Stop the Press! Conrad Black is out on bail! The unwashed are expected to do their duty and watch the spectacle unfold. Almost the first words out of Black’s mouth after he was sprung were, “We’re in a war and we’re winning.”
Why should that matter to you and me? If Conrad Black is in a war, it’s a personal war for personal gain.
Conrad Black was born into a wealthy Montreal family. His biographer, George Toombs, said of him, “He was born into a large family of athletic, handsome people. He wasn't particularly athletic or handsome so he developed the skill – wordplay.”
Black went to Upper Canada College where, it is said, he was expelled for selling stolen exam papers. He then went to Trinity College School where he was expelled for insubordination. He eventually graduated from an obscure school, now closed, and went on to earn a law degree at Laval University, after he had failed his first year exams at Osgoode Hall.
Black’s father left him a 22.4 per cent stake in Ravelston Corporation, which had 61 per cent voting control of Argus Corporation. Argus had a large stake in seven major Canadian Corporations, including Dominion Stores. In 1978, after the president died, Black gained control of Ravelston – some say by taking advantage of the president’s grieving widow.
In 1981, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Black with filing misleading documents. The charges were withdrawn when he promised not to do it again.
In 1984, Black withdrew over $56 million from the Dominion workers’ pension plan, saying the surplus money belonged to the Dominion Stores. The company was ordered to return the money. Black appealed it all the way to the Supreme Court and lost.
On July 13, 2007, Black was convicted in the US and sentenced to serve 78 months in federal prison. He had been found guilty of diverting funds, for personal benefit, from Hollinger International. He was ordered to pay Hollinger $6.1 million.
“Perhaps the rich robbing the poor is no crime at all?” - Audrey Manning
Did Conrad Black and his second wife Barbara Amiel live a life of opulence on the dime of the faceless man? Apparently, as well as the Hollinger money, he owes $71 million in taxes. The illusion was complete when Black renounced his Canadian citizenship to become a British Lord – Baron Black of Crossharbour.
Where would Conrad Black be today were it not for the wealth of his family? He is smart but so are millions of other people who, when they fail, don’t get a second chance. He did end up in jail but what are the odds that he would have ended up there sooner if not for his elite club membership?
Contrast Black’s life with that of a young man just as intelligent that has briefly caught the attention of the media. His name is Colton (Colt) Harris-Moore. You may know him as the “Barefoot Bandit.”
According to a Wikipedia entry, Colt was a neglected and abused child. His drug addict father died when he was a toddler; his stepfather tried to choke him when he was two. After his stepfather died, when he was seven, Colt started living in the wild. He would break into vacation homes stealing blankets, food and water.
Colt’s first conviction came at age 12. Subsequent convictions would earn him 10 to 30 day stays in a detention centre. In 2003, after police found a neighbors’ camcorder in his home, he was sentenced to three years. He fled. Now 19, Colton Harris-Moore is suspected of being responsible for the theft of automobiles, bicycles and small airplanes, while evading capture.
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