit in the house.

Meanwhile, Black is also trying to regain his Canadian citizenship. In an opinion piece headlined "I am not afraid", which was published before his trial began, Black wrote: "I have never been happier to be Canadian."

Who said what...
"My libel suits have been patiently waiting like racehorses at the starting gates." - Conrad Black, before the trial began.

"Bank robbers wear masks and use guns. Burglars wear dark clothing and use a crowbar. These four, three lawyers and an accountant, dressed in ties and wore a suit." - Assistant US attorney Jeffrey Cramer in his opening statement.

"I don't think he has any credibility. I don't think any jury in the world would convict anybody on the basis of what he said." - Black on his long-term friend and key witness David Radler, who pleaded guilty and co-operated with the US government in return for a more lenient sentence.

"I missed it." - Richard Burt, former US ambassador to Germany and one-time Hollinger International director, on not seeing non-compete agreements in documents.

"Are you taught this? Is there some kind of skimming school?" - Black's defence lawyer Edward Greenspan to James Thompson, a former Illinois governor and former chairman of Hollinger International's audit committee, who testified he only "skimmed" key documents.

"These non-competes smell to high heaven These were fraud." - Assistant US attorney Eric Sussman.

"The rules don't apply to Conrad Black. He wanted those documents out and he took them. Classic, classic Conrad Black." - Assistant US attorney Julie Ruder on Black's removal of 13 boxes of documents from his Toronto offices despite a ban on taking away anything that could be federal grand jury evidence.

What is the purpose of posting something this is broadcast all over the world, on television and on newspapers. Sorry but this seems pointless to me. maybe i am missing something, being new to the board. Are we not infringing on copyright by doing so

It's public information mate ! Do you have something against it?
Next time, don't bother to read my posts. Others may not be aware of what is going on and hence, the reason why I post whatever I post. Or, do you want me to check with you first, to seek your approval?

TRB

Didn't know you were so touchy about what you post. Anyone who is not aware of the Conrad Hilton case must be in Hiding somewhere. You cannot turn on any tv anywhere in the world and not hear about him and his exploits.Same with radio and Newspapers.

Keep on posting what you want, it seems you need to keep your name in lights. Having read a few of your posts, I will definitely heed your advice, and pass.