Downfall of Citizen Black

前英國傳媒大亨與傳記作家康拉德"布萊克（Conrad Black﹐1944-）目前正接受搶奪公司資產的審判【案：已判案定可能20年刑期】﹐但更使他寢食不安的似乎是一本揭露他的傳記：
Wrong Way : The Fall of Conrad Black-US-
ISBN:9781585676361 (Hard cover book)
McNish, Jacquie /Stewart, Sinclair /Publisher:Overlook Pr Published 2004/1


英國報摘

今天英國的大報的頭條新聞都是：英國媒體大亨布萊克勛爵下獄。

《衛報》 報道，這位前《每日電訊報》老板布萊克被指挪用公司600萬美元資產。

美國政府要求直接把他送進監獄，擔心他可能會逃到加拿大或者英國。

雖然檢控官要求法庭判布萊克入獄15到20年，但律師們估計，他最多只會坐5年牢。

布萊克表示自己是清白的，其律師表示會上訴。

Downfall of Citizen Black


• Conrad Black facing up to 20 years in prison
• Peer convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice
• Former Telegraph boss embezzled $6m from firm

Andrew Clark in Chicago
Saturday July 14, 2007
The Guardian


Disgraced media mogul Conrad Black faces a lengthy stretch in a US jail after a court convicted him of looting millions of pounds from his Hollinger empire by embezzling funds from shareholders.
After more than 70 hours of deliberation, a Chicago jury delivered verdicts of guilty on three charges of fraud and one charge of obstructing justice - although the former Telegraph owner was cleared of a further nine charges, including tax evasion and racketeering.

Prosecutors are pressing for 15 to 20 years, although lawyers suggested it would more likely be closer to five years. Defence lawyers said Black would appeal against the convictions. Looking pale and drawn, he stared stony-faced in front of him as Judge Amy St Eve read out the verdicts. Co-defendants, Jack Boultbee, Peter Atkinson and Mark Kipnis, were also found guilty of fraud.
In a charged emotional scene, Black's family used a brief adjournment to hurry to his side. Barbara Amiel put an arm round her grimacing husband, who was immaculately dressed in cream suit and mauve tie, while his daughter, Alana, patted him gently and offered comforting words.
The US government petitioned for Black to go straight to prison, describing him as a "flight risk" who could flee to Canada or Britain. Defence counsel Edward Greenspan pleaded for bail to continue, insisting his client would appear for sentencing: "His life - his past, his present and his future - are all wrapped up in this case." The judge allowed Black to remain at liberty pending a hearing on Thursday, but she ordered he remain in Chicago; the peer was forced to hand his UK passport to the court clerk before hurrying away without a word.
Delivered just after 11am local time, the outcome ended a four-month trial and marked a final fall from grace for the press baron who once counted Baroness Thatcher, Princess Michael of Kent and Henry Kissinger amongst his friends.
Patrick Fitzgerald, the US attorney who brought the case, said it showed "grave concern" about integrity at the highest echelons of multinationals which had arisen when firms such as Enron and WorldCom collapsed. "The message is a very simple one,"said Mr Fitzgerald, who also led the prosecution of the White House aide Scooter Libby. "If you're going to take liberties, and break the law with other peoples' money, there are going to be consequences." There was a public interest need to ensure "insiders in public corporations dealing with shareholders' money do not engage in self-dealing".
The case against Black revolved around a series of phoney "non-compete" agreements attached to the sale of newspapers in America and Canada. According to the US government, he and his colleagues used these little-noticed clauses to skim as much as $60m from Hollinger. But of nine fraud charges, he was only convicted of three, amounting to embezzlement of $6.5m. The jury also threw out charges relating to his expense claims, and billing Hollinger for a holiday to Bora Bora and for his wife's 60th birthday party.
Outside court, Mr Greenspan said there were "viable legal issues" for Black's appeal against the convictions. "Conrad Black was cleared of all the central charges," claimed Mr Greenspan, adding: "We vehemently disagree with the government's position on sentencing."
Throughout the trial, Black has been at Chicago's Ritz-Carlton hotel. He protested his innocence and lambasted prosecutors in vitriolic language, declaring he was "at war" with the US government and branding his assailants as "Nazis".
A lawyer specialising in white-collar crime, Andrew Stoltmann, said chances of a successful appeal were slim, given the leeway allowed the defence: "I think Conrad Black has virtually no grounds for appeal. Judge Amy St Eve bent over backwards to give him a fair trial."
Sentencing was set for November 30 and Mr Stoltmann predicted five to seven years. Black would have to serve a minimum of 85% before parole, but such a relatively short sentence may entitle him to a minimum security "Club Fed" jail.



《泰晤士報》 標題是：腐敗的媒體大亨面臨20年刑期。

報道說，這位曾經是世界上其中一名最有權力的媒體巨人，被陪審團裁定掠奪自己一手打造的報業帝國罪名成立。

在美國芝加哥經過為期4個月的審訊後，他有三項詐騙和一項妨礙司法公正罪名成立。

文章說，當陪審團宣讀他的罪名時，布萊克深深地呼吸，並且迴避妻子的眼神。

《每日電訊報》 指出，這位"無情的大亨"是被貪婪和傲慢打倒。

布萊克被控在出售旗下公司時用不法手段謀取利益。

該報引述熟悉美國司法體制的專家說，預料布萊克將會跟"毒販、洗黑錢的人和其他惡棍"一起在監獄度過幾十年。

《金融時報》 報道說，生於加拿大的布萊克，其媒體帝國在鼎盛時期橫跨英國、美國、加拿大和以色列。

布萊克是在2001年在前首相、撒切爾「女男爵」（？）的推薦下進入上議院。

報道說，由於法律原因，目前政府還不能夠剝奪他的爵位，但是政府正在計劃修訂有關法律。

《獨立報》 在頭版幾乎用了全版刊登了布萊克的相片，並且在相片上印上：騙子勛爵。

該報說，在過去5年裡，布萊克夫婦在紐約的公寓過著豪華的生活，耗資460萬美元進行裝修和購置古董，包括17710美元的大理石大象。他們還被指濫用公司的私人飛機，花了公司53.9萬美元。

布萊克在離開法庭前被勒令交出護照，必需留在芝加哥，直到下周四法庭決定是否把他送往美國聯邦監獄服刑。

《每日郵報》 的標題是：布萊克能否在監獄生存下去？
布萊克的朋友擔心這位過慣豪華生活63歲的老人，是否能夠忍受惡劣的監獄環境。