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Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour, OC, PC, (born 25 August, 1944, in Montreal, Quebec) is an historian, media proprietor, and former newspaper publisher. In 2007 he was convicted in the United States of three counts of mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice. He is at present incarcerated at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Florida.

With associates, Black managed and controlled Hollinger International, Inc., a Delaware holding company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Through multiple holding companies and subsidiaries, Hollinger International at one time owned and published important newspapers including Daily Telegraph, Chicago Sun Times, Jerusalem Post, National Post and hundreds of community newspapers in North America.

In 2003, a special committee appointed by its directors reported that Hollinger International had made $32 million in unauthorized payments to Conrad Black and associates. The report also accused him and his colleagues of running a "corporate kleptocracy." Black later resigned under pressure as CEO of Hollinger International. In July 2006, Hollinger International Inc. changed name to Sun-Times Media Group. Its publications then included The Chicago Sun-Times, The Naperville Sun in Illinois and The Post Tribune of Indiana. The company had agreed in 2004 to sell London's Daily Telegraph.

Black was convicted in Illinois U.S. District Court on July 13 2007 and later sentenced to serve 78 months in federal prison, pay Hollinger $6.1 million and a fine of $125,000. Black was guilty of diverting funds for personal benefit from money properly due Hollinger International when the company sold certain publishing assets. Black and other executives received 'non-compete' fees paid by purchasers who acquired Hollinger International properties.

Black was imprisoned March 3 2008 at Federal Correctional Institution Coleman Low, a low-security penitentiary situated 50 miles (80 kilometres) northwest of Orlando, Florida. Unless his convictions are overturned on appeal, Black's projected release date is October, 2013.

Personal relationships and family

Conrad Black was born in Montreal to a wealthy family originally from Winnipeg. His father, George Montegu Black, Jr., C.A., was the president of Canadian Breweries Limited, an international brewing conglomerate that had earlier absorbed Winnipeg Breweries (founded by George Black Sr.). Conrad Black's mother was the former Jean Elizabeth Riley, a daughter of Conrad Stephenson Riley, whose father founded the Great-West Life Assurance Company, and a great-granddaughter of an early co-owner of the Daily Telegraph.

Conrad Black's first marriage was to Joanna (born Shirley) Hishon of Montreal, who worked as a secretary in his brother Montegu's brokerage office. The couple had two sons, Jonathan-David Conrad and James Patrick Leonard Black, and a daughter, Alana Whitney Elizabeth Black. The couple separated in 1991. Their divorce was finalized in 1992; the same year Black married Watford-born journalist Barbara Amiel. It was said that marriage to Amiel affirmed Black's position in the British glamour set. Black flattered Amiel, describing her variously as "beautiful, brilliant, ideologically a robust spirit" and "chic, humorous and preternaturally sexy". Courtroom evidence revealed that the couple exchanged over 11,000 emails.

Early life and career

Black was first educated at Upper Canada College (UCC), during which time, at age 8, he purchased shares in General Motors. Six years later, according to Tom Bower's biography Dancing on the Edge, he was expelled from UCC for selling stolen exam papers. He then attended Trinity College School where he lasted less than a year, being expelled for insubordinate behaviour. Black eventually graduated from a small, now defunct, private school in Toronto called Thornton Hall, continuing on to post-secondary education at Carleton University (History, 1965). For a time, he attended Toronto's Osgoode Hall Law School of York University; however, his studies ended when he failed exams after first year. He completed a law degree at Université Laval (Law, 1970), and in 1973 completed a Master of Arts degree in history at McGill University. Black's thesis, later published as a biography, was on Quebec premier Maurice Duplessis. Biographer George Toombs said of Black's motivations: "he was born into a very large family of athletic, handsome people. He wasn't particularly athletic or handsome like they were, so he developed a different skill - wordplay, which he practised a lot with his father."

Black became involved in a number of businesses, mainly publishing newspapers, but briefly in mining. In 1966 Black bought his first newspaper, the Eastern Townships Advertiser in Quebec. Following the foundation, as an investment vehicle, of the Ravelston Corporation by the Black family in 1969, Black, together with friends David Radler and Peter G. White, purchased and operated the Sherbrooke Record, the small English language daily in Sherbrooke, Quebec. In 1971, the three formed Sterling Newspapers Limited, a holding company that would acquire several other small Canadian regional newspapers.

