By: E&P Staff Former newspaper mogul and accused felon Conrad Black is expected to appear voluntarily in U.S. District Court in Chicago on Tuesday, the office of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said Friday.
Prosecutors had earlier set the court date for Tuesday, and vowed to extradite the 61-year-old Black if he did not appear in the initial court appearance for the 8-count indictment for criminal fraud handed up Thursday.
Black -- a member of the British House of Lords who renounced his Canadian citizenship but has reportedly recently been living in Toronto -- said through his lawyer he is "confident that, if given a full and fair opportunity to defend himself, he will be found innocent," Reuters reported.
The indictment alleges Black, who controlled a worldwide newspaper empire through Hollinger International Inc., schemed with other Hollinger insiders -- former CFO John A. "Jack" Boultbee and former General Counsel Mark Kipnis -- to defraud the publishing company of more than $80 million.
Black faces potential jail time of 40 years in prison if found guilty on all counts.
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