Black out

Dear old Conrad "Baron of Crossharbour" Black has been released from a US penitentiary on bail. His convictions for fraud are being reassessed in light of a change in US law that came into effect after his trial. Although his conviction for obstructing justice stands, it's possible that his sentence will be reduced to time served, meaning that he never has to go back to the Club Fed in Florida where he's spent a bit more than two years.

His trial back in 2007 was a lot less interesting than I'd expected, but the next little while should be fun, at least for the lawyers. Lots of people are after Conrad: see this, for example, from the Toronto Globe and Mail:

The Internal Revenue Service is after him for $70-million in unpaid taxes and penalties, the Securities and Exchange Commission has a lawsuit against him and there are dozens of actions in Canada and United States.

At the same time, though, Conrad's after a lot of people, probably starting with his "unofficial" biographer, Tom Bower. Bower has declared himself "amazed" at Black's release, but is unlikely to be equally taken aback when a libel comes zinging his way. That's assuming, of course, that Black can afford a lawyer, as it's not clear how much of his previous fortune he has been able to squirrel away (either from the authorities or from his notoriously extravagant wife, Barbara Amiel). Even if Black finds the wherewithal to sue all of his enemies (a pretty long list), any money he succeeds in shaking out of them is likely to touch down in his accounts for no longer than it takes for those litigating against him (an equally long list) to get their hands on it.

Then there's the question of where he's going to live. He gave up his Canadian citizenship in order to accept a British peerage, so he has no automatic right to return to Canada, which may anyway refuse him entry as a convicted felon. His UK passport has expired. And although his wife has continued to live in the couple's Palm Beach mansion, it's not clear that the Blacks actually own it anymore.

What with the loomimg tsunami of BP-related litigation and now the return of the Conrad Black soap opera, the US legal community must be in hog heaven right now. That's something we can all be happy about.