By: Mark Fitzgerald Potential jurors will undergo criminal background checks before they are seated for the federal racketeering trial of deposed newspaper mogul Conrad Black and other former key executives of Hollinger International, U.S. District Court Judge Amy J. St. Eve ruled Friday afternoon.
St. Eve said she would assemble a "special panel" of potential jurors who will be able to serve during what is expected to be a lengthy trial. U.S. Assistant Attorney Erich Sussman said he estimated the government's case-in-chief would take two months. "So that will make it three to four months for everybody," St. Eve added.
Criminal background checks for jurors became an issue in federal court in Chicago this spring when it was revealed that two jurors in the corruption trial of former Illinois Governor George Ryan had concealed past arrests for convictions.
Conrad Black and former Hollinger Executive Vice President Peter Y. Atkinson former Hollinger CFO John "Jack" Boultbee and General Counsel Mark Kipnis have all pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering, money laundering, and wire fraud charges for the alleged theft of more than $80 million from Hollinger International through improper fees, contracts, and payments.
Black is also charged with filing false income tax returns that underreported his income in 1999 and 2000 by $29 million.
Ravelston Corp. Ltd., a Toronto-based holding company now in receivership, has also pleaded not guilty to racketeering, mail fraud, money laundering, and tax charges.
Ravelston was one of the holding companies Black used to control a worldwide newspaper empire that once included the Daily Telegraph in London and the Jerusalem Post. Hollinger International recently changed its name to Sun-Times Media Group to reflect its present holding of the Chicago daily plus about 100 other Chicago-area dailies and community papers.
Former Sun-Times publisher and Black's Chief Lieutenant F. David Radler has pleaded guilty to a single count of mail fraud in connection with the alleged Hollinger International looting, and has agreed to testify against Black and others.
Friday's status hearing was largely dedicated to hammering out the procedural nuts and bolts of the trial scheduled to begin March 5, 2007. St. Eve set jury selection to begin March 8.
Several lawyers for the defendants told St. Eve that they are considering motions to sever their clients' trial from that of Black.
An attorney for former general counsel Kitnis said he could get his motion to sever to the judge by next week. Gus Newman, the attorney for former CFO Boultbee, said he is considering a motion to sever and asked for an extension to file. He was given until Nov. 20.
Newman complained to the judge that his four-person law firm has been overwhelmed by the volume of discovery documents, including a package that arrived Oct. 3 with 32 disks, and six DVDs encompassing 200,000 documents.
The government says most of those documents are actually duplicates of material defense attorneys have already received from the investigation of a Hollinger International Special Committee that alleged an extensive report that Black and others looted as much as $400 million from the company.
"There will be no surprises at the trial," assistant attorney Sussman said.
Judge St. Eve set next status hearing on the case for Jan. 12 at 1:30 p.m.
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