Corporate ownership through holding companies

George Black died in June 1976, leaving Conrad and his older brother, Montegu, a 22.4% stake in Ravelston Corp., which by then owned 61% voting control of Argus Corporation, an influential holding company in Canada. Argus exercised control of major Canadian corporations, including Canadian Breweries Limited, Dominion Stores, Hollinger Mines, Standard Broadcasting and others.

Through his father's holdings in Ravelston, Conrad Black gained early association with two of Canada's most prominent businessmen: John Angus "Bud" McDougald and E. P. Taylor, president and founder of Argus, respectively. Following McDougald's death in 1978, Conrad Black paid $30-million to take control of Ravelston and thereby, control of Toronto based Argus. This controversial arrangement resulted in accusations that Black had taken advantage of the aging widows of deceased Ravelston Directors McDougald and Eric Phillips.

Black resigned as Chairman of the struggling Massey Ferguson company in 1979, after which Argus donated its shares to the employee union. Hollinger Mines was then turned into a holding company.

In 1981 Norcen Energy, one of his companies, acquired a minority position in Ohio-based Hanna Mining Co. A filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stated that Norcen took "an investment position" in Hanna. However, the filing failed to disclose that Norcen's board planned to seek majority control. Black subsequently was charged by the SEC with filing misleading public statements, charges that were later withdrawn by "consent decree" after Black and Norcen agreed not to break securities laws in the future.

Dominion pension dispute

In 1984, Dominion Stores Ltd. withdrew over $56 million from the Dominion workers' pension plan surplus without consulting plan members. The firm said it considered the surplus the rightful property of the employer (Dominion Stores Ltd.). The Dominion Union complained, a public outcry ensued, and the case went to court. The Supreme Court of Ontario eventually ruled against the company, and ordered the company to return the money to the pension fund, claiming that though the most recent language in the plan suggested the employer had ownership of the surplus, the original intention was to keep the surplus in the plan to increase members' benefits. The company appealed the case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, which upheld the lower court's decision.

Growth and divestment of press holdings

In 1985, Andrew Knight, then editor of The Economist, asked Black to invest in the ailing Telegraph Group. By this investment, Black made his first entry into British press ownership. Five years later, he bought the Jerusalem Post, and subsequently fired the majority of its staff. By 1990, his companies ran over 400 newspaper titles in North America, the preponderance of them small community papers.

Hollinger bought a minority stake in the Southam newspaper chain in 1993 and acquired the Chicago Sun Times in 1994. Hollinger International shares were listed on New York Stock Exchange in 1996, at which time the company boosted its stake in Southam to a control position. Becoming a public company trading in the U.S. has been called "a fateful move, exposing Black's empire to America's more rigorous regulatory regime and its more aggressive institutional shareholders."

Under Black, Hollinger launched the National Post in Toronto in 1998. From 1999 to 2000 Hollinger International sold several newspapers in five deals worth a total of US$679-million, a total that included millions of dollars in "non-compete agreements" for Hollinger insiders. Later in the year, Hollinger International announced the sale of thirteen major Canadian newspapers, 126 community newspapers, internet properties and half of the National Post to CanWest Global Communications Corp. Hollinger International sold the rest of the National Post to CanWest in the summer of 2001.

In May 2003, following shareholder complaints, a special committee appointed by Hollinger International directors began investigation of internal financial management, particularly compensation and fees paid directly and indirectly to Ravelston's and Black's asoociates. The subsequent report supported allegations of impropriety and led to criminal investigations and ultimately, the unravelling of Conrad Black's financial empire.

Black was called before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in December, 2003 but he refused to answer questions about business dealings, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Black attempted to sell controlling interest in Hollinger International to British businessmen David and Frederick Barclay. The Hollinger board of directors sued to halt Black's proposed transaction. In February, 2004, Delaware judge Leo E. Strine, Jr. barred the sale and wrote in his judgement, "Black breached his fiduciary and contractual duties persistently and seriously... I found Black evasive and unreliable. His explanations of key events and of his own motivations do not have the ring of truth."

