The Verdict Has Arrived

According to a BNN news flash, a verdict has been announced in the Conrad Black trial. Here it is:

Conrad Black
Count 1: Guilty
Count 5: Not Guilty
Count 6: Guilty
Count 7: Guilty
Count 8: Not guilty
Count 9: Not guilty
Count 10: Not guilty
Count 11: Not guilty
Count 12: Not guilty.
Count 13 [Obstruction]: Guilty
Count 15: Not guilty
Count 16: Not guilty.

Jack Boultbee
Guilty on counts 1, 6 and 7. [Apologies for the earlier inaccuracy.]

Peter Atkinson:

Guilty on counts 1, 6 and 7.

Mark Kipnis:

Guilty on counts 1, 6 and 7.

A complete list of charges is here. 1 and 6 relate directly to the American Publishing sale, and Count 7 does so indirectly. CBS2 Chicago has a roundup of its own.

The Bloomberg report on the verdict has a little commentary on it, and a broader background which also recounts previous corporate-fraud convictions. It also quotes Jacob Frenkel as saying, "'The government overcame a very shaky start to win this case... They were able to pull a rabbit out of the hat.'''

On BNN, Terry Sullivan said that he believed that the security camera tape was what won the jury over. There was also a tally of the potential sentences each defendant faced; Conrad Black, 35, Peter Atkinson, 10, and the others, 15. All will go to a medium-security prison if the convictions stand up to appeal. But, Judge St. Eve has the option of concurrent sentences for the mail-and-wire-fraud charges, so the other three defendants could face only 5 years in minimum security should the convictions survive the appeal process. Conrad would still face 25 years.

Two other reports on the outcome are from Ameet Sachdev of the Chicago Tribune, who includes some background on Conrad Black himself, and from CanWest, as webbed by the Vancouver Sun, which adds some background from the case itself.

Reuters has webbed both a report on the verdict, written by Andrew Stern, and a timeline of Conrad Black's life.

Romina Maurino's report, as webbed by 680 News, begins with: "Conrad Black fixed jurors with a venomous stare as they found the former press mogul guilty on three counts of mail fraud and one of obstruction of justice Friday.... As the charges were read, Black gazed at the table in front of him, then glared at the jury with his brow furrowed in a dark frown."

The New York Times has webbed a report by Richard Siklos, whose background includes a recounting of the fate of David Radler. The Associated Press report, as webbed by the Bismarck Tribune, begins with the fate of Conrad Black and blandly describes his demeanor as "emotionless." It also mentions the sentence for the other three defendants before adding the background to the case.

Stephen Komie was interviewed on BNN, and gave a forecast on what will happen next. Sentencing is likely to take place in November or December. He gave 80% odds of the conviction being upheld on appeal in cases of this sort.

Hugh Totten gave his prediction that Conrad Black will be released on his own recognizance during an interview by CTV NewsNet. The interviewer, Rosemary Thompson, also reported that as of 1 PM ET, Csr. Sussman had argued that Conrad was a flight risk, and Edward Genson was arguing for a release on his own recognizance. Csr. Greenspan is arguing that Conrad isn't a flight risk. Csr. Totten predicted 60 to 90 days for the sentencing hearing to take place. CTV News has released a report of its own on the verdict.

A new Reuters report has been issued on the fate of Conrad Black, which contains a profile of him. It includes two quotes from Peter C. Newman, one on his likely state of mind - "'I would think he is in total shock... He really did believe he was innocent." - and the outcome: "'This is a tragedy,' Newman said of Black's conviction. 'He really did have a great brain and a great memory, and it's a tragedy for us as well as for him that he didn't live up to his potential and will end up in an American jail.'"

CTV News interviewed Mr. Newman at 1:12 PM ET, along with Joan Crockett. Mr. Newman opined that Conrad was "genuinely surprised" because he though of himself as the proprietor of the companies he owned - that he was those companies. He also said that Conrad acted arrogantly when he removed those 13 boxes. Ms. Crockett opined that the videotape euchred out the defense's evidentiary claim that Conrad had not known of the SEC order at the time. Mr. Newman added that the real punishment for Conrad Black will be treatment of him as a convicted criminal. Ms. Crockett later opined that the appeal will be "tough and dirty."

Ms. Thompson reported, as of 1:18 PM ET, that the prosecutors are moving that Mr. Atkinson and Mr. Boultbee be required to surrender their Canadian passports and live in the United States. Also reported is that Conrad is having difficulty paying the mortage for his Palm Beach home, as revealed in the defense part of his bail hearing. The jurors all declined to speak to the media.

