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Memorable Events and Witnesses at the Conrad Black Trial

Posted on: Saturday, 14 July 2007, 15:02 CDT

CHICAGO (CP) - Memorable events at the Conrad Black trial:

March 18: First day of trial of Black and three other defendants on charges of mail and wire fraud and tax evasion. Black also faces charges of obstruction of justice and racketeering.

March 19: Black's wife Barbara Amiel Black lashes out at the media, calling reporters "vermin" after a missing juror delays opening arguments. She also reportedly calls one female journalist a "slut." Amiel later says the comments were part of a private conversation with her stepdaughter and about "specific journalists" who "know who they are."

March 20: In opening arguments, prosecutors characterize Black and his business associates as "bank robbers ... in ties and suits." The defence portrays Black as a victim stripped of the valuable company he toiled to build into a media empire, "preyed on by people who built nothing."

March 26: Hollinger newspaper buyer Mike Reed says his company, Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., balked at paying "non-compete" fees to Hollinger International executives, including Black.

April 2: Former Hollinger International employee Angela Way testifies that she mailed a US$2.6-million cheque to Black for signing a contract promising not to compete with a company he controlled. She also testifies that she sent cheques of $137,500 each to Hollinger executives John Boultbee and Peter Atkinson for signing similar non-compete contracts.

April 4: Former Hollinger comptroller Fred Creasey testifies that Black's use of the corporate jet for a trip with his wife to Bora Bora and other travel cost $7 million a year, and that Black regularly billed the company when he took the jet to visit his Florida estate. The price of the Bora Bora trip is later disputed by Black's lawyer. Creasey also testifies that he could not find approval for the non-compete payments and that those payments had not been fully disclosed to shareholders.

April 9: Defence lawyers cross-examine Creasey, suggest the non-compete payments related to the 2000 sale of Hollinger newspapers to CanWest Global Communications had been disclosed three times.

April 10: Black's lawyers suggest he used the corporate jet to fly to Bora Bora because Hollinger International had safety concerns about its executives. Jurors are also treated to Black's thoughts on the "shambles of a trip to the South Pacific" through an e-mail in which he says he "came down with bronchitis and almost drowned snorkelling as a result."

April 11: Toronto lawyer Darren Sukonick, who advised Hollinger International in its newspaper sale to CanWest, says in videotaped testimony that he told the company it could decide how to attribute non-compete payments. He later testifies that he also advised the co-defendants that the payments could be kept private.

April 16: Black expresses confidence outside court that the U.S. government has no case against him. Meanwhile, U.S. lawyer William Rogers testifies that he told senior Hollinger executive Peter Atkinson that a failure to publicly disclose the non-compete payments could lead to "defective" filings and leave the company open to shareholder suits.

April 17: Atkinson's lawyer says his client "spent a lot of money" to seek a second opinion on whether the non-compete payments had to be publicly disclosed because he wanted to make sure Hollinger International abided by securities laws.

April 18: Another lawyer who worked at the same Toronto law firm as Sukonick testifies that Torys LLP "dropped the ball" when it advised Hollinger International to keep the non-compete payments quiet.

April 19: A former Black litigator, Paul Saunders, testifies that Hollinger International executives were warned they faced a "significant litigation risk" by failing to disclose non-compete payments and understood the problem had to be fixed.

April 23: Hollinger International's independent auditor testifies that she was "surprised" to discover executives had not disclosed non-compete payments received from the sale of Canadian newspapers and pressed them to do so despite objections from Boultbee.

May 3: Former Illinois governor James Thompson, who chaired the Hollinger International board's audit committee, denies he approved millions of dollars in payments, saying he failed to read key documents carefully. Black's lawyer accuses him repeatedly of having approved the payments and lying about it.

May 9: Black's defence team asks for mistrial, accusing the prosecution of trying to sway the jury with "appeals to class prejudice" after memos are read in court mentioning Black's chef and chauffeur. Judge denies motion.

May 7-17: David Radler, Black's former right-hand man and the prosecution's star witness, testifies that Black was fully involved in a plan to divert the non-competition payments to himself and others. On cross-examination, Radler repeatedly says he did not know about a Canadian practice where prisoners convicted of non-violent felonies are allowed to leave prison after as little as six months. Radler also admits that payments received by co-defendant Mark Kipnis were legitimate and unrelated to any of the disputed fees.

May 17: Black dismisses the impact of Radler's testimony outside of court, saying "no jury in the world" would convict on his testimony. "I don't think he has any credibility," Black says.

May 24: Jurors hear testimony about 13 boxes Black removed from his Toronto office despite a court order sealing the premises at 10 Toronto St. in May 2005. Black returned the boxes a few days later and said he'd only taken them because they contained personal items.

