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).
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).
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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As it turned out, the only failure it seems rested with the man himself.
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Below is just a sample of the volumes of coverage on the verdict from today:
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