Hollinger’s Radler Receives 29-Month Sentence

David Radler, once the president of Hollinger International Inc., the media bigwig, received a 29-month prison sentence on Monday from a U.S. judge. Radler received the sentence as part of an agreement that saw him plead guilty in 2005 to one count of fraud and offer testimony that helped prosecution lawyers get a conviction against former press mogul Conrad Black.

During the testimony that lasted eight days, Radler, a 65-year-old Canadian, admitted to being part of an elaborate plan to defraud Hollinger and its shareholders to the tune of millions of dollars. The former publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times said prior to sentencing, “I made mistakes and they hurt me and my family. I will live my life with this and I'm sorry for what I’ve done.”

While Radler pled guilty, three other ex-Hollinger executives, along with Conrad Black turned in ‘not guilty’ pleas. At the end of the trial, the jury found them guilty and convicted them. Black was found guilty on three counts of fraud and one count of obstruction of justice. He received a six and a half-year sentence from U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve, along with a fine of $125,000. The judge also ordered him to forfeit $6.1 million.

Judge St. Eve also confirmed the 29-month sentence that Radler had agreed to previously, and ordered him to pay a fine of $250,000. Asking him to surrender on February 25, the judge said she would recommend that he serve his sentence in Pennsylvania, as requested by his lawyer.

Making note of the fact that Radler had agreed to pay back $61 million by way of restitution, judge St. Eve said, “You have breached your duty of trust, you have breached your duty of honesty ... but you’ve tried to right those wrongs.”

The trial itself, which happened last summer, saw lawyers defending Black and the other ex-Hollinger executives try to paint Radler as a liar. The pointed out that under the plea-bargain Radler had made with the prosecution, his sentence meant little as, were he to serve his time in a prison in Canada, he would be out in as less as six months, as per the stature governing non-violent crimes in Canada.

Radler described in his testimony the flow of money originating from the sales he and Black made of Hollinger property, including the company’s newspapers. The cash flow included ‘non-compete’ payments worth millions of dollars.

The contention of the government was that the money originating from such sales did not reach the Hollinger International shareholders. Instead, it went into the pockets of Black and his associates. According to the prosecution, Black and his associates instead used some of these payments for themselves, accounting for them as tax-free bonuses.

During Black’s sentencing last week, the judge turned down prosecution requests to sentence him to a maximum of 24 years in prison. While handing down the sentence to Black, a member of the House of Lords in Britain, the judge cited the similar degree of culpability that Radler shared with Black and his plea-bargain sentence. Black has said he would appeal the verdict handed down to him.

Black and Radler have been business associates for many decades. Radler was the Chairman of Hollinger International Inc., while Black was its CEO. Theirs was a successful combination as they changed the fortunes of Hollinger International, making it one of the biggest publishing empires in English. Its properties ranged from the Daily Telegraph in London to the Chicago Sun-Times to The Jerusalem Post.