Black's Ravelston Pleads Guilty in U.S. Criminal Case

[Joanne98]

Black's Ravelston Pleads Guilty in U.S. Criminal Case (Update3)

By Andrew Harris

March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Conrad Black's Ravelston Corp., a bankrupt private holding company that he used to control his publishing empire at Hollinger International Inc., pleaded guilty to U.S. fraud charges and will pay a $7 million fine.

Attorney Deborah Steiner entered the plea on the company's behalf today before U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve in Chicago federal court, nine days before jury selection begins in the criminal trial of Black and three other ex-Hollinger executives.

``Ravelston, through its agents, breached its fiduciary duty to International to refrain from acting to benefit itself or anyone else at International's expense,'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Sussman told the judge. The defendants diverted $100,000 in non-competition fees due Hollinger International to another company they controlled, he said.

Ravelston agreed as part of the plea deal to disclose any information it has on the defendants' activities. Black, 62, and the other defendants are accused of wrongly enriching themselves with millions of dollars in non-competition payments through the sale of Hollinger properties to third parties and companies they controlled.

Black faces 101 years in prison if convicted on all 14 counts and all sentences run back to back.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a6rEIRdZVYnY&refer=news

[daleo]

1. On the face of it, not a good sign for Conrad Black

But he is pretty well connected, so I wouldn't make any bets.

[Joanne98]

2. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[salin]

3. and yet board member Perle no longer

seems to be connected in news reporting...

[Joanne98]

4. seems to be but who knows....

I would be nice to nail his evil ass.:kick:

[salin]

5. we can always hope ... that the Prince of Darkness

finds himself in a little dark cell somewhere.

Lack of response suggests to me that many are not familiar wth Black, his pilfering of the company (which included a right wing media outlet) and the role of Richard Perle as a Board Member signing off on the pilfering.

[Canuckistanian]

6. He's well-known (and loathed) in Canada, that's for sure

His extreme RW views, his sheer arrogance and his abandonment of Canadian citizenship so he could get a Lordship in the UK makes him persona non grata here.

And his choice of friends is equally loathsome. Perle, Margaret Thatcher, Kissinger, Reagan....