May 30: Internal Revenue Service agent testifies that Black and other executives under-reported tens of millions of dollars in income received by the Hollinger media empire. Prosecutors rest their case, dropping a single charge of money laundering against Black.

June 4: Court hears debate over whether Black scammed Hollinger International by buying the luxury New York apartment that he lived in for six years rent-free from the company for $3 million, the same price the company paid for it six years earlier. Prosecutors say the apartment's value had skyrocketed, while defence lawyers say Black spent his own millions refurbishing it. Black's lawyers ask for another chance to question Radler.

June 6: Judge refuses to call Radler back to the stand, saying Black's lawyers were too late with claims that they had discovered new evidence that Radler lied during eight days on the witness stand.

June 11: Black friend John O'Sullivan says a posh birthday party for Black's wife was really a business event "masquerading" as a social gathering, supporting defence claims that the party was partly billed to Hollinger shareholders because it was also a business event. Prosecutors claimed the party was an example of Black's alleged disregard for shareholders.

June 12: Black and his co-defendants formally decline to testify at the trial as defence rests.

June 18: In closing arguments prosecutors tell jurors Black's behaviour "was stealing, plain and simple."

June 19: In closing arguments defence lawyers say U.S. lawyers have based their case on the word of a "liar" and failed to produce the "smoking gun" because there isn't one.

June 27: Jury begins deliberations. Black dismisses the case against him as "pure fiction."

July 10: Judge instructs jury to return to their deliberations after they declare they are partially deadlocked.

July 13: Black found guilty of three counts of mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice. Co-defendants each found guilty of three counts of mail fraud.

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Here's a list of witnesses who testified at the fraud trial of Conrad Black and three other former Hollinger executives.

Prosecution witnesses:

-Gordon Paris, who took over as its CEO after Black was forced to resign the position in November 2003.

-Craig Holick, who worked at International from 1997 and 2000 as a manager of corporate finance.

-Mike Reed, former CEO of Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., or CNHI, one of the companies that bought assets from International.

-Tom Henson, a Charlotte, N.C.-based lawyer who represented CNHI in its 1999 and 2000 newspaper purchases from Hollinger.

- David Paxton, CEO of Paxton Media Group of Paducah, Ky., a privately-held media company with holdings that include 29 daily newspapers and a TV station, WPSD-TV.

-Angela Way, Mark Kipnis' former executive assistant.

-Fred Creasey, former Hollinger comptroller.

-Darren Sukonick, Toronto lawyer who advised Hollinger International in its newspaper sale to CanWest Global Communications in 2000.

-William (Bud) Rogers, a litigation lawyer with Cravath Swaine and Moore in New York.

-Paul Saunders, a litigation lawyer with Cravath Swaine and Moore in New York and Black's former lawyer.

-Beth DeMerchant, former Toronto lawyer who advised Hollinger International in its newspaper sale to CanWest and Sukonick's boss.

-Marilyn Sitt, an accountant with KPMG in Toronto and Hollinger's independent auditor

-Richard Burt, former U.S. diplomat , who joined Hollinger International Inc.'s board of directors in 1994. He was also a member of Hollinger's audit committee, which was involved in overseeing the non-competition payments that are central to the trial.

-Marie-Josee Kravis, a prominent economist who served on Hollinger's board and audit committee until 2003.

-James Thompson, longest-serving governor of Illinois and former U.S. Attorney. Chair of Hollinger's audit committee.

-David Radler, former publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper and chief operating officer of Hollinger International. Black's business partner for more than 30 years turned star prosecution witness under plea agreement.

-Jonathan Rosenberg, a lawyer for Hollinger International's special committee, which was set up to investigate shareholder complaints.

-Paul Healy, former director of investor relations at Hollinger. Testified under immunity deal.

-Lance Bloomfield, a security guard who worked at the Toronto headquarters.

- Mahmood Shahab, a security guard from 10 Toronto Street.

-Monique Delorme, court-appointed inspector who oversaw court order sealing Black's Toronto headquarters.

-Jonathan Miller, a real estate expert.

-Shari Schindler, an Internal Revenue Agency agent.

Defence witnesses:

- Joan Maida, Black's Toronto assistant.

- Ken Whyte, editor of Maclean's magazine and long-time friend of Black's, as well as first editor of The National Post.

-Lee Williams, a former federal tax agent.

-James Reda, a New York executive compensation expert.

- Patrick Ryan, who headed the Hollinger account at accounting firm KPMG - the company's outside auditor.

-Larry Sicular, a Manhattan real estate appraiser.

-John O'Sullivan, a journalist who also wrote speeches for former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and has known the Black family for more than 20 years.

-Alan Funk, an accountant and former FBI agent hired by lawyers for Black co-defendant Mark Kipnis to review what Hollinger's auditors knew about the non-compete payments at the heart of the prosecution's case.

Source: Canadian Press

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