Former President Of Hollinger Is Indicted

The former Hollinger International president who served as right-hand man to Conrad Black and publisher of the company’s Chicago Sun-Times newspaper, David Radler, was indicted on federal fraud charges.The company’s former in-house lawyer, 58-year-old Mark Kipnis, and Ravelston Corporation, a company that Mr. Black controls, also were indicted. Mr. Black, who founded Hollinger and built it into the world’s third-largest publisher of English-language newspapers, wasn’t charged. The U.S. Attorney in Chicago, Patrick Fitzgerald, said Mr. Radler, who is 63, is expected to plead guilty and the “investigation continues.”Mr. Radler, Mr. Kipnis, and Ravelston diverted $32 million in non-competition payments that rightfully belonged to Chicago-based Hollinger International, according to the indictment. Mr. Black, 60, has fought a 21-month effort by Hollinger International to neutralize his voting control and influence over the company and its Canadian parent, Hollinger Incorporated.[Hollinger International Incorporated is a minority owner of The New York Sun.]“The investing public has a right to expect that officers and directors of publicly traded companies are managing, not stealing, the shareholder’s money,” Mr. Fitzgerald said in a statement.During a press conference, Mr. Fitzgerald declined to say whether the Justice Department plans to pursue charges against Mr. Black. Each count against Mr. Radler and Mr. Kipnis carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or a fine of twice either man’s profit or any victim’s loss. Ravelston faces penalties of $500,000 per count or the alternative fine if convicted.A Toronto-based lawyer for Mr. Radler, Sean Dewart, declined to comment and said Mr. Radler wouldn’t be available for comment.Hollinger International’s board ousted Mr. Black as CEO in November 2003, sued him, and stripped him of the chairman’s title the following January. The company auctioned off the Telegraph over his objections last June. Hollinger International sued to recover more than $425 million it says Mr. Black and associates, including Mr. Radler, stole.Mr. Black countersued on April 25 and said that if he’s found liable, a former governor of Illinois, James Thompson, and other members of the company’s audit committee should pay part of the damages because they breached their fiduciary duties.

Former President Of Hollinger Is Indicted

Former President Of Hollinger Is Indicted

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