Lifestyle

Born to a rich family, Black acquired the family home and seven acres of land in Toronto's very exclusive Bridle Path neighbourhood after his father's death in 1976. For a time, Black and second wife Barbara Amiel maintained luxurious homes in Palm Beach, New York, Toronto and London. Black's Palm Beach mansion was listed for sale in 2004 at $36 million. He previously owned an apartment on Park Avenue in New York. When sold in 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice seized net proceeds of $8.5 million, pending resolution of court actions.

He also owned a London townhouse in the famous Kensington district and sold it in 2005 for about $25 million USD.

According to biographer Tom Brewer, "They flaunted their wealth." Black's critics, including former Daily Telegraph editor Charles Moore, suggested it was Black's second wife, Amiel, who pushed him towards a life of opulence, citing extravagant expenditures such as items billed to Hollinger expenses that included $2,463 (£1,272) on handbags, $2,785 in opera tickets, and $140 for Amiel's "jogging attire."

Black was ranked 238th wealthiest in Britain by the Sunday Times Rich List 2003, with an estimated wealth of £136m. He was dropped from subsequent lists.

Peerage controversy and citizenship

The Canadian Prime Minister originally prevented Black from receiving a British peerage that was offered on the advice of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, to be awarded by Queen Elizabeth II. Jean Chrétien referred to the 1919 Nickle Resolution, by which the Canadian House of Commons resolved that the Canadian Monarch should not confer titular honours on Canadians.

Black said he would accept the peerage as a British citizen rather than as a Canadian citizen. However, Prime Minister Chrétien still asserted that the Queen should not give titular honour to a Canadian. Black sued Chrétien, arguing that strict interpretation of the Nickle Resolution was payback for Black's political opinions and past criticism of Chrétien. Black lost the lawsuit and on appeal, the Court of Appeal for Ontario stated that the Prime Minister had a constitutional right to advise the Queen on exercising the Royal Prerogative.

In 2001, Black renounced his citizenship of Canada, which he called "an oppressive little world". Eric Reguly wrote in The Times, "The great man fled his native Canada for Britain. He couldn’t wait to leave, he said, because Canada was turning into a Third World dump run by raving socialists." Black's lawyer, Eddie Greenspan, later stated Black's citizenship: "was stolen from him" by "spiteful" former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.

Black was created a life peer as Baron Black of Crossharbour, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Baron Black sat as a member of the British Conservative Party until July 13, 2007, when he was denied the whip (effectively, expulsion from the Conservative benches) because of conviction. Black cannot be stripped of his peerage without a change in law. However, the British government proposed in a recent White Paper that convicted criminals be stripped of peerages and, if that policy is implemented, Black could lose his barony unless his criminal convictions are overturned on appeal.

It was on 26 September, 2006, that the Globe and Mail reported Black was taking steps to regain his Canadian citizenship. Although possibly a strategic manoeuvre against potentially serving a sentence in the US or being prevented from crossing the border following a conviction, Black, in an interview on TVOntario on 25 September, claimed that his legal problems had retarded the process by which he would reclaim his citizenship: "I always said that I would take my citizenship back, and if it wasn't for all these legal problems, I would have done it by now." He told interviewer Steve Paikin that he was working through "normal channels."

Even without Canadian citizenship, Black continues membership in the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, to which he was appointed by Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn, on the advice of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, in 1992. The full Privy Council meets very rarely and has no substantive power so appointment is honorific.

Criminal fraud trial

After an internal inquiry alleged that Black and associates had received unauthorized payments of company funds, Hollinger International announced on 17 November, 2003 that Black would resign as chief executive of Hollinger. By 17 January the following year it was reported that the executive committee of the board of directors of Hollinger had also obtained Black's resignation as chairman. A special committee at Hollinger, investigating the unauthorized payments, filed a lawsuit in New York for the recovery of the money, and Hollinger International filed a $200 million (USD) lawsuit against Black and his former top lieutenant, David Radler, as well as against the companies Black has used to control the publishing.

