Convicted, he vows to clear his name

Conrad Black is vowing to clear his name after being convicted of fraud and obstructing justice.

In an interview after the verdict, the former media baron continued to insist the charges were unfounded and that he would be vindicated.

"This war has gone on for nearly four years, and the original allegations have been worn down to a fraction of where they started," Black said Friday night.

"The prosecutors lost most of their case. We move on to the Court of Appeals and expect to dispose of what is left of these false charges," he said.

Black spoke after a jury that had deliberated for 12 days came back with four guilty verdicts against him and three against each of his co-defendants -- Peter Atkinson, Jack Boultbee and Mark Kipnis.

Prosecutors have asked for a sentence of 15 to 20 years for Black.

"While it could have been worse," Black said, "any conviction is unsatisfactory."

Black's oft-stated prediction of complete vindication came crashing down when Judge Amy St. Eve was notified by the jury's nine women and three men that they had reached a decision on Friday the 13th.

As Black, 62, his wife, Barbara Amiel Black, and 25-year-old daughter, Alana, looked on, St. Eve pronounced he had been found guilty on four of the 13 charges he faced. Black turned his chair slightly to sneak a look at his wife and daughter, who sat quietly. With her arms crossed, Alana stared at her lap, as Barbara Black scribbled a note that was passed to her husband.

Last week, in the garden lounge of the Ritz-Carlton, his luxury hotel home during the 15-week trial, Black had said that "this was not the trial I was expecting."

"It would be impolitic for me to explain at this time why I did not get exactly the trial I expected," he'd added, speaking soon after the case had closed.

Black was asked if he thought he'd gotten a fair trial.

"Out of the judge, yes. With the jury, we'll have to see," he said. "You don't know what is going to happen. You cannot presume upon the jury."

Black praised his cadre of supporters, including Alana, who celebrated her birthday last week and was there throughout the trial.

"If you think Barbara is fierce," he said, "Barbara is an appeaser compared to Alana. Behind her demure and smiling mask is a seriously fierce woman in a good cause, but they have both been magnificent."

Black said it was his decision not to take the witness stand in his own defense. He conceded he has thought about prison.

Black declined to discuss the coterie of former friends and directors who became government witnesses, especially former longtime partner David Radler, star witness for the U.S. government.

Asked what would happen if the verdict went against him, Black had said: "We're putting everything in place for all contingencies."

And just days before the verdict, Black had continued to vehemently proclaim his innocence.

"I violated no laws, and whatever happens, I will never waver in my view that I followed the only honorable and conscientious course," he'd maintained.

"No settlement was ever offered or requested, and none would be accepted by me."

While awaiting the verdict, Black said, he spent much of the time on the phone dealing with small armies of lawyers in Canada and the United States handling a bevy of civil lawsuits connected to his expulsion in November 2003 from Hollinger International.

On Friday, he received the result he had steadfastly refused to believe was possible. The verdict required him to surrender his passport pending a bail hearing Thursday.

He has been instructed to remain in the northern district of Illinois.