Whether or not you harbor any sympathies for the former newspaper magnate turned white collar inmate, this is a quality, five-star rant.

-- MDT

Labels: Conrad Black

Sounds like he'll be serving out that six and a half year prison sentence...

Labels: appeal, Conrad Black, Conviction

Come on - you knew it was coming. We'll see how Lord Black fares.

-- MDT

Labels: appeal, Conrad Black

This is exactly the kind of thing that makes me love Portfolio. And very appropriate, given that Lord Conrad Black himself reported to the slammer today.

Check out the U.S.A.'s white collar criminal geography, right here.

--MDT

Labels: Conrad Black, corporate crime

Details via AFX.

And as always, background via the tags below.

-- MDT

Labels: Conrad Black, Fraud

Juval Aviv, CEO of investigative firm, Interfor stated in court papers that the recently convicted former newspaper magnate, Lord Conrad Black had spend the last few years squirreling away millions in anticipation of just this sort of unfavorable ruling. According to Aviv, who for the record, Black's attorney refers to as "an utterly untrustworthy source" Black has hidden as much as $40 million, with the most likely repository being Gibraltar. More here.

-- MDT

Labels: Conrad Black, convicted, Gibralter, Interfor, Juval Aviv

Just a brief news clip found here:

Hollinger Inc., a Canadian holding company formerly controlled by ousted-newspaper magnate Conrad Black, has agreed to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney's Office in the criminal prosecution of Black and several others.

In exchange, U.S. prosecutors have agreed not to prosecute Hollinger for any crimes committed by its former officers, directors or employees relating to noncompete payments diverted from Hollinger International Inc. to Hollinger.

Not good news for Conrad. But then he's been short on good news for a while now.

-- MDT

Labels: Conrad Black

Via The GuardianUK:

Conrad Black's right-hand man pleads guilty to $32m fraud

David Teather in New York
September 21, 2005
The Guardian

David Radler, the former right hand man of disgraced media tycoon Conrad Black, pleaded guilty to fraud charges yesterday in a Chicago courtroom. The plea could prove a pivotal moment in the long-running investigation into the alleged looting of Hollinger International, the newspaper group that until last year owned the Daily Telegraph. "This is the first step in making amends for what has taken place," Mr Radler's lawyer, Anton Valukas, said after the hearing.

Mr Radler had been a business partner of Lord Black for 35 years and was the financier behind the flamboyant former press baron. But there were clear signs of a crack in the relationship last month when Mr Radler was indicted on seven fraud charges, each carrying up to five years in prison. The US attorney general, Patrick Fitzgerald, said at the time that Mr Radler would plead guilty and had agreed to cooperate with further investigations. Federal investigators disclosed in March that they were conducting a fraud inquiry into Hollinger, Mr Radler and Lord Black.

There were reports in the US media at the weekend that Lord Black could in turn be planning to point the finger of blame firmly at Mr Radler. According to the Wall Street Journal, Lord Black has been building a defence strategy arguing that he had not been a hands-on manager and that any alleged misdeeds were down to Mr Radler. The indictment alleges that Mr Radler and his "co-schemers" diverted more than $32m (£18m) of Hollinger funds to themselves and companies controlled by him, Lord Black and others. The funds were largely in the form of "non-competition" payments - money that is usually paid to the seller of a business to guarantee that it doesn't immediately re-enter the market it has just exited. In this case, the money was allegedly paid to individuals, instead of to Hollinger.

Lord Black was ousted as Hollinger chief executive in November 2003 after an internal inquiry sparked by a disgruntled shareholder. The investigation eventually uncovered hundreds of millions of dollars that had allegedly been taken by Lord Black, Mr Radler and others in unapproved bonuses and non-competition fees and excessive pay. The company has since sued for the return of $425m.

A 500-page internal report accused Lord Black of running a "corporate kleptocracy" and of pursuing an "endless quest" for cash. Lord Black denies all wrongdoing and has launched countersuits against Hollinger. Lord Black craved a British title so much he gave up his Canadian citizenship. But his reputation has been left in tatters by the financial scandal. He has been forced to sell his lavish London townhouse as well as a mansion in Palm Beach, Florida.

Lord Black and Mr Radler began their business relationship by acquiring a small newspaper in Quebec in 1969. They built an empire of more than 340 titles, including the Chicago Sun-Times, the Daily Telegraph and the Jerusalem Post. While Lord Black hobnobbed in London, Mr Radler worked behind the scenes in the company's offices in Vancouver and Chicago.

