Big frogs, stagnant pond

Media tycoon Conrad Black, who was looking pretty jovial as his lawyers nailed author Peter C. Newman the other night at the Maclean's centenary gala, got nailed himself today. He and three former executives of Hollinger International Inc. were charged in a U.S. federal fraud indictment involving the $2.1 billion (U.S.) sale of hundreds of newspapers as well as the abuse of corporate goodies at the newspaper publishing company.

Also among new allegations in the indictment is an accusation that Black and one of his co-defendants “fraudulently misused corporate perks including a company jet for a vacation by Black and his wife (Barbara Amiel) in the South Pacific, two Park Avenue Apartments in New York City, and corporate funds to throw a lavish birthday party for Black’s wife.”

As for the libel suit against Newman for his autobiography Here Be Dragons, here's what the Star's report left out:

Much of the offending chapter -- titled, "Black Magic: How Conrad Black became a Weapon of Mass Self-Destruction" -- concerns Black's well-known legal problems.

The chapter also includes what the National Post referred to as "salacious details" of the Blacks' sexual behavior. Newman is a former family friend who hired Barbara Amiel as a columnist in the 1970s. The lawsuit describes Newman as acting in a manner that was "vindictive, high-handed, contemptuous and demonstrated reckless and deliberate disregard and even enthusiasm for the damage that might be done to the good name of" Black, the newspaper reported.

Ironically, Maclean's, where Newman is a columnist, published a juicy excerpt of the book, one that attacked Amiel, a year ago.

Why did Conrad marry Barbara? For several reasons, according to his most intimate confidants: for one, she was his intellectual soulmate; for another, she introduced him to the delights of oral sex.

Amiel had been a longtime Maclean's writer, working under Newman, and later as a columnist. Last year, just before the excerpt was published, she got booted by former editor Anthony Wilson-Smith. This year she was reinstated as a fortnightly columnist by longtime Black protegé Ken Whyte -- who has sued Hollinger for $680,000 US.

You know: Sometimes I think this country is too damn small.

Comments

[alexander o'neill]

The best part is that the prosecutor in that DA's office is none other than Patrick Fitzgerald. Black will be an after-dinner mint for him.

[Q. Pheevr]

There are a few things I really don't want to know about Conrad Black.