Black conviction ‘a win’ for the authorities

Prosecuting attorney Patrick J Fitzgerald said that the court ruling had sent a clear message to boardroom criminals. ‘If you take liberties and break the law with other people’s money, there are going to be serious consequences,’ he said. According to a Business Day report, former federal prosecutor Robert Mintz called the verdict an unmitigated government win. ‘Although the unprecedented wave of major corporate prosecutions has abated, this verdict is further evidence that jurors are still willing to dissect complex allegations and buy into the government’s theories that tie the person at the very top of the corporate hierarchy to serious misconduct.’ Full Business Day report

Black was convicted of illegally pocketing money that should have gone to Hollinger International stockholders. Business Report notes that the jury, on its 12th day of deliberations, found Black guilty on three counts of mail fraud and one of obstruction of justice. He faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison, plus a maximum penalty of $1m. He was acquitted on nine other counts, including racketeering and misuse of corporate perks, such as taking the company plane on a vacation to Bora Bora and billing shareholders $40 000 for his wife\'s birthday party. Black\'s three co-defendants were all found guilty of three counts of mail fraud. The trial lasted for 14 weeks. Full report in Business Report

The end was brought about by Black’s inability and unwillingness to take stock of the shifting winds in corporate America, notes the Financial Times. His trial revealed new details on how and why the former executive engaged in a scheme to steal nearly $7m – of which he received half – from the newspaper company he created; the arrogance with which he sought to hide his crimes from the company\'s investors; and the final betrayal by his long-time friend and business partner, David Radler, that sealed his fate. Full Financial Times report

Jurors said that they had found Black guilty on four counts ‘despite’ the evidence of Radler. ‘He was covering up for his buddy,’ they claimed. ‘He didn’t really say much. He kept contradicting himself. The jurors’ comments came as the US Government prepares to file with the court their requests for sentencing and forfeiture. And, The Telegraph reports, even though the peer was found guilty of only four counts, prosecutors are also expected to press for seizure of Black’s assets, including the $8m proceeds from the sale of his New York apartment, and his Palm Beach mansion, reckoned to be worth more than $20m but still on the market after failing to attract a buyer. Full report in The Telegraph

The convictions provide an open goal for a crowd of enemies demanding recompense, say lawyers. The Guardian reports that the rump of Black\'s Hollinger International empire, renamed Sun-Times Media, is expected to forge ahead with a lawsuit seeking $542m in damages from Black, his wife, Barbara Amiel, and former colleagues, including Dan Colson. Meanwhile, the US Securities and Exchange Commission will restart an enforcement action seeking ‘disgorgement of ill-gotten gains’ amounting to $85m which was stayed pending the result of Black\'s criminal trial. Also, former Hollinger investors in Canada have a class action outstanding against Black while Hollinger Inc, the peer\'s former Toronto-based holding company, is pursuing him for C$750m. Full report in The Guardian

By greeting his guilty verdict with continued defiance, Black could, meanwhile, face extra prison time when he is sentenced for fraud and obstruction of justice. The former Telegraph chairman remained unrepentant as jurors disclosed that he narrowly escaped being convicted on a fourth fraud count and the more serious charge of racketeering. But although Fitzgerald has shrugged off Black’s insults, The Times reports that Judge Amy St Eve may take them into account when she sentences him on November 30. Full report in The Times

Once one of Canada\'s wealthiest and most influential citizens, Black is no longer welcome in his native country – his conviction on the fraud and obstruction of justice charges renders him inadmissible to Canada, reports the International Herald Tribune. And it leaves him with little hope of regaining his Canadian citizenship, which he renounced in 2001 to become a member of the British House of Lords.Without citizenship, Black is denied the opportunity to serve his US sentence in Canada\'s more amenable prison facilities. Full International Herald Tribune report