CHICAGO - Former newspaper tycoon Conrad Black asked an appeals court Wednesday for an emergency delay to the start of his 6 1/2-year sentence for swindling shareholders in his Hollinger International empire.
Black and two co-defendants convicted along with him are due to report to start their sentences March 3 but attorneys are trying to convince the court to let them remain free on bond pending the outcome of their appeal.
The deadline for reporting to prison might pass before the appeals court decides whether to allow Black and his co-defendants to stay free on bond, defence attorneys said in their five-page emergency motion.
They raised the possibility that the three men could go to prison and start serving their sentences only to be released days later by the court.
"A brief delay of applicants' surrender date until after this court rules on the application does not prejudice any party or undermine the goals of the justice system,'' they told the appeals court.
Black, 63, was joined in his emergency motion by Peter Atkinson and John Boultbee, two former Hollinger executives who were also convicted following a trial of more than three months.
They were accused of swindling Hollinger International shareholders by siphoning off millions of dollars that should have gone into the company treasury and disguising the money as "non-compete payments.''
Such payments are often made in the publishing business to sellers of newspapers who promise in exchange not to return to the same circulation area to compete with the new owners for a specified period of time.
The three men were acquitted of most of the charges against them but convicted of three counts each of fraud. And Black was convicted of obstruction of justice for illegally hauling records out of his office.
Black was sentenced to 78 months, Boultbee to 27 months and Atkinson to 24 months. Atkinson and Boultbee are Canadians. Black is Canadian-born but announced that he was surrendering his Canadian citizenship to become a member of the British House of Lords -- Lord Black of Crossharbour.
Trial Judge Amy J. St. Eve has already refused to grant Black an appeal bond. Such bonds are only rarely granted. Federal prosecutors are due to file their reply to Black's request on Feb. 25.