On 15 November, 2004, the SEC filed civil fraud lawsuits against Black and several others, and just over one year later, on 17 November, eleven criminal fraud charges were brought by U. S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald against Black and three former Hollinger executives; eight of the criminal fraud charges were against Black, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. After a hearing in late 2006, his bail was raised to $21 million (USD).

Fitzgerald laid four new federal charges against Black in Chicago on 15 December, 2005, consisting of racketeering, obstruction of justice, money laundering and wire fraud. Under the racketeering count, Fitzgerald was seeking forfeiture of more than $92,000,000 (USD). The obstruction count related to Black and his chauffeur removing boxes of documents from Hollinger offices in Toronto on June 9, 2005 contrary to a Canadian court order that prohibited removal.

The criminal fraud trial of Black and three other Hollinger International executives commenced on 14 March, 2007.

Verdict and imprisonment

After twelve days of deliberation, on 13 July, 2007, a jury found Black guilty of three counts of mail and wire fraud and one count of obstruction of justice and acquitted him of nine other charges, including wire fraud and racketeering. His co-accused, Peter Y. Atkinson, John A. Boultbee and Mark Kipnis, were also found guilty of mail and wire fraud.

Six days following, Judge Amy St. Eve sustained Black's $21 million bail and restricted him to travel within the court's jurisdiction in Illinois, and to his Florida home. He was barred from returning to Canada because of the judge's concerns over possible extradition problems.

On November 5, 2007, Judge St. Eve denied Black's bid for a new trial. On December 10, 2007, Black was sentenced to 78 months in jail. Twelve weeks later, he lost a bid in the Court of Appeals to remain free on bail while appealing his convictions. Black requested to be housed in a minimum security prison camp near Miami but the Bureau of Prisons denied his request and instead ordered him to report to Coleman Federal Correctional Complex near Orlando, Florida on March 3, 2008 to begin serving his sentence.

Reaction and consequences

Black told journalists he would continue his "long war" against the charges and said "any conviction is unsatisfactory". After the verdicts, Black's Canadian lawyer Edward Greenspan said, "The heart of their case was lost." However, former federal prosecutor and SEC enforcement lawyer Jacob Frenkel called it a "stunning victory" for the government and explained how a split verdict "highlights for the appellate court that the jury was very thoughtful and thorough in its deliberations."

Investigators hired by Hollinger companies have been examining more than forty bank accounts which may be, or may have been, held in the name of Black, his wife, or affiliated entities. According to court filings, Ravelston Corp. also had a subsidiary in Barbados called Argent News Inc. and another in Bermuda called Sugra Bermuda Ltd. A report by a special committee of the board of Hollinger International Inc. said Black co-owned two Barbados companies, Moffat Management Inc. and Black-Amiel Management Inc., which both received millions of dollars in payments, the former allegedly owned by Black and his co-defendants, and the latter by Black, his wife and Boultbee. If Black's conviction is upheld on appeal, Hollinger is expected to seek repayment of the fees; in March, 2006, the company said in a regulatory filing that it had spent $61.9-million on legal fees for Black, Boultbee, Kipniss and Atkinson.

After the verdict, New Democratic Party of Canada Member of Parliament Charlie Angus publicly called for Black's expulsion from the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and for his removal from the Order of Canada. The Toronto Star similarly called for Governor General Michaëlle Jean to remove Black from the Order. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper stated that Black would have to go through regular channels to attempt to regain his Canadian citizenship, that membership in the Order of Canada is the purview of the Governor General and that decisions about the Privy Council would only take place after the legal process, including appeal, had been completed.

Black's ability to re-enter Canada is uncertain unless he obtains dispensation from the Canadian Government. Were he to regain residency, "Canadian citizenship can't be granted to those who are criminally inadmissible and neither the minister nor the Governor in Council (cabinet) can override that," according to an immigration department spokesperson. The loss of his Canadian citizenship also makes it impossible for Black to be transferred to a Canadian prison where he would be eligible for parole much sooner than if he were to serve time in the United States.

