Lord Black is off to the Big House (eventually)

He has until March 3rd to provide himself to Federal officials at the Coleman Federal Prison Camp, a Florida prison that seems to be home to a large number of white collar criminals. Originally his Lordship was sentenced to Eglin Federal Prison camp, but a twist in the incarceration road came up, as it turns out it that Eglin has been reported as being a closed facility now, apparently due to cutbacks and it's rather soft reputation. An unfortunate development, considering the relative comfort that it provided as far as being incarcerated would go.

For Conrad Black, Coleman will be his home for seventy eight months, as the bigger than life Press Baron of Canada who the world watched tumble spectacularly over the last few years, completes that downfall meted out in a Chicago courtroom.

The end of the current judicial battle came today in a Chicago court room, when Illinois Judge Amy St. Eve proclaimed that “I frankly cannot understand how someone of your stature could engage in the conduct you did.”

With that declaration Black was sentenced to his time at the federal prison camp, a place that will be his stage until near his seventieth birthday.

While he had a few words for the judge in his statement to the court, it wasn’t the lengthy address that many had been warning about. Instead, Black expressed regret for the shareholders of his former empire who suffered because of the free fall in the stock of the company. An indirect reply that seems to suggest that he still believes he did nothing wrong and that the stockholders suffered from the net result of the subsequent investigations and incompetence of his corporate successors.

Once outside the court he provided a simple indication that an appeal (maybe more than one) is planned and that by that appeal he is still proclaiming his innocence.

“I think the fact we’re appealing speaks for itself.”

While the appeals process works its way through the American Legal System, Perhaps Mr. Black may wish to learn more about what’s ahead for him.

While it’s not quite a gulag, a prison is still a prison, he will have a cubicle, he will have mundane jobs to tend to and he’ll have lots and lots of free time to ponder among other things, whether sneaking 13 boxes out of a Toronto office building (captured on an in house video system) really was such a wise thing to do after all.

Being a learned man, Black enjoys reading and writing. He’ll have plenty of time to do both over 78 months, no doubt ready to churn out more of his historical tomes and perhaps even to recount his travels in American business empires and subsequently the legal system.

But if he’s looking for a heads up on life in the camps, there’s no shortage of first hand accounts to look up on a Google search.

Or if he prefers he can pick up a book by David Novak, a first time felon who served his time at Eglin, working in the bakery and making notes of his surroundings.

It’s a fairly in depth review of the routine of the prison camp life, the dramas, the attitudes, the food and even the occasional fights. Novak put his time in the camp to good use, he now provides consultations with prison bound CEO’s to give them an advance look at how their life is about to change.

Eglin has been the home to some of America’s most upper echelons of criminals, from politicians to corporate leaders, the well manicured and fence less lawns have been their punishment for misdeeds done.

If they have a guest book, Convict Black will no doubt find many people that he has perhaps rubbed shoulders with in the past have passed through their doors, his name now one soon to be added to the list of those that have been punished, all the while keeping a few of the social graces.

.

And while Eglin has been closed, we suspect that Coleman probably offers many of the same scenarios that Novak outlined in his reflections of a convicted man.

.
Then again, perhaps Mr. Black will request to serve his time in the United Kingdom, having surrendered his Canadian citizenship to become a Lord, he can't take advantage of the Canada/US incarceration agreement that could have seen him serve his time in a Canadian prison and qualify for parole earlier that the American requirement of having served 85% of your sentence.

England has a similar policy of early parole for good behaviour, so before they strip him of his Lordship, he may be able to parlay his Instant Britishness for a cell and time frame more to his liking.

Then again, nothing beats the Florida sun in the winter time, surely a much more civilized place to serve your time than a rainy British prison or a snowbound Canadian institution.

What Lord Black should expect:

Welcome to Club Fed

From the Penthouse to the Big House

BEST PLACE TO BE INCARCERATED: EGLIN FEDERAL PRISON CAMP

Judge agrees to support chosen prison

The Coverage of Black Monday:

New York Times--Black Given Prison Term Over Fraud

Georgia Strait--Conrad Black sentenced to 6.5 years

Chicago Tribune--Unbowed Black gets 6 1/2 years

Chicago Tribune--Last note sounds for Black

Chicago Sun Times--Judge cuts Conrad Black a break, gives him 78 months

National Post--I feel sorry for Conrad Black

National Post--6 1/2 YEARS

National Post--Live Blog: Conrad Black sentenced to 6.5 years, fined $125,000

London Free Press--World hasn't heard the last from Conrad

Financial Times UK--Black faces eight years in prison

Telegraph UK--Conrad Black was author of his own demise

The Age Australia--Judge Jails Conrad Black

BBC--Did Conrad Black get off lightly?

