Conrad Black off to visit his Enron buddies at the crow bar hilton.

[retiredgrunt45]

Greed finally got the Best of Lord Conrad Black and now he'll be paying golf with his Enron buddies in his new wardrobe "stripped pajamas" at the crow bar Hilton resort. He would look good in stripes anyway and kudos to the jury, made up of average honest hard working people, who found the ******* guilty. I wonder if he'll have to give up his lordship title... As to his appeal, it may take... oh 20 years or so to see the light of day. Chalk one up for the little guys!!

Conrad Black, a man never known for humility or bland statements, once remarked that "like all fads, corporate governance has its zealots."
Based on the verdict of a Chicago jury – which, after 12 days of deliberations and a four-month trial, found the media tycoon guilty of three counts of mail fraud, obstruction of justice and a possible $1 million fine – he just ran into a whole gang of them.
Obstruction of justice alone carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment, with each mail fraud charge worth five years of time.
(His three co-defendants were also convicted of three counts of mail fraud.)

More on Link:http://finance.sympatico.msn.ca/investing/deirdremcmurdy/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5128058

http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/TopStories/ContentPosting.aspx?feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V2&showbyline=True&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20070714%2fconrad_black_jury_070714

 

[a_majoor]

While Lord Black might not be a very charming individual, I think this is a bit overstated.

The jury threw out most of the charges; when you sign a contract saying you will pay "no compete" fees as part of the transaction, then that is what the document means. The Paris Hilton explanation of the new owners change of heart (well I didn't, like, you know, read it) obviously didn't go over very well.

"Mail Fraud" as defined in the United States isn't a criminal offence in Canada, so far as I know, and since much of the alleged wrongdoing took place in Canada, there seems to be grounds for appeal based on jurisdiction and extra territoriality. Finally, the obstruction of justice charge based on removing boxes of effects from an office he was evected from might also fall on appeal, since I don't believe the prosecution provided proof as to what was in the boxes. (As an amusing side note, I believe an FBI agent who testified on this charge said the "records" in the boxes were 33rpm recordings of the type common before CD's and MP3 downloads.......). I suspect the appeal will go forward very quickly.

Reading Mark Styne's coverage of the trial, it certainly seems the prosecution did try to play the "class warfare" card, and when you look at the various payouts to the "investigators" and lawyers from the remains of Hollinger, it is very apparent the "honest, hardworking" shareholders were the last people the owners or legal community were concerned with. The new owners ran the papers into the ground, then looked for someone to blame.

 

[Shec]

Black may be a pompous and arrogant SOB however no less so than the legal system with its trumped-up charges. Non-compete clauses., whether they involve cash or not, are SOP.  Obstruction of Justice?  How naive,  the guy's just defending himself from persecution;  do you really expect him to say  "Here's proof I did what you accuse me of,  lock me up and throw away key"??  The scales of justice are certainly imbalanced - in fact tyrannical comes to mind.

What surprises me is that Black didn't take his $ and set up himself up in comfort someplace beyond the reach of the law industry like mutual fund swindler Robert Vesco did in the '60s instead of being the platform for a bunch of lawyers to practice their dramatic talents. Then maybe this would have been a story worth all the attention it got.

 

[Flip]

The American legal system can be described as puritanical with
the whole witch hunt implication and all.

Here's a guy we don't like - we'll invent the crime.

As to the removed documents, that violated a Canadian courts' order.

I though it rather salient that no shareholder had come forward to testify
that he/she had been cheated.

Lord Black is the perfect arch-villian except he didn't do nearly what
he was accused of.

My bet - not one day in jail.  The persecution can't appeal.
Lord Black can.

 

[FastEddy]

Greed finally got the Best of Lord Conrad Black and now he'll be paying golf with his Enron buddies in his new wardrobe "stripped pajamas" at the crow bar Hilton resort. He would look good in stripes anyway and kudos to the jury, made up of average honest hard working people, who found the ******* guilty. I wonder if he'll have to give up his lordship title... As to his appeal, it may take... oh 20 years or so to see the light of day. Chalk one up for the little guys!!

It never ceases to amaze me how a large percentage of the Masses howl for the Head of White Collar Defendants, the wealthier, the greater the demand for their blood. Not withstanding the fact that if a offence has been alledged they should not be brought to account.

Yes I think that all us Little Guys have been severely traumatized and physically effected by the dastardly deeds of Lord Black, so off with his head and good riddance.

Its a strange Society we live in which will demand that we rehabilitate Murderers, Rapists, Child Molesters and numerous other Violent Crimes under the assumption that they will make good citizens again and never re-offend. Where did the maxim of "Let the Punishment match the Crime" go, or did it really ever exist.

If Lord Black or Martha Stewart or the likes are guilty of these crimes, I think the most severest  punishment in their eyes would be that they have to give it all back and make restitution, if not then proportionant imprisonment. Like 3 years for every mil they don't.

But a system that can put them away for Life. But only Sentences a DUI with 27 priors causing the Death of a Mother walking her infant in a stroller on the side walk to 7 years, it or us IMO needs reevaluation. 

 

[PMedMoe]

I could care less if he's guilty or not, but now that he's a convicted felon in the U.S. he's applying for Canadian citizenship after he publicly renounced it in 2001 in order to become a life peer in the British House of Lords. 
I say tough beans and Canada should turn down his application.

 

[retiredgrunt45]

+1PMedMoe well said.