Appeal

Black's oral arguments were heard June 5, 2008 by a three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Andrew Frey, the attorney handling Black's appeal, argued that Black and his co-defendants did not steal from Hollinger when they authorized individual non-competition payments. Frey asserted that the monies were "management fees" and that Hollinger International shareholders were not hurt by the payments. Appeals judge Richard Posner appeared to be skeptical, according to press reports, saying that "the bulk of the evidence has to do with pretty naked fraud." Posner also expressed skepticism in response to the defense's arguments that Black did not obstruct justice by removing boxes from his Toronto office commenting that, "The timing was bizarre, the removal of the documents in the middle of an investigation." The appeals court was expected to take several months before rendering its decision. However, three weeks later on June 25, 2008, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the convictions in a decision that called some of Black's conduct at Hollinger "ridiculous" and rejected all of the arguments raised by the defence. The appelate court found that "the evidence established a conventional fraud, that is, a theft of money or other property from Hollinger by misrepresentations and misleading omissions ..." The panel affirmed the jury's findings stating that, "It is not as if Black had merely been using his power as controlling shareholder to elect a rubber-stamp board of directors or to approve a merger favourable to him at the expense of the minority shareholders ... He was acting in his capacity as the CEO of Hollinger when he ordered (Mark) Kipnis to draft the covenants not to compete and when he duped the audit committee and submitted a false 10-K."

Black has 14 days to file an appeal to the entire 7th Circuit Court and 90 days to seek a review from the U.S. Supreme Court. He has ruled out trying to obtain a presidential pardon from George W. Bush.

Books and other publications

As a young man, Black wrote a thesis on Quebec's controversial long-serving premier, Maurice Duplessis, which was subsequently published in 1977 as a laudatory biography, entitled Duplessis (ISBN 0-7710-1530-5).

Black published an autobiography in 1993, titled A Life in Progress (ISBN 9781550135206).

While Black was CEO of Hollinger International, the company spent millions of dollars purchasing collections of private papers of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.. Black subsequently completed a 1,280-page biography, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Champion of Freedom (ISBN 978-1586481841), in 2003.

In 2004, Black wrote an essay on the possible results had the Japanese not bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, for the imaginary history book What Might Have Been edited by Andrew Roberts.

Published in 2007, Black's Richard M. Nixon: A Life in Full (ISBN 978-1586485191), was a biography of US President Richard Nixon that runs 1,152 pages.

Biographies and portrayal in popular culture

• The documentary film Citizen Black, which premiered at the 2004 Montreal and Cambridge film festivals, traces Black's life and filmmaker Debbie Melnyk's attempts in 2003 to interview Black, and her eventual interview. US prosecutors subpoenad unused footage of a 2003 shareholders meeting for use in Black's trial.
• Canadian actor Albert Schultz portrayed Black in the 2006 CTV movie Shades of Black.
• Bower's biography Conrad and Lady Black: Dancing on the Edge (ISBN 0007232349) was published in 2006 by Harper Collins. It was republished in August 2007 with an additional chapter reporting on the trial and its outcomes.
• There is talk of two dramas based on his life: one from Tom Bower and Andrew Lloyd Webber and another from Alistair Beaton.
• The last authorized portrait busts of Conrad Black and Barbara Amiel were created between 2001-2002 by Canadian sculptor Dr. Elizabeth Bradford Holbrook and arranged by noted Canadian artist Christian Corbet.

