Two days before US prosecutors charged him with crimes that could, if proven, send him to prison for 40 years, Conrad Black was enjoying the high life and settling an old score.
Tuxedo-clad, with wife Barbara Amiel by his side, he attended the 100th anniversary party of Canadian newsmagazine Maclean's, socialising with celebrities and Toronto's political, media and financial elite.
According to the National Post newspaper, he also used the occasion to have Peter C. Newman served with a C$2.1 million ($1.8 million) lawsuit, accusing the former Maclean's editor of defaming him in a recent book.
Longtime associates said on Friday the appearance was classic Black, a display of pride and defiance in the face of mounting adversity.
"This is like one of those old boxing movies. There's a boxer who is bloodied and bruised and drooling at the lip and is barely standing. And yet if you look in his eyes, you see that he is determined to carry on. That's Black," said George Tombs, author of the biography "Lord Black".
Even before Thursday's fraud charges, Black's legal and financial woes were mounting.
Hollinger International Inc, the newspaper publisher he once controlled, last year sued him for $542 million and US regulators filed a lawsuit alleging he "cheated and defrauded" shareholders.
Those charges have not been proven, and through his lawyers Black once again on Thursday asserted his innocence "without qualification".
The statement had overtones of his comments at a Toronto book signing in November 2003, just after he was pressured into resigning as Hollinger International's chief executive.
Insisting he still maintained control of the company and promoting his massive Franklin Roosevelt biography as though nothing had happened, he told reporters: "Check the facts. There's no fraud" and "I'm not trying to steal anybody's money."
The latest Toronto appearance and lawsuit show little has changed in the two years since his newspaper empire began to unravel, said Stephen Jarislowsky, chairman of investment firm Jarislowsky Fraser.
"That's the nature of the beast. Conrad is a pretty stubborn guy. He wants to get what he wants to get," said the veteran money manager, who was on the board with Black of the former Southam newspaper chain.
Gordon Walker, a former Ontario politician who succeeded Black as chairman of Canadian holding company Hollinger Inc, said Black has shown time and again he will not shy away from a fight.
Comments
Comments are closed.