Also on CTV NewsNet, BNN's Kim Parlee reported that the Ontario Securities Commission will be holding a hearing on Conrad Black's "egregious corporate behaviour" in November. There is no word as of yet about any rescheduling or quashing of that hearing as a result of the verdict.

Forbes.com has webbed an updated AP report, which includes a quote from Andrew Stoltmann to the effect that Conrad should feel lucky that he didn't get convicted on all of the charges.

ON CTV NewsNet, as of 1:38 PM ET, Mr. Newman passed along two related items from the United Kingdom: the U.K. government has officially said that Conrad can serve any sentence put on him in a U.K. prison; and, the British Conservative Party has repudiated him. He cannot hold himself up as a Conservative in the U.K. Right after Mr. Newman was finished commenting, Paula Todd reported that the prosecution wants a sentence of 25 to 30 years for Conrad Black. She also pointed out that Conrad didn't return the boxes immediately after receiving the SEC notice. Also, Dan Matheson noted that Peter Atkinson and Jack Boultbee do not have to surrender their passports.

After Ms. Todd had finished, Jacquie McNish said that she was surprised at the verdict, and opined that his "fatal mistake" was signing an agreement to pay Hollinger International several million dollars but backing out of it later. She also said that the U.S. Justice department will be encouraged by this verdict to pursue similar cases more aggressively.

Later, Mr. Matheson reported that making the mortage payments mentioned above was a condition of Conrad's bail; he hasn't been making those payments. He later passed on that Judge St. Eve has decided that Conrad is a flight risk.

Steve Skurka said on CTV NewsNet that, despite what other commentators have said, the prosecution has won this one; he also admitted that he had been wrong on his acquittal call. (So was I.) The judge is likely to decide upon a 10-15 year sentence, in Csr. Skurka's estimation.

Regarding the flight risk, Judge St. Eve may consider a renewed affiadavit from Conrad Black, promising to show up, to be sufficient bond to offset any risk. Ms. Lang also reported that Conrad is going to appeal, or at least is expected to do so.

At least two other defendants, Mark Kipnis and Peter Atkinson, have left the courtroom as of about 2:30 ET, or 1:20 CT. BNN broadcast a comment from Ron Safer to the effect that the jury, though conscientious as part of a fair trial, failed to differentiate between the defendants. He also indicated that Mr. Kipnis will be appealing through expressing a hope that the judge will differentiate his client from the other three defendants.

It was announced by Ms. Todd on CTV NewsNet at 2:39 PM ET that the bail hearing for Conrad Black has been adjourned for the weekend. She also opined that this wasn't a good sign for him. Ms. Thompson reported the Conrad has been asked to surrender his passport. She also reported that the identities of the jurors have been revealed, and that the sentence will be delivered on November 30th, at 2:30 PM. Mr. Matheson later read a letter from Ted Chung explaining the reason for the length of time between today and the sentencing: it gives probation officials sufficent time to gather needed background information on Conrad and the other defendants.

At about 3:25, it was announced that Conrad Black had left the courtroom, evidently in shock, saying nothing. Edward Greenspan read a statement saying that Conrad Black was acquitted of the main charges; that there will be an appeal, and that "there are viable legal grounds" for one; and, that the prosecution's recommendation for a sentence will be vigourously disputed. Edward Genson expressed surprise that it had ended, and said that "the justice system works." Unlike Csr. Greenspan, who seemed defiant, he was unemotional.

The prosecutors' press conference, with Patrick J. Fitzgerald acting as spokeman, began at about 3:35 CT. Csr. Fitzgerald said that he was “gratified” by the verdict, gave a short speech on the government protecting the shareholders, and then thanked the people who worked on the case. He claimed that he will be taking a “conservative” estimate, from Eric Sussman, regarding the requested sentence – approximately 15 ½ to 20 years – for Conrad Black, and for the forfeiture. He also complimented the jurors.

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Mark Steyn's been liveblogging the verdict for his Maclean's Conrad Black trial blog. His frist comment on the verdict notes that the APC-related charges were the only ones to stick, other than the obstruction-of-justice charge. Those convictions, he blames Conrad Black's defense team for. He ends with: "The US Attorney's office might usefully adopt as its motto the IRA's message to Mrs Thatcher after the Brighton bombing, 'You have to be lucky every time. We only have to be lucky once.'" (Interestingly, he didn't mentioned Mark Kipnis.)

Douglas Bell, in the Toronto Life Conrad Black trial, has an open thread devoted to the verdict.