Black called bank robber, victim as trial opens

Lawyer says star witness Radler will 'lie'

Conrad Black's defense attorney Tuesday directed the jury's focus to the man missing from the tables of defendants -- Black's former business partner and star government witness David Radler.

"David Radler will come into this courtroom and lie," said Edward Genson, during opening statements of the former press mogul's fraud trial.

Genson told the jury of four men and 14 women not to let Black's lavish lifestyle and his sometimes arrogant "rhetorical flourishes" distract them from the evidence, which Genson said will show Black is innocent.

"You cannot allow the sparkle of wealth to blind you as to the facts of the case," Genson said.

Black, 62, and three other former executives of what is now Sun-Times Media Group are charged with helping to steal about $84 million from the newspaper company. Radler has pleaded guilty to fraud charges.

Genson's opening remarks came after a detailed outline of the government's case by assistant U.S. attorney Jeffrey Cramer, who told jurors that what the defendants did was like an ordinary street crime. But unlike bank robbers, who wear masks, the four defendants "wore suits and ties," Cramer said.

"These are some of the most sophisticated businessmen you'll ever see," Cramer said.

Cramer kept emphasizing that the fraud itself was simple -- Black and his co-defendants, Mark Kipnis, Peter Atkinson and John Boultbee, took money and lied to cover it up. Cramer said the money came in the form of "non-compete" payments paid by buyers during the sales of newspapers between 1998 and 2001.

"Non-compete" payments, common in the newspaper business, are what a buyer pays a seller to forestall the seller from competing in the same market. The government says that some non-compete money went to Black and his co-defendants that instead should have gone to shareholders.

How did they get this past the board of directors?

"Simple," Cramer said, "They lied."

The defense will argue that the payments were legitimate business transactions.

Genson painted Black, a Canadian native and British lord, as a man with a grand vision who built the third-largest media empire in the world.

"This is not a story of a theft by Conrad Black," Genson said. "This is a story of a theft from him."

Genson used a folksy style, calling jurors "you guys" and joking about how "Conrad" wouldn't sit up straight in his chair.

Benito Romano, defense attorney for former company attorney Peter Atkinson, told jurors that his client consulted outside experts about the money he was getting.

"It's the opposite of criminal intent. It's good faith," Romano said.

The jury includes a woman who has traveled to Canada on business and a man who had signed a non-compete agreement as part of his job. The 12 jurors and six alternates include four blacks, 13 whites and a man of unknown background.

On his way out of the courthouse, Black said he felt opening statements were "starting to" tell his side of the story. He then turned to a photographer and said: "Welcome to Chicago," in French.

mwisniewski@suntimes.com