Media mogul Conrad Black will be sentenced this morning to between six and eight years in prison for fraud and obstruction of justice, U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve has said. The sentence is pretty lenient, especially considering that Black, whose Hollinger International company owned more than 100 newspapers, including the New York Sun, was less than endearing during the course of his trial. He referred to the charges that he had used the company to fund such luxuries as trips to Bora Bora and 100 pairs of Manolo Blahniks for his wife, among other things, as “rubbish” and “bullshit” and called his prosecutors “Nazis” and “pygmies.” Jail, Black recently said, would be “a bore, but endurable,” especially perhaps since Sun editor Seth Lipsky has reportedly invited the best-selling memoirist to contribute articles from his cell.
Conrad Black to Serve up to Eight years in Jail for Fraud [Guardian]
UPDATE: The verdict is in! Black will serve 6 1/2 years.