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Black 'lite' may emerge from prison cell today
Conrad Black (CP)
MONTREAL -- Don't expect a brand-new man when Conrad Black, Canada's most famous former press baron, emerges from a Florida prison and sheds the jumpsuit.
But be prepared for the possibility of less bombast and controversy from the historically vocal, and polarizing, businessman. A Conrad Black lite, perhaps.
That's the assessment of people who have stayed in touch with Black throughout his legal battles, which led to convictions that locked the former media mogul behind bars for more than three years. The Montreal-born Black, whose empire was once worth hundreds of millions of dollars and included newspapers in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, is expected to be released today from a low-security prison south of downtown Miami.
The British lord, himself, told an interviewer last year his first jail term, during which he cleaned latrines and tutored fellow inmates, had made him "humbler."
But in his 2011 memoir, Black did not hold back from blaming nearly everyone around him for his predicament, portraying himself as having been wrongfully convicted. He continued to maintain his innocence before going back behind bars for a second stint last summer.
A lifelong friend of Black's insists he's noticed changes in his pal, particularly after he learned about the ordeals of his fellow convicts. Brian Stewart, a former CBC journalist, said Black now believes many people -- including himself -- have been wronged by the U.S. justice system, giving him a sense of sympathy for those who have had the "roughest rides in America."
"Once he saw the real injustice around him like that, which in his past life he wasn't really in a position to see, he reacted," said Stewart, who visited Black three times in prison while he served the first part of his sentence.
"Everyone who knows him that I've talked to -- who's known him for a long time -- says the transformation has been impressive."
Stewart has exchanged hundreds of emails with Black while he served jail terms for fraud and obstruction of justice. He said the 67-year-old has stayed in good spirits and has kept his sense of humour.
-- The Canadian Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 4, 2012 A18
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