Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Conrad Black Trial: Opening Arguments

Victim vs. Thief...

Makeup of jurors: 14 women and four men. Twelve will make up the final panel and six will be alternates.

Here are the highlights of the opening arguments of the government and the defense:

Defense lawyer for Black, Edward Genson: "This isn't a story about a theft by Conrad Black, this is a story about a theft from him. He [Black] was not stealing from the company, the company was stolen from him. He is innocent, and when the evidence comes in, you'll see he's innocent."

U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Cramer: "Bank robbers use masks and carry guns. These four [former Hollinger International executives Jack Boultbee, Peter Atkinson and Mark Kipnis who allegely stole US$60 million from the company] dressed in ties and wore suits. These are some of the most sophisticated businessmen you'll ever see. They knew what they were doing was wrong. It's not their company. It belongs to the shareholders."

Cramer characterized Black and his business associates as greedy thieves who overreached in an ambitious plan to build a worldwide newspaper empire.
In laying out the prosecution case, Cramer tried to simplify the alleged fraud - involving complex so-called non-compete payments - making it easier to understand for jurors not familiar with corporate financial practices.

Genson said that Black was entitled to the money he made and called the government witness F. David Radler, the No. 2 man in Black's organization for decades, a liar.
More on the story.

COMING UP: Court resumes Wednesday morning with attorneys for former Hollinger attorney Mark Kipnis and former Hollinger executive John Boultbee addressing the jury. Prosecutors then plan to call their first witness, former Hollinger CEO Gordon Paris.

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