Conrad Black gets go-ahead to sue

Conrad Black’s run of bad luck with the legal system might be about to change. The disgraced former publisher of the Daily Telegraph, currently serving a six-and-a-half years for fraud and obstruction of justice, has been granted permission to pursue a libel suit against his arch-enemy Richard Breeden, the American corporate lawyer who wrote a 500-page report on Hollinger International in which he castigated the media baron for his business practices.
 
Breeden’s investigation, which was carried out in 2003 at Hollinger’s instigation, accused Black of running a “corporate kleptocracy” and of “victimising” the organisation. The report levelled a host of allegations against Black, including claims that he stole more than $500 million from the company.
 
While Black was found guilty in 2007 of corporate fraud and has had all his appeals - along with a petition for a presidential pardon - rejected, an Ontario judge has surprisingly ruled in Black’s favour on this occasion, saying that Breeden’s report accused Black of far more than he was guilty of. Explaining his decision, Justice Edward Belobaba said: “These statements arguably go far beyond criminal convictions that were returned following the jury trial in Chicago.”
 
The news is sure to come as some comfort to 64-year-old Black, who has now served just over a year at the Coleman correctional facility in Florida. As we reported last month, Black is learning to play the piano and is reportedly impressed with the quality of the coffee brewed by the Colombian drug dealers with whom he now shares his life.
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