CHICAGO - Defence lawyers for two of Conrad Black's co-defendants say Peter Atkinson and Mark Kipnis are "good'' and "honest'' men whose lives have been deeply affected by a stubborn and unfair prosecution.
"Mark is a hard-working, honest, trustworthy man,'' Kipnis' lawyer Ron Safer told jurors Monday during his closing arguments in one of the last days of the three-month trial.
"Nobody breaks a lifelong pattern of conduct like this for no reason.''
Safer said the government's theory that Kipnis was paid US$150,000 to help orchestrate a scheme to defraud Hollinger International shareholders was "totally untrue'' and was actually disproved by the prosecution's own star witness, David Radler.
Radler is a former Hollinger executive and Black's longtime associate who testified against the four defendants in exchange for a lenient 29-month sentence and a US$250,000 fine.
Radler told the court that Black had come up with an alleged plan to skim a portion of the profits during the sale of newspapers in the U.S. and Canada.
But he said Kipnis received the money as a bonus for his hard work.
"(Kipnis) earned every cent of that bonus and more _ that bonus was not a payoff,'' Safer said, adding Kipnis was always open in his dealings with executives inside and outside the company.
"Mark did the best he could with the information he had given his experience.''
The prosecution, Safer charged, "started with a conclusion ... and then worked backwards.''
"When the evidence doesn't fit, they ignore it.''
Black sat mostly expressionless throughout all the closings, but appeared to enjoy Safer's outraged presentation, paying close attention and smiling during several of his theatrical antics.
Atkinson's lawyer Michael Schachter also accused U.S. prosecutors of "twisting and straining'' to make a case against his client who, he said, was not involved in any fraud and was in fact the person who hired outside lawyers to look into questionable payments.
Prosecutors have tried to "squeeze out every possible negative spin'' from the documents against Atkinson but failed to turn up any convincing evidence, Schachter said.
"There is no real key evidence because it's hard to find incriminating evidence against an innocent person.''
He asked jurors to consider Atkinson not as one of four defendants but "as a man who has led a life of honour and integrity and now stands accused of doing something that he never, never, never would have done.''
"Everything that Peter has built in a lifetime of hard work and good deeds is at risk,'' Schachter said, after asking Atkinson to stand so that the jurors could see him.
"This has been a nightmare that he and his wife have lived with for years.''
Earlier, Schachter said Atkinson was the one who sought a second opinion from upscale New York law firm Cravath, Swaine and Moore when Toronto firm Torys LLP advised Hollinger it could keep certain payments "secret.''
"There's only one reason why Peter called (Cravath lawyer) Bud Rogers ... and that's because he wanted to follow the law,'' Schachter told jurors.
"If Peter's criminal goal was to conceal the non-compete payments, why hire Cravath?''
Schachter's and Safer's closing arguments follow those of lawyers for Black and former chief financial officer Jack Boultbee, who also accused the government of failing to prove its case.
They say Black has been unfairly targeted because of his wealth and extravagant lifestyle.
Prosecutors say Atkinson, Black, Kipnis and Boultbee defrauded shareholders by illegally pocketing millions in fees that prosecutors say belonged to Hollinger International.
Millions of dollars were paid to Hollinger in exchange for promises that the company would not compete with the new owners of the newspapers.
Safer will wrap up his closing arguments Tuesday morning, and then the prosecution will have an opportunity to rebut the defendants' lawyers before the judge's instructions to the jury.
Jurors are expected to begin their deliberations Wednesday.
