Hollinger Inc. to co-operate in Conrad Black case [View All]

May. 15 2006

Toronto-based Hollinger Inc., a holding company formerly controlled by Conrad Black, has agreed to co-operate with United States prosecutors in Chicago who have charged the former media baron and other executives with fraud.

In return for the assistance, the U.S. attorney's office will not prosecute Hollinger for crimes Black and former executives Peter Atkinson, Mark Kipnis and Jack Boultbee may have committed regarding $16.55 million US in non-competition payments, Hollinger said in a statement Monday.

"This co-operation agreement is an important and positive step for Hollinger Inc., since it provides a clear distinction between the company and the actions of its former directors and officers," Randy Benson, Hollinger's chief restructuring officer, said in the statement.

"Our shareholders and other stakeholders will welcome that clarity as well as the certainty that the company will not be prosecuted by the U.S. government."

Prosecutors want Black, 61, to give back about $92 million they say he and his associates stole from publisher Hollinger International Inc.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060515/hollinger_black_060515/20060515?hub=Canada


One more nail in Conrad Black's coffin. Chaulk up another one for Fitzgerald.