TORONTO - Conrad Black's lack of remorse following his conviction for fraud and obstruction of justice should be factored into next week's sentencing and possibly result in a harsher punishment, U.S. prosecutors said.
"To this day, Black maintains his offences of conviction were 'rubbish' and 'nonsense,' and that the criminal justice system is 'essentially a substitute for a wealth-redistribution policy,"' lead prosecutor Eric Sussman said in a court filing late Monday.
"Black insists he did 'absolutely nothing' wrong and that he has been 'unjustly convicted.' Indeed, Black's conduct makes clear that he would engage in the very same conduct again if given the opportunity."
Black, once the head of the world's third-largest newspaper empire, is awaiting sentencing on Dec. 10 for his part in a fraud involving his former company, Hollinger International.
Three other former executives were also convicted on fraud counts in July.
Prosecutors said the judge should consider specific comments made in Men's Vogue and BBC Radio - where just last week Black said spending any time behind bars would "compound the injustice" of his criminal trial.
"It has been my honour to show the shortcomings of the plea bargain system and the shortcomings of the corporate governance zealots," Black told the BBC on Friday.
Those comments follow months of dismissals of his trial, which Black has called "persecution" as he vowed to be vindicated on appeal.
"Months after the close of evidence and despite his decision not to testify, Black insists on providing this court with a lengthy recitation of 'the reality' of his conduct relating to the obstruction of justice charge," Sussman said.
"Black's version of 'reality,' however, has no citations to the record and is contradicted in numerous instances by the evidence actually presented at trial."
Sussman said the court should either disregard the comments, since they were made outside of court and not subject to cross-examination, or be viewed "as yet another instance of Black's stunning lack of remorse."
Prosecutors also maintained that the full loss amount on the case's fraud scheme was over US$32 million - not US$6 million as a pre-sentencing report suggest - "and defendants should be held responsible for all of it."
James Morton, president of the Ontario Bar Association, said he believed Judge Amy St. Eve "will be too smart to get really annoyed" on Black's comments, but cautioned making such statements "doesn't sing well."
"You shouldn't be saying that just before sentencing, it doesn't really sing remorse."
Black's lawyers filed their own response to the government's objections to the pre-sentencing report Monday, saying that "in many respects, (it) rejected the government's positions" and that prosecutors' objections should be overruled.
Black lawyers took issue with the suggestion that Black should be sentenced under the so-called 2007 sentencing guidelines - a much harsher version than the 2000 guidelines.
They argue that the earlier guidelines were in effect at the time of the offence, and point out that pre-sentencing report recommend those for Black's three co-defendants.
"As a matter of fundamental fairness and parity, the court should look to the 2000 sentencing guidelines in Black's case, as in those of his co-defendants," Black's lawyers said.
"Black was not convicted of any additional fraud counts, and his culpability, as measured by the fraud offences of conviction, is on the same plateau as the co-defendants."
If later guidelines are applied to calculate Black's sentence, his lawyer said, his obstruction conviction could result "in a dramatic increase," and an "unreasonable and exalt form over substance."
Black could face as much as 30 years in prison, although most experts say he's more likely to serve between seven and 12.