The new management at Hollinger has since broken the company up. The Telegraph was sold to the billionaire Barclay brothers in June last year for £665m. According to the indictment, in one instance Hollinger sold newspapers to a company controlled by Mr Radler and Lord Black. It then paid Mr Radler and Lord Black's holding company Ravelston $1.2m "not to compete with themselves".

In March 2003 a Hollinger annual report disclosed details of "non-competition" payments - in one case of $53m paid into a Black-controlled firm. The auditors had insisted on the disclosures. Eight months later, Radler resigned with an agreement to pay back unauthorised fees of $7.2m. On the same day, Conrad Black quit as chief executive.

The original article appears here.

-- MDT

Labels: Conrad Black, General Re, New York AG, Quest

The Daily Caveat has followed the Hollinger probe for some time. Check out The Jurist for the latest news on the case. Here's a snippit:

Ex-Hollinger president to plead guilty to fraud charges

Jeannie Shawl
The Jurist
August 24, 2005

David Radler, former President and COO of Hollinger International and former publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times, will plead guilty to fraud charges, his lawyer said Wednesday. Radler was indicted last week on federal mail and wire fraud charges for allegedly diverting more than $32 million from Hollinger [ through a series of self-dealing transactions. Though the terms of Radler's plea agreement have not yet been made public, there is speculation that Radler will testify against former Hollinger CEO Conrad Black who is facing the prospect of criminal charges for looting the company.

Click on over to the full post for all sorts of embedded-link goodness, including PDF copies of the indictment and a pending civil suit that names both Radler and Conrad Black.

-- MDT

Labels: Conrad Black

Back in March The Daily Caveat wrote about the continuing troubles of newspaper man Conrad Black. Black and other Hollinger executives (including Bush politico Richard Perle) are facing potential SEC disciplinary action as well as possible Federal charges over their alleged looting of some $400 million from the company.

More recently Black was in trouble for looting of a different kind, when security cameras showed him leaving his Toronto offices with several boxes of papers. Black had been previously barred by an Ontario court from removing or disposing of any materials without the permission of a court-appointed inspector. Black later returned the documents, claiming confusion over whether personal effects were included in the court's document removal ban.

Black's troubles continued last week when the Chicago Sun Times reported that Black and his wife has both now departed the Hollinger board of directors (although Black still maintains his voting control of Hollinger International via a pair of Canadian holding companies):

A spokeswoman confirmed that the two resignations reduce board membership at Hollinger to nine, but she declined to comment further.

The reason for Black's resignation wasn't immediately clear, although it came one day after the Canadian-born investor was dealt a legal setback in a Hollinger-related court case under way in Toronto.

Black faces several civil lawsuits, and is the subject of a federal criminal investigation, all in connection with a scandal that began to emerge in 2003.

At that time, Black was chairman and chief executive of Hollinger International. After an internal investigation turned up evidence suggesting Black and investing partner F. David Radler had been defrauding the company, Hollinger International's board forced Black out of the top job. The ousted executive later resigned as board chairman but remained a director.

The board later filed a lawsuit against Black and Radler, alleging they misappropriated about $400 million through various schemes.

Black, a Canadian (who later renounced his citizenship to become a British Lord), is also still facing questions from government investigators in his home country where an accounting firm has recently been tapped to review his financial affairs.

Full article at the Chicago Sun Times.

-- MDT

Labels: Conrad Black

Hollinger International, the pubisher of the Chicago Sun-Times was already under investigation by the SEC. Now Hollinger and company execs "Lord" Conrad Black and David Radler are facing a separate criminal probe launched by the federal government.

From the AP:

Gov't Confirms Criminal Probe of Hollinger

Tuesday March 22, 7:10 PM EST

CHICAGO (AP) — Federal prosecutors confirmed for the first time Tuesday they are conducting a criminal investigation of newspaper tycoon Conrad Black, his former top deputy David Radler and Hollinger Inc.

The government acknowledged the investigation in court papers in which it asked to intervene in a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit filed in November against Black, Radler and Hollinger Inc. The SEC accuses the men of engaging in a "fraudulent and deceptive scheme" to take cash and other assets from Chicago-based Hollinger International, the parent company of the Chicago Sun-Times, and concealing the actions from shareholders.

To read the rest, click here.

The SEC had previously filed fraud charges against Black, Radler and Hollinger. Their November 2004 notice can be found here.

In other news, controversial defense department advisor and neo-conservative guru, Richard Perle is facing his own troubles relating to the Hollinger scandal. Perle, a Hollinger director, has recieved a Wells notice from the SEC, indicating that the agency has determined there is sufficient evidence to bring civil charges against him.

The Globe & Mail has the full story.

Hollinger execs and, apparently board members including Richard Perle are accused of looting more than $400 million from the company over seven years.

-- MDT

Labels: Conrad Black