Conrad Black, the former chief executive of Hollinger International convicted in July of fraud and obstruction of justice, is expected to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve in Chicago today.
Federal prosecutors told the Associated Press the sentence could be as much as 24 to 30 years and as little as seven to 15 years, though a recent court filing suggested the brash British baron could get a more lenient term. Along with several former business associates, Black was convicted of three counts of stealing $3.5 million from Hollinger shareholders.
They were found guilty of paying themselves tax-free bonuses from the sale of newspaper assets without the approval of the company’s board.
Hollinger once owned The Daily Telegraph in London, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Jerusalem Post, plus hundreds of community newspapers across the United States and Canada.
They were acquitted of nine charges that the government says would have brought the total loss to $32 million.Black’s attorneys have already asked for a new trial, saying it would be “a miscarriage of justice” to let the verdict stand.
Defense attorneys, who won Black acquittal on nine of the 13 counts against him at trial, have recently brought in Jeffrey B. Steinback, best known as a plea bargain specialist. Black has also hired Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz to help with the appeal.