Editor and Publisher--Conrad Black Gets 6 1/2 Years in Prison

Globe and Mail--Black gets 6½ year jail term

Globe and Mail--Lord Black's day of reckoning

The Toronto Star--Black sentenced to 6.5 years

CBC News--Conrad Black sentenced to 78 months in jail

CTV News--Conrad Black sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison

In the hour of his defeat, Lord Black plays second fiddle in Chicago.

While the House of Lords took the time to advise that Conrad Black’s already sketchy attendance won’t be required any more, and the Canadian newspapers worked on their headline zingers. Chicago, the scene of what for Canadians was one of the biggest of corporate malfeasance trials in our history, seems to have merely shrugged.

Conrad Who, they might have asked, for while we above the 49th think that those four guilty verdicts make for a big story, a much larger more seductive one is happening in a different Illinois court room. Five members of “the Chicago outfit”, the name given to the Calabrese crime family have begun their own journey through the court rooms of American justice. Now that’s a trial that has captivated the people of Chicago. Familiar as they have become of course to the exotic intimacy with the ways of gangsters and such.

It hardly seems fair; after all the Black trial itself has featured some of the same kind of drama and imagery that your average mob trial might showcase. Complete with the well dressed accused Boss of all bosses, a strong leader, secure in his own bravado and not afraid to make a few hits along the way (just ask the folks at Argus, Massey Ferguson, Dominion Stores, Hollinger, Standard Radio et al).

.

There were the three sub commanders (capos if you will) who along the way did the Big man’s bidding and suffered their fates for it. And for good measure, there was even the turncoat, David Radler, who in order save his own skin, did a Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, and sang a song that the Feds wanted the jury to hear. We wonder if he’s now known as Radler the Rat in certain Rosedale circles.

All in all, the stage was set to bring down the Lord’s Empire, if only a jury could see it the way that the US attorney saw it. The trial itself featured one of Canada’s top lawyers, Edward Greenspan, who has built up a rather remarkable reputation above the 49th for his zeal in the defence he offers up for his clients. Early on in the preparation for the case, Greenspan declared that the Prosecution was on a witch hunt, and confidently predicted he would get his client off. But, in the knuckle duster arena of a Chicago court room, the Canadian came up short, playing on the road as it was, seemed to affect his game and in the end whatever legend he brought from Canada didn’t seem to sway the twelve jurors in the Chicago court of Judge Amy St. Eve.

For Conrad Black, that jury of his American peers (hardly we suspect he might say, but they did the best they could) decided that a video tape of him loading up boxes of files into a waiting limousine, was probably enough of a smoking gun to put the wheels of incarceration in motion. For good measure they found that three counts of mail fraud should stick as well and for those fine deliberations, Lord Black will now wait until November 30th to find out his fate.

It’s been a remarkable trial, one full of bombast and legal maneuvers that you just wouldn’t see on your reruns of the CBC’s The Associates or This is Wonderland.

.

Executive crime is now a big deal in the USA, with World Com and Enron the templates for juries across America to base their views on corporate skullduggery. Black had the misfortune to find his case tried in an era where getting the big business tycoons has become in fashion. Though few might have been excused if they thought that His Lordship (he’s still entitled to the title despite his now near criminal status) would find a way out of his troubles, when the jury came back as a deadlocked jury at the start of the week, many felt that the end of the government’s case was near and that Mr. Black would be able to declare a victory in his always subtle and understated ways.

But, a patient judge summoned the jury to stay at the task at hand, seek out a consensus and ask for any direction they might need. As the days clicked by with no verdict forthcoming, it seemed that as anyone familiar with the plot to 12 angry men would know, the accused would soon be set free. The longer the jury deliberates the rule of thumb goes, the less the chance of a guilty verdict.

So much we guess, for rule of thumb. While his attorney’s have promised a vigorous appeal process based on law, Lord Black stands to face somewhere between 16 to 35 years in prison for his crimes. At 62, Black the once iron man of North American media will be well into his eighties and maybe his nineties, before he sets foot outside of a prison wall. And thanks to his bitter feud with Canadian authorities over his citizenship, he won’t even be able to spend that time in the friendlier confines of a Canadian prison with its promise of an earlier parole.

In fact, as he’s considered a British subject, it seems that if forced to stay in the USA, he’ll not be able to take advantage of the relative ease of the Club Fed program, but instead will find a home in a minimum security prison somewhere in America far away from the strata that he used to shine in. Perhaps the House of Lords can call in a few favours and have one of their own brought home to serve his debt on the shores of the Motherland.