Sorry, but i have no sympathy for Mr. Black, you can say what you will about how he was charged, but his history of pillage, plunder and thievery speaks for itself. I'm in no way inclined to believe that he is a victim of the big bad American justice system. Years of thumbing his nose and laughing at the very people he was stealing from is what Finally caught up to him, it just so happened this time to be the Americans. And after fiasco's such as Enron and Worldcom, they don't take lightly to some rich tycoon living the highlife of their backs.

This is no different from the lords of old, taxing the pheasants into poverty, just so they could continue living in luxury. Only difference here is instead of pheasants it was the shareholders who lost tens of millions.

As for giving him back his Canadian citizenship, to bad so sad, don't pass go, off to jail you go.

The only reason he got off with the other charges is because he had two very good lawyers, Ed Genson, and Eddie Greenspan the dream team.

 

[FastEddy]

I could care less if he's guilty or not, but now that he's a convicted felon in the U.S. he's applying for Canadian citizenship after he publicly renounced it in 2001 in order to become a life peer in the British House of Lords. 
I say tough beans and Canada should turn down his application.

Why not we welcome their U.S. Military Deserters, or aren't you aware of that ?

 

[FastEddy]

+1PMedMoe well said.

Sorry, but i have no sympathy for Mr. Black, you can say what you will about how he was charged, but his history of pillage, plunder and thievery speaks for itself. I'm in no way inclined to believe that he is a victim of the big bad American justice system. Years of thumbing his nose and laughing at the very people he was stealing from is what Finally caught up to him, it just so happened this time to be the Americans. And after fiasco's such as Enron and Worldcom, they don't take lightly to some rich tycoon living the highlife of their backs.

This is no different from the lords of old, taxing the pheasants into poverty, just so they could continue living in luxury. Only difference here is instead of pheasants it was the shareholders who lost tens of millions.

As for giving him back his Canadian citizenship, to bad so sad, don't pass go, off to jail you go.

The only reason he got off with the other charges is because he had two very good lawyers, Ed Genson, and Eddie Greenspan the dream team.

Good point and well put,  SOUNDS A LOT LIKE OUR PRIMINISTERS OF THE LIBERIAL PARTY that's been doing it a lot longer.

 

[PMedMoe]

Why not we welcome their U.S. Military Deserters, or aren't you aware of that ?

They did not previously relinquish Canadian citizenship when something better came along.   
Not that I condone deserting but aren't they kind of applying under amnesty rules?

 

[FastEddy]

They did not previously relinquish Canadian citizenship when something better came along.   
Not that I condone deserting but aren't they kind of applying under amnesty rules?

Its amazing how we can bend the rules when it suits us.

At least there's one sure thing, our tax dollar won't have to support him.

We didn't balk at the  85 Mil for the Lebanon fiasco.

 

[Danjanou]

They did not previously relinquish Canadian citizenship when something better came along.   
Not that I condone deserting but aren't they kind of applying under amnesty rules?

Not really they have come into Canada under false pretences usually as visitors and then made inland refugee claims, which incidentally have all been denied for the first few already and they will go home after all appeals are exhausted.

There are some similarities. They were fleeing criminal persecution in the US and in theory Black could do the same, slip across the border and file a refugee claim in Canada. Technically as a felon it would be the only way he could regain his canadian Citizenship. Refugee Claimant to Convention Refugee to  Landed Immigrant/Permenant Resident to Citizen

 

[PMedMoe]

I'm not saying there aren't similarities but what ticks me off is that he already was a Canadian citizen at one point, gave it up for something better with more prestige (as far as he was concerned) and now he wants it back only because of the situation he is in now.

 

[George Wallace]

Conrad Black of ?

Spelling.....Guys!  Geesssss!

 

[LakeSup]

  Obstruction of Justice?  How naive,  the guy's just defending himself from persecution;  do you really expect him to say  "Here's proof I did what you accuse me of,  lock me up and throw away key"??  The scales of justice are certainly imbalanced - in fact tyrannical comes to mind

No, there are sercurity video tapes of him removing  boxes of evidence from his office after being charged.....this from someone who hasn't likely done a speck of physical labour for himself in his lifetime.  cut and dried.

 

[George Wallace]

.....this from someone who hasn't likely done a speck of physical labour for himself in his lifetime.  cut and dried.

So Conrad Black inherited all this wealth?

 

[Shec]

No, there are sercurity video tapes of him removing  boxes of evidence from his office after being charged.....this from someone who hasn't likely done a speck of physical labour for himself in his lifetime.  cut and dried.

So what;  did the all-seeing, all-knowing eye of a camera disclose what was in the boxes too?  Could have been shoepolish and Brasso for his Honourary Colonel's uniform for all we know.  You don't have personal stuff in your office? I must have at least 2 boxes in mine of assorted stuff that has accumulated over the years and if I want to retrieve a framed favorite photo of my wife or a bottle of medicine do you think i am going to slavishly obey some edict not to.  He may have been charged but was he barred from his office, did he break into it?  Sounds circumstancial to me.  If it  was proven to be material evidence why did he walk from the real charges at the end of the day?  It's the law being an ass as Samuel Johnson once observed, a mean-spirited  one at that.

 

[DaveTee]

I'm not familiar with all the details of the case, or the life and times of Conrad Black. That being said, I don't know why some here want to him "hang" more then they want people like Robert Pickton or murderers etc sent away. Funny I think, that we care more about the loss of money to people then loss of life.

 

[FastEddy]

Conrad Black of ?

Spelling.....Guys!  Geesssss!

Do You Mean:  Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour ?.

Cheers.

 

[Thirstyson]

Reading his biography, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_Black (yes, I know it's Wikipedia) Conrad Black done some pretty horrible things throughout his life.

Why are so many people here sticking up for him? It can't just be because of the charges, they aren't completely warrantless.