Conrad Black denied retrial on fraud charges

Conrad Black, the former Hollinger International Inc. chairman serving a 6½-year prison sentence for mail fraud and obstructing justice, lost a request for review of his case by a U.S. appeals court.

A three-judge panel in Chicago declined to reconsider its June 25 decision affirming a federal jury's 2007 conviction of Black and three other former Hollinger executives for stealing $6.1 million from the newspaper publishing company.

"All of the judges on the original panel have voted to deny the petition," the court said in an Aug. 13 ruling. None of the court's 11 active judges sought a full-panel rehearing, it said.

Black has until Nov. 12 to ask the U.S. Supreme Court for review, according to his lawyer, Andrew Frey.

"It's disappointing, but there it is," Frey said of the ruling in an interview today. Asked what was next, he replied, "probably the Supreme Court."

The case is U.S. v. Black, 07-04080, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Chicago).