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July 2, 2007 THE CANADIAN PRESS Black may be hurt by giving up his citizenship If a jury convicts Conrad Black on any of the 13 charges he faces in the United States, his decision to renounce his Canadian citizenship may prevent him from serving time at a minimum security "Club Fed" style institution, a U.S. legal expert says. "The fact that somebody has a green card won't make a difference on sentencing," but it may affect the security level of the prison Black could be sent to if convicted, said Douglas McNabb, a senior principal with McNabb Associates, a Houston law firm specializing in international extradition. "They (would) put him at a higher-security one" than an American citizen, because his status as a foreigner makes him ineligible for a minimum-security prison. Minimum-security prisons in the U.S. are dubbed "Club Fed" because they are like "camp (or) a college dormitory," added McNabb, who recently acted as an expert witness at an extradition hearing involving three former Enron Corp. bankers in the U.K. Black, who gave up his Canadian citizenship in 2001 during a messy legal battle with then-prime minister Jean Chretien in order to get a seat in Britain's House of Lords, is awaiting a verdict in Chicago on his fraud and racketeering trial. U.S. prosecutors allege he and three other former Hollinger International executives orchestrated a scheme to pocket about US$60 million in non-compete payments negotiated with buyers when that company sold newspaper assets, money they say should have gone to shareholders. If Black is convicted, McNabb said he is more likely to be sent to what is termed a low-security prison, which is not as secure as a medium- or high-security one, but still has barb wire and is a controlled environment. It's also a place where Black would mix with people from all walks of life, including white-collar criminals, drug dealers and murderers. As a Canadian, Black could have requested a transfer to a Canadian jail if convicted in the United States - and possibly serve a lighter sentence like his former partner and star prosecution witness David Radler is expected to. Black has said in recent months that he is trying to regain citizenship. Black is a British citizen but lives in Toronto. | |