Ex-Sun-Times publisher transferred to Canadian prison

Newspaper executive F. David Radler, who went to prison for joining Conrad Black in swindling the Hollinger International media empire out of millions of dollars, has been turned over to Canadian authorities.

Radler, 64, was released from prison in the United States on Sept. 18, Traci Billingsley, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed Tuesday. Radler attorney Anton Valukas said he was turned over to authorities in his native Canada.

The transfer came under a treaty that allows Canadian nationals to serve sentences imposed by American courts in their home country.

But Radler's prison time could be cut short by his transfer.

He entered a federal prison in Pennsylvania in February to start a 29-month sentence after pleading guilty to a single count of mail fraud under a bargain that included his testimony against former partner Black.

But Canadian rules allow for very short sentences in similar cases, raising the possibility that he was eligible for release soon after crossing the border.

Valukas declined to comment Tuesday on any timing for his client's release.

Black, a Canadian-born British lord and the former face of the Hollinger International newspaper holding empire, is serving a 6ˆ½-year fraud sentence.

Radler made a deal to testify against his former partner and get the relatively lenient sentence in exchange. He pleaded guilty to one mail fraud count and prosecutors dropped six other fraud counts against him.

Black was charged with taking part in a scheme under which numerous Hollinger-owned newspapers were sold off and money was included in some of the deals for so-called non-compete payments.

Such payments are common in the newspaper business when buyers want to make sure the sellers don't come back to the same circulation area to compete.

Prosecutors said the buyers in the Hollinger International sales didn't really want such agreements and that even if they had any payments should have been made to the corporation and not Black and a group of executives around him.

Black maintained he knew little about the agreements and never intended to swindle anyone.

Hollinger International at one time owned the Chicago Sun-Times, The Daily Telegraph (London) and the Jerusalem Post as well as hundreds of U.S. and Canadian community papers. The Telegraph and the Post have been sold and the company has changed its name to Sun-Times Media Group.