Disgraced Canadian Mogul Set For Release

The shamed former editor of the Daily Telegraph, Conrad Black looks set to be released from jail, after being granted bail, in his efforts to appeal against a conviction for multi-million pound fraud.  The Canadian billionaire was found guilty of stealing from the now defunct media holding company Hollinger in 2007 and trying to cover up his crimes.  If the 65-year old is released, he will have served less than half of his sentence in jail, having begun it in March 2008.

Black has applied immediately for his release after justices of the Supreme Court in America ruled last month that the law used to convict him on three charges of fraud was too lax.  He now awaits his fate, as another area of court in America will decide whether to quash his convictions.  Conrad Black was born in Montreal in 1944 and bought his first newspaper at the tender age of 22.  In 1986, he took over as owner of The Daily Telegraph and set them up as the first UK newspaper to go electronic on the Internet, in 1994.  Two years later, his holding group, Hollinger’s was placed on the New York Stock Exchange.  Known for his swagger lifestyle and the ability to mix it in with top celebrities, Black had it all, a real challenger to Rupert Murdoch’s domination of the media sector, certainly in the press industry.  However, like Murdoch’s previous challenger, Robert Maxwell, it turned out that Black had built up his empire on lies and deception. 

It started in June 2003, when he agreed to an internal investigation into payments to himself and other directors of Hollinger.  Once complete, he resigned as chief executive and sold his Daily Telegraph titles to the Barclay Brothers for £665million.  What followed next was attack and counter attacks of court threats, suing for defamation and allegations of fraud, made by Hollinger International.  In October 2004, a US court cleared Black of a $1.2billion suit brought by Hollinger International, but when former chairman of the company, David Radler pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against other in the alleged fraud in September 2005, the game was up.  Black and three associates were charged two months later and after a four month trial, he was found guilty of criminal fraud and obstruction of justice in July 2007.  He got a lenient sentence, six-and-a-half year jail term, when the maximum penalty could have been 35 years. 

Appeals have followed since, with Black always maintaining he did nothing wrong with any of his questionable business dealings.  Whatever the case, his image will be tarnished forever, even if he manages to weasel his way out of his convictions.  Many will hope the disgraced Canadian doesn’t come anyway near a competitive and thriving media industry once he gets released from jail.