Black fraud jury still deadlocked, 9 days on
THE jury in the trial of fallen media mogul Conrad Black told the judge they were still deadlocked last night.
On the ninth day of their deliberations, the 12 jurors sent a note to Judge Amy St Eve.
In it, the nine women and three men admitted they were unable to reach a unanimous decision on the racketeering and fraud charges facing the former owner of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph.
It read: "We have discussed and deliberated on all the evidence and are still unable to reach a unanimous verdict on one or more counts.
Please advise." Black, who had been smiling and talking with his defence team before the hearing, frowned when he heard the jurors' note.
The lawyers spent around 10 minutes forming their opinions on what should happen next.
The judge then called the jury back into court. She told them she knew they were following the court's instructions carefully but added: "I'm going to read you this one instruction again and have you go back in there." Lord Black of Crossharbour faces 13 criminal counts, including mail fraud, wire fraud and racketeering.
Black, who had been smiling and talking with his defence team before the hearing, frowned when he heard the jurors' note
He and other Hollinger International executives are accused of stealing £30million from the company's shareholders at a trial which began at the Chicago court on March 20.
If found guilty on all counts, the 62-year-old faces a maximum penalty of 101 years in prison, although it is thought unlikely he will get such a sentence.
Whatever the outcome, Black claims to have "put everything in place for all contingencies".
He is spending his time waiting for a verdict at the city's Ritz-Carlton hotel and will have half an hour's notice to return to the court to hear the decision. Asked if he thought he had had a fair trial, he said: "Out of the judge, yes. With the jury, we'll have to see." The court heard that the £30million mainly came from the sale of hundreds of Hollinger-owned US and Canadian regional newspapers between 1998 and 2001.
Buyers are alleged to have paid large sums in return for agreements that Hollinger would not compete with the new owners.
The jury heard from more than 40 witnesses during 14 weeks of evidence before it retired on June 27.
Last week, Black's lawyers fought to allow him to hang on to his Palm Beach mansion in Florida.
The US government wants Black and his three codefendants to forfeit £34.9million of assets - including the 21,000sq ft Colonial-style mansion at Palm Beach worth an estimated £17.5million - if they are convicted of all charges.
Black also stands to lose a 26-carat, £1.3million diamond ring he bought for his wife, the writer Barbara Amiel, 66.
