Conrad Black sidekick pleads guilty
By David Teather
New York
September 22, 2005
DAVID Radler, the former right-hand man of disgraced media tycoon Conrad Black, has pleaded guilty to fraud charges in a Chicago courtroom.
The plea could prove a pivotal moment in the long-running investigation into the alleged looting of Hollinger International, the newspaper group that until last year owned The Daily Telegraph. "This is the first step in making amends for what has taken place," Radler's lawyer, Anton Valukas, said after the hearing yesterday.
Radler had been a business partner of Lord Black for 35 years and was the financier behind the flamboyant former press baron. But there were clear signs of a crack in the relationship last month when Radler was indicted on seven fraud charges, each carrying up to five years in prison.
US Attorney-General Patrick Fitzgerald said at the time that Radler would plead guilty and had agreed to co-operate with further investigations. Federal investigators disclosed in March that they were conducting a fraud inquiry into Hollinger, Radler and Lord Black.
There were reports in the US media at the weekend that Lord Black could in turn be planning to point the finger of blame firmly at Radler. According to The Wall Street Journal, Lord Black has been building a defence strategy arguing that he had not been a hands-on manager, and that any alleged misdeeds were down to Radler.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/conrad-black-sidekick-pleads-guilty/2005/09/21/1126982123168.html
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