Friday July 20, 2007
Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday July 20, 2007
Black to remain out on bail
A Chicago federal judge on Thursday allowed convicted media tycoon Conrad Black to remain free pending his November sentencing but declined to let him return to his native Canada.
Conrad Black Cartoon Gallery
U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve restricted Black’s travels to the Chicago area and southern Florida, where he owns a beachfront mansion.
The ruling was a compromise between placing Black in jail as federal prosecutors wanted and giving him complete freedom. St. Eve said she does not think Black is “going to run and hide,” but indicated she’s not entirely convinced Black will return to Chicago for sentencing.
St. Eve said she would reconsider Black’s request to live in Toronto if his lawyers can provide more assurances that he will not start an extradition fight when it is his time to be sentenced. She continued to hold his passport and scheduled another hearing on the matter for Aug. 1.
“I think the judge is a very reasonable woman,” Edward Genson, one of Black’s attorneys, said after the hearing. (Source: Chicago Tribune)
“Black admittedly has a larger presence in Canada, which is why Graeme MacKay leapt on the story and did this cartoon for the Hamilton Spectator. Black was convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice and was serving a 42 month sentence when he remembered that he was (A) rich and (B) a publisher …”