Conrad Black is bracing for a possible return to prison on Friday but says he is prepared for any outcome, including rebuilding his business career and returning to Canada.
Lord Black has been out of prison for roughly a year while pursuing various appeals of his criminal convictions for fraud and obstruction of justice. All the appeals have been exhausted and now Chicago Judge Amy St. Eve will decide Friday whether Lord Black should head back to prison to finish all or part of a 6½-year sentence. The hearing marks the final chapter in what has been a prolonged and precedent-setting case that stretched all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and fundamentally changed U.S. fraud laws.
"If I am sent back, it will not be for very long," Lord Black wrote in an e-mail to The Globe and Mail. "I do feel that I will ultimately win the battle, as the poverty of the government's case is clear and we got rid of their [fraud] statute. We took down all 17 of their counts and two were revived by a real exercise in gymnastics by the appeal panel chairman."
While the legal battle raged, Lord Black's newspaper empire collapsed into bankruptcy and nearly all of his business holdings have been sold or wound up. His health has deteriorated as well and he still faces a host of civil lawsuits. Despite all that, Lord Black vows he'll make a comeback.
"I live to fight another day and rebuild [my] career, all of which is unusual when someone is attacked as violently by the U.S. government as I have been. I won't be surprised by much and am ready for anything, and am hopeful," he wrote.
Lord Black, 66, was originally convicted in 2007 of three counts of fraud and one count of obstruction of justice over the misappropriation of $6.1-million (U.S.) at Hollinger International Inc., once one of the largest newspaper companies in the world. He has served 29 months of his sentence at a prison in Florida. He was released on bail last year after an appeal to the Supreme Court resulted in a reinterpretation of a key part of the fraud statute. That decision and further appeals led to the reversal of two fraud convictions connected to $5.5-million of the misappropriation.
Judge St. Eve must now resentence Lord Black on the two remaining convictions. A presentence report from probation officials has recommended a sentence of between 33 and 41 months.
9 comments:
If that happened in Canada he would not have been charged.
Canada is a joke.
That's why,again, no big shots from the Canadian political scene are in jail.
Would Americans take this corruption we have here in Canada.
I don't think so.
I would say the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE spelled out he EXACT same issues Canadians are currently having with their government.
Do Canadians need a REVOLUTION.
You're damn right we do.
And the sooner the better.
However, getting some information on e-health and Tony Clements 50 milloion dollar bribe would be a start.
But here in Canada, nothing but silence,even from the police.
And that's a sham.
There is a political class here in Canada who are ABOVE THE LAW.
This needs to be stopped ASAP, so the taxpayers feel like they are citizens ans well.
Anon 9:12
Totally agree with what you say. Canada is a safe haven for white collar crime. A land where there is justice for the rich and the law for the poor. What other country can you name where one can steal $500 million, be found guilty and sentenced to six years in jail, get out on bail for the last two years while awaiting an appeal never having spent a day in jail and probably never will. The case in point Garth Drabinsky. We are a joke!
Revolution you say, bring it on I say!!!
Oh, and I forgot. He also was successful in dragging the case through the courts for 10 years as well prior to his conviction.
Is it any wonder Canadians have so little respect for our justice system, the courts, lawyers, politicians and our broken parlimentary and democratic system. We need a major overhaul from top to bottom which many believe only a revolution can bring.
Found guilty and sentenced... and gets out on bail???
The sad part of Canada is that it is so obviously corrupted from the top down, that there is nothing anybody can do to stop it.
The power in Canada has been so centralized that unless people from within the system start whistle blowing then nothing can be done, full of full scale revolution like we see in Libya and Egypt.
When Canadians have no right to free speech, no right to natural self defense and no right to vote for their P.M, then we need a Revolution.
Canadians who work hard for a living, who make the fruit for the government to spend, should have some redress when things just seem so bad, it's obviously criminal.
Why do we have no Recall Votes like the USA has?
Why do Canadians not get to elect their Police Chief's, Crown Attorney's and Judges?
What about laws? Why can't Canadians get Ballot Measures like they have in the USA? Clearly, Californian's being able to bring a ballot for Gay Marriage is one example. I don't support Gay Marriage but I support the people's rights to put it up for a vote.
I could go on and on but us Canadians,us people, need to fight back from this tyrannical, oppressive system we have here in Canada that only benefits the political players and the Special Interests.
It's isn't fair,just and needs to stop.
It needs to start with the police keeping the politicians honest.
Until we have the police on the side of the taxpayers, We the People have NOTHING.
Mind my grammatical errors.
I was never an English spelling expert but somehow became a Master Plumber.
You figure it out.
You were right on thinking that Conrad Black would go back to jail for 12 to 18 months, since he going back for 13 months
"Found guilty and sentenced... and gets out on bail???"
Morton, we're waiting???
Post a Comment