CHICAGO: A US Appeals Court has upheld the convictions for fraud and obstruction of justice of disgraced former media mogul Conrad Black and his three erstwhile colleagues.
Black, now serving a six-year prison sentence in Florida for his part in stripping the former Hollinger International publishing group of millions of dollars, has been refused a new trial, as have Peter Atkinson, John Boultbee and Mark Kipnis.
The unanimous 16-page decision from the court threw out all the points raised by defence lawyers and affirmed the trial court's ruling.
The legal fortunes of John Rigas and his son Timothy, the founders of the Adelphia cable television company, on the other hand, have improved marginally.
A judge has reduced their prison sentences from 15 years to 12 years and from 20 years to 17 years, respectively, for concealing loans and siphoning millions from their business.
The appeal court threw out one of their convictions for bank fraud last year, leading to this minor reduction in their jail terms.
The pair plan to carry on their battle to have their sentences reduced still further. Rigas Snr is 83, in frail health and faces spending his final years behind bars.
They were convicted in 2004 and have been in prison since August last year.
Black, now serving a six-year prison sentence in Florida for his part in stripping the former Hollinger International publishing group of millions of dollars, has been refused a new trial, as have Peter Atkinson, John Boultbee and Mark Kipnis.
The unanimous 16-page decision from the court threw out all the points raised by defence lawyers and affirmed the trial court's ruling.
A judge has reduced their prison sentences from 15 years to 12 years and from 20 years to 17 years, respectively, for concealing loans and siphoning millions from their business.
The appeal court threw out one of their convictions for bank fraud last year, leading to this minor reduction in their jail terms.
The pair plan to carry on their battle to have their sentences reduced still further. Rigas Snr is 83, in frail health and faces spending his final years behind bars.
They were convicted in 2004 and have been in prison since August last year.
Data sourced from Data sourced from Wall Street Journal Online and USA Today.com; additional content by WARC staff