There of course is still much ahead before we will see Lord Black trade in his tailor made suits for a prison jump suit, the appeals process promises to be a lengthy one, and you can bet that Lord Black’s lawyers will not rest until every avenue is exhausted. In fact, quite a few observers suggest that he has some pretty good ground to stand on when it comes to an appeal and may yet find success in an American court. But the fact that he’s now facing incarceration is something that he probably never really thought would come to pass and surely something that seems alien to a man of accomplishment. It must be a very sobering thought for a man used to controlling his own destiny.

It’s yet another remarkable chapter to add to his lengthy biography. Over the years he’s made more than few enemies, many the unseen victims of his climb to the top of the Empire, a group who collectively won’t be feeling much sorrow at the fate of the former icon of Canadian of industry. His many quotes, while always entertaining, frequently raised temperatures and made him a lightning rod for Canadians of all persuasions.

As it has played out in the courts of the USA, perhaps Lord Black’s story is truly a Canadian story. Like many Canadians he turned his back on his homeland for greater glory and honours. And like many, he has since found out that all that glitters isn’t always gold. Conrad Blacks rise to the top was always bigger than life and his return trip in a different direction of the elevator of fame is likewise the thing of Canadian legend.

In the end, Black went to Europe and down to the United States to try to build his empire into an even larger holding, on his way on to greater things and a fancier title, he took pains to patronizingly dismiss his old country as seemingly no longer worthy of him.

.

Since those bellicose days however, a chastened Black seems to have had second thoughts about the land he forged his fortune in, (perhaps if only as an exit strategy from eventual American justice) he recently made attempts to reclaim his citizenship in that apparently failed state he left behind.

As it turned out, the only failure it seems rested with the man himself.
.

Below is just a sample of the volumes of coverage on the verdict from today:

Conrad Black found guilty of obstruction and could face decades in prison

Say it loud: Lord Black is too proud

Reaction: A ‘remarkable' verdict

Ex-media mogul Black convicted of fraud

Black found guilty on four of 13 charges

Black to appeal fraud and obstruction convictions

Jurors did not hold Black's riches against him

Radler gamble pays off

Memorable quotes from and about the Conrad Black trial

Bail of jail for Black?

Conviction forever stains his name

For Radler, better days are in sight

'Cruel and Unusual punishment'

A harsh fate, but one well deserved

Black's fall has British wags quoting Trollope

Self-ruined titan might as well run

Conrad Black, A Life: Compiled by Rosie DiManno

Black saga offers hard lessons

Post was wolf in sheep's clothing

Five factors that made the case

What stuck to the wall ... white-collar guilt in 4 of 16 charges

Black convicted, confined to Chicago until bail hearing

Justice reward

Fall of a Tycoon, CBC Coverage

Trial of Conrad Black a Timeline: CTV Coverage

Conrad Black found guilty on four charges; faces 20 years in prison, Global Coverage

There was Conrad Black headed up to look at a little newspaper in Prince Rupert.

It's one of those trials that come around from time to time, one that seems to take on a life of it's own. Money, greed and betrayal all the elements of a whodunnit without a dead body!

Most of Canada's media is following the trials and tribulations of Conrad Black and David Radler, today we heard passing comment on Prince Rupert's wee bit part in the unfolding Conrad Black drama in Chicago!


The rat stumbles out of the blocks
May 08, 2007 Jennifer Wells
Business columnist
The Toronto Star

At just past noon, he arrived.

The rat. The traitor. The turncoat.

He walked slowly. His head was bent. He would have looked like a penitent, were it not for the blazingly pink tie and the sombre suit.

And the loafers. Penitents might not wear loafers.

He moved to the front of the courtroom, where the daily flock of lawyers awaited.

He passed the partner to whom he had been married longer than anyone else.

He was sworn in. He seated himself. And, when asked the simple question as to when he met Conrad Black, Franklin David Radler replied, "late 1971 or early 1972."

Lordy, lordy. For a brief second I thought the entire trial should be tossed right out the window onto Dearborn Ave,, for if the star witness, who has pleaded guilty to fraud and is co-operating with the prosecution, can't remember when he met the man of the hour after days of coaching, then what is one to do?

"Sorry!" Radler quickly called from the stand, raising his right hand as he called out to assistant U.S. attorney Eric Sussman, like a boy seeking the teacher's attention. "I take that back."