References

1. Wisniewski, Mary and Warmbir, Steve "Conrad Black jury delivers mixed verdict" Chicago Sun-Times, July 13, 2007, accessed June 9, 2008
2. Reuters: "Countersuit by Hollinger Claims Fraud" New York Times, July 7, 2006
3. Herman,Eric Associated Press: "Hollinger International sells Telegraph" Chicago Sun-Times, Jun 23 2004
4. BBC News Business: "Conrad Black convicted of fraud" July 13, 2007
5. BOP FCI Coleman Low
6. thePeerage.com - Main Page
7. ^ Clark, Andrew: "At some level, he's still asking the same question as he was when he was seven or eight - who am I?" The Guardian, March 16, 2007
8. ^ Bower, Tom: Conrad & Lady Black - Dancing on the Edge (London: HarperPress, 2006),
9. CBC News: "Conrad Black: Timeline" Updated June 5, 2008
10. ^ Olive, David "A Conrad Black timeline", Toronto Star, March 11, 2007, accessed June 9, 2008
11. Canadian Labour Congress: Dominion Food Stores
12. Randall, Jeff; BBC Money Programme: Nine News: The Rise and Fall of Citizen Black; November 21, 2004
13. Hollinger Hell: Jerusalem Post Suit Filed Here
14. CBC News "Conrad Black: Timeline"
15. Herman, Eric"Judge stymies Black" Chicago Sun-Times, February 27, 2004
16. CBC News: "Conrad Black charged . . . " cbcnews.ca November 17, 2005
17. U.S.D.O.J. "Press Release" December 15, 2005
18. Timmons, Heather: "Conrad Black sells London townhouse" International Herald Tribune, May 20 2005
19. The Sundy Times Rich List 2003
20. Black v Chrétien: suing a Minister of the Crown for abuse of power, misfeasance in public office and negligence
21. Black is back and ready for a fight... - Times Online
22. Eddie Greenspan '68 Confident Conrad Black will Win in Court
23. "Rozenberg, Joshua; Daily Telegraph: No comfort for Conrad Black; July 15, 2007
24. CBC News: Conrad Black wants to be Canadian again; September 26, 2006
25. BBC News: Conrad Black: Where did it all go wrong?; February 27, 2004
26. BBC News: Lord Black is charged with fraud; November 15, 2004
27. CTV.ca | Black guilty on 4 charges, including obstruction
28. Waldie, Paul; The Globe and Mail: Trump may testify for Black; March 14, 2007
29. CBC News: Conrad Black guilty of obstruction and mail fraud; July 13, 2007
30. Harris, Andrew; Bloomberg.com: Black to Remain Free Until Sentencing, Judge Rules; July 19, 2007
31. TheStar.com | World | Judge bars Black from returning to Canada
32. CBC News Conrad Black sentenced to 78 months in jail; December 10, 2007
33. Waldie, Paul; The Globe and Mail: Black gets bail – but is confined to U.S.; July 19, 2007
34. Fall of an arrogant fraud: What really brought down the empire of Conrad Black? - Americas, World - Independent.co.uk
35. Wisniewski, Barbara; Chicago Sun Times: The hunt for Conrad's cash; July 19, 2007
36. ^ Waldie, Paul; McNish, Jacquie; Leeder, Jessica; The Globe and Mail: Global hunt heightens for Black assets; July 19, 2007
37. Editorial; Toronto Star: Strip Black of honour; July 19, 2007
38. CTV News: Harper says he won't help Black return to Canada; July 18, 2007
39. ^ Canadian Press, July 13, 2007
40. ^ Chandler, Susan: "Judges appear cool to Black appeal", Chicago Tribune, June 6, 2008
41. Westhead, Rick, "Court hears Black appeal," Toronto Star, June 6, 2008
42. Appellate Court Decision
43. Waldie, Paul, "Appeal court rejects all arguments for Black", Globe and Mail, June 25, 2008
44. ^ Westhead, Rick, "Black has one card left to play", Toronto Star, June 26, 2008
45. Wisniewski, Mary"Appeals Court upholds Conrad Black's conviction" Chicago Sun-Times, June 25, 2008
46. Fine Books & Collections Magazine
47. The Lord of Springwood - New York Times
48. ISBN 978-0753818732
49. DeWolf Smith, Nancy; The Wall Street Journal: "Citizen Black": An entertaining documentary; February 17, 2006
50. Wisniewski, Mary; Chicago Sun Times: Prosecutors to see 'Citizen Black' footage; November 23, 2006
51. Pendennis: Oliver Marre | 7 Days | The Observer

External links

• SEC - Breeden Report Complete 512-page copy of the Report of Investigation by the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Hollinger International Inc.
• Inmate Locator showing Black's current location within the Bureau of Prisons systems
• "Conrad Black's apologia for Richard Nixon": a review in the TLS by Anthony Holden, August 8th 2007
• Conrad Black profile from NNDB
• Conrad Black profile from RightWeb
• Lord Black of Crossharbour: The Life and Times of Conrad Black CBC, documentary originally aired 24 March, 2005
• Conrad Black at IdeaCity on CITY-TV
• A Conrad Black timeline, thestar.com, May 11 2007
• Audio of Black's appeal before a panel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals June 5, 2008

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