Disgraced former press baron Conrad Black was released from a Florida prison yesterday after ending his sentence, but was immediately taken into custody by US immigration officials.
The release of 67-year-old Black had been widely expected but authorities had previously indicated he would also face deportation from the US
A judge in June resentenced Black, a Canadian-born British citizen and member of Britain’s House of Lords, to another 13 months in prison on top of the 29 months he had already served for his 2007 conviction for fraud and obstruction of justice.
A federal jury had found Black, former owner of Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper, guilty of scheming with partner David Radler and other executives to siphon off millions of dollars in proceeds from the sale of newspapers as they unwound Hollinger International, once the world’s third-largest publisher of English-language newspapers.
It also operated the Chicago Sun-Times, the Jerusalem Post and dozens of other newspapers.
Black was released from prison in July 2010 while his case was under appeal, which resulted in two of his three fraud convictions being quashed and a shortening of his original 78-month sentence.