Conrad Black sentenced to 78 months in jail

Canadian-born Conrad Black was sentenced Monday in Chicago to 6½ years in prison for his role in the misappropriation of millions of dollars from the newspaper empire he once headed.

He was also fined $125,000 US. Black, who remained expressionless as his sentence was pronounced in federal court, must also forfeit $6.1 million US — the estimated amount of the fraud, according to a pre-sentence report.

Black must report to begin his sentence on March 3 and will be free until then. His lawyers have asked that he be allowed to serve his sentence at the minimum-security Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Florida. Under U.S. rules, he must serve at least 85 per cent of his sentence.

"I think the fact we're appealing speaks for itself," Black said as he left the court.

Defence lawyer Eddie Greenspan noted that his client had been facing what amounted to a life sentence and didn't lose his home. "At the end of the day, to end up where we ended up is a hell of a lot better than where we started," he said.