By: DAVE CARPENTER, AP Business Writer (AP) Conrad Black, the British lord and ex-press baron accused of fraud, faced additional charges Friday that could add decades to his maximum prison sentence if convicted of plundering the Hollinger International Inc. newspaper empire.
Black, 61, was indicted Thursday on new charges of racketeering, obstruction of justice, money laundering and wire fraud. He has already pleaded not guilty to previous charges in the case.
Black could now face up to 95 years in prison and $7 million in fines. Before the new charges, he faced a maximum of 40 years in prison and $2 million if convicted of defrauding the company he once controlled of $80 million.
"These latest allegations add nothing new to the indictment and, when we are given the opportunity, they will be demonstrated to be unfounded as well," said Edward Greenspan, Black's Toronto defense lawyer.
The new charges were brought in an indictment returned Thursday by a federal grand jury in Chicago and announced by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's office.
Black's former chief financial adviser, John Boultbee, also faces one new count of wire fraud in addition to the eight fraud counts he was charged with last month. Charges brought against co-defendants Peter Atkinson, Mark Kipnis and the Ravelston Corp. Ltd., the Canadian company that Black used to gain control of Hollinger International, remained unchanged.
Boultbee's attorney did not return a call seeking comment. Like Black, he and former Hollinger attorney Kipnis were required to appear in court Friday for a status hearing. All have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The former Hollinger executives are accused of cheating on taxes and looting more than $80 million from the company through a series of fraudulent payments linked to the sale of several hundred U.S. and Canadian publishing properties.
Prosecutors allege that Black, whose holdings once included the Daily Telegraph of London and other major papers, misused company perks such as taking the corporate jet for a vacation in Bora Bora and throwing a lavish birthday party for his wife.
The new racketeering count alleges that Black oversaw the series of fraudulent newspaper sales and other actions that enriched him and other top Hollinger executives.
The new wire fraud and money laundering counts allege that Black illegally transferred $2.15 million in fraudulently obtained proceeds of newspaper transactions from Canada to a company bank account in Chicago in order to buy an apartment on Park Avenue in New York City.
Black was ousted from Hollinger by the board in late 2003 after an internal investigation.
His longtime deputy and business partner, F. David Radler, pleaded guilty in September to taking part in a scheme to siphon off $32 million in proceeds from the sale of Hollinger newspapers in the United States and Canada. He agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
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