Trials against the fallen newspaper magnate, Conrad Black, began yesterday in Chicago. Black is accused of pillaging $80 million from his Hollinger media empire, which at one point of time included the Jerusalem Post and the Chicago Sun-Times. The charges against him include money laundering, fraud, tax evasion and racketeering. Prosecutors have alleged Black for defrauding shareholders and used funds from the Hollinger International newspaper group to cover extravagant personal expenses.
On the other hand, in the first day of jury selection, Judge Amy St. Eve has questioned 48 potential jurors for their opinion on Canada and Canadians, experiences with the law and authority figures. Interestingly, many in the prospective jury group have not forgotten the corporate scandals taken place few years back.
In addition to it, during jury selection Judge St. Eve repeatedly said to the candidates that the case before them had nothing to do with the collapses or Enron or WorldCom and she expected that those companies would not come up during this case. She went on to say that individuals and not corporations are on trial.
Lord Black of Crossharbour is commonly referred to as a Canadian magnate and a press baron. However, he is no longer either a Canadian or a newspaper owner. Former Prime Minister Jean Chretien had forced him to surrender his Canadian citizenship in the year 2001 to accept his British peerage and his media holding company, Hollinger International is now remains as just a name.
Twelve jurors and as many as eight alternates are expected to be selected over the next two days.
