Free Republic

Two former executives and a holding company in the toppled media empire of Conrad Black were charged with fraud for diverting $32 million in fees generated by newspaper sales, prosecutors said on Thursday. David Radler, who was president and chief operating officer of Hollinger International Inc., Hollinger's in-house lawyer Mark Kipnis, and Ravelston Corp. Ltd., Black's insolvent Toronto-based holding company, were charged in a seven-count indictment alleging fraud. In the latest blow to Black's unraveling empire, prosecutors alleged that when newspapers were sold the defendants pocketed payments disguised as non-compete fees. Such agreements prohibit the seller from opening a rival...

Through schemes large and small, top executives fleeced the company that owns the Chicago Sun-Times, pocketing more than $400 million, or 95 percent of the profits over seven years, according to a report made public Tuesday. The company, Hollinger International, sits at the center of a heated battle between controlling shareholder Conrad Black and the board of directors -- in particular, a "special committee" of directors investigating Black. The 513-page report, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago on Monday, represents the findings of an adviser hired by the committee to probe Black's dealings. The adviser, former U.S. Securities and...

JERUSALEM POST OWNERS RESIGN; FACE CORRUPTION CHARGES Post To Be Sold, Management Reshuffled Jerusalem Post Publisher Tom Rose, Editor Bret Stephens To Be Replaced By SETH SUTEL, AP Business Writer New York-----November 17........ Under heavy pressure from investors, Conrad Black will step down as chief executive of Hollinger International Inc., publisher of the Jerusalem Post and Chicago Sun-Times, and the company may be sold after an internal investigation found that fees had been improperly paid to Black and other senior executives. Several other executives are also leaving Hollinger as part of a management shakeup the company announced early Monday. David...