Former newspaper tycoon Conrad Black has pleaded not guilty to charges he defrauded shareholders of newspaper publisher Hollinger International Inc. by siphoning $84 million in fees from asset sales and misusing company perks.
Judge Amy St. Eve of the US District Court accepted the 61-year-old Black's not guilty plea to eight fraud charges and ordered him released - on the stipulation that he travel only between the United States and Canada.
She told him while there was no bond he would be fined $20 million if he failed to show up for subsequent hearings. Black agreed to be extradited if he fails to appear.
He also signed an affidavit requiring him to put up the equity in his Palm Beach, Florida home and the previously seized proceeds from his New York cooperative apartment sale to secure his release.
Dressed in a blue suit and silver tie, the Canadian-born British citizen and member of the House of Lords stood quietly before the judge and answered questions politely.
Black, who resigned under pressure as Hollinger's chief executive in 2003, could face up to 40 years in prison and owe millions of dollars in fines and restitution. He also faces several civil suits demanding hundreds of millions of dollars.
Black's holding companies, including Toronto-based Hollinger Inc. and insolvent Ravelston Corp. Ltd., once controlled a sprawling newspaper empire that included the now-sold London Daily Telegraph, Jerusalem Post, and hundreds of Canadian newspapers.
Hollinger International still owns the Chicago Sun-Times and several community newspapers in suburban Chicago.
The charges announced last month by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in Chicago allege Black and his co-defendants looted the company by pocketing so-called non-compete fees from sales of newspapers. Such fees are payments made by buyers of newspapers to ensure that the seller will not start another newspaper in the same region.
Black was also accused of improper use of company perks such as flying in a company jet to Bora Bora for a vacation, and using company funds to help pay for a birthday party for his wife and New York apartments.
Black's one-time lieutenant David Radler has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against his colleagues in exchange for a 29-month sentence and $250,000 fine.
As part of the terms of his release, Judge St. Eve told Black he could only reside in Toronto, Palm Beach or Chicago, and travel only within the United States and Canada. She also ordered him to turn over to his lawyer a nonworking firearm that once belonged to his father