Radler corrected himself. It was 1969 when he met Conrad Black at Au Lutin Qui Bouffe, the Montreal restaurant run by David Radler's father. A fellow named Peter White had a notion to buy a newspaper. Would the others care to join in?

And so began the telling of the tale of Mr. Black, Mr. White and Mr. Radler, or, as I once dubbed them, corporate reservoir dogs.

The threesome bought a money-losing English paper in a French-speaking town, Radler explained to the jury. Soon enough, Mr. White's role was diminished and a partnership perhaps unlike any other in Canadian corporate history was set.

"I was impressed with Mr. Black's knowledge and his ability. I thought he would be a great partner," said the star witness, who, as expected, was aglow in his ever-present tan.
He said this calmly, by the way. He smiled. He laughed on occasion.

There were no smiles that I could see playing on the lips of Conrad Black.

For the early part of Radler's testimony, Black's eyes appeared to be ping-ponging everywhere for fear of landing on the shiny pate of the one-time partner who has betrayed him.

Black had brought in reinforcements. His son, Jonathan, was seated in the courtroom alongside his daughter, Alana, and his wife, Barbara Amiel Black.

Radler appeared at ease, even when arising from the witness stand to point to elements of a chart for the jury, who have surely seen enough charts and read enough emails to last a lifetime.
David Radler does not do email. "I don't know how," he said yesterday.

The exchange reminded me of an ages ago conversation I had with Dick Chant, now departed but once a key lieutenant in the long-ago Argus days when there was no such thing as email.

He told me then that David Radler was a white-knuckle flier and that he was a "strange guy on energy. He goes along on a high and then he has to stop and regenerate his batteries."

Over the years, Radler had so much on his plate. Running Dominion Stores, by example, a business, he admitted yesterday, about which he knew nothing.

Radler would retreat, Chant said, to Palm Springs, to recharge.

It was David Radler, deal guy, who was on display yesterday, but often in the company of Conrad Black.

There was Conrad Black headed up to look at a little newspaper in Prince Rupert.

There was Conrad Black handling the transaction to purchase a paper in Prince Edward Island.
There were endless phone calls between the two men parsing all manner of financial and marketing matters.

In other words, Radler testified, even though Black operationally ran London and even though Radler operationally ran Chicago and its tiny-town tie-ons, the two historically moved in lock-step.

And, on at least the matter of compensation paid to executives by Ravelston, the top company above Hollinger, Radler operated as a direct report to Black.

Black was the boss.

Where does this get us?

Not very darned far, I can tell you.

Though I observed two journalists and one defence counsel nodding off, I swear it was not because the words "non-compete fees" were being used overly.

On the contrary, through his direct examination of David Radler yesterday, Eric Sussman didn't get close to the whole fraud business – as in, the improper funnelling of monies as a result of a bunch of newspaper sales.

David Radler will testify to that. That's why he's up there.

"I pled guilty to fraud, to taking money from Hollinger International in circumstances that were not allowed," he said in his opening testimony.

This morning David Radler must tell us how he did that.

Before the day is out, Eddie Greenspan will have moved in for the cross-examination, or, undoubtedly in Greenspan's mind, the kill.

Lady Black blows her stack!

His Lordship’s fair lady took out her frustrations on the ink stained wretches and electronically enabled members of the fourth estate on Monday, as Lady Barbara Amiel Black, wife of Lord Conrad Black of Crossharbour and the colonies blew her stack at those pesky intruding journalists.

As a couple of overzealous reporters’ pigeon holed her in her elevator at the Chicago courts during a break in the trial of her husband, Lady Black roared at them about their journalistic ethics.

Reportedly uttering a number of epithets including references to questionable sexual morals and a relationship with rodents, Lady Black who is normally rather cool as a cucumber became one red hot mad Lady of Peerage.

She recounted her early days as a reporter herself and how she would never stoop so low as to ambush a subject on a doorstep (or an elevator we assume), perhaps reflecting back to a kinder gentler time of Journalism as produced by her husband and his many journalistic experiments.

Her loss of discipline came as his Lordship’s case went into adjournment, with his lawyers making noise about concerns over a tainted jury pool, that after one of the selected jurors neglected to show up for work and a day after the prosecutions’ star witness was provided with a deal of sorts. David Radler, former Black confidant and appearing in the role of star witness for the prosecution, was given a 29-month sentence and fined US$250,000, in exchange for his co-operation with prosecutors. He is expected to testify against Black, in exchange for the reduced sentence.

Black is on trial for a number of fraud related charges and if convicted could very well spend the rest of his life in jail. Which would no result in a few more choice thoughts for the media horde from Lady Black.