Supreme Court Justice Stevens: No bail for Conrad Black

The U. S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear former Hollinger International CEO Conrad Black's appeal of his fraud conviction, but what it won't do is let him out on bail. Justice John Paul Stevens rejected the request Thursday:

Black, convicted in 2007 for his role in the theft of $6.1 million from Hollinger, has been serving his 6 1/2-year prison sentence at a US prison in Coleman, Florida, since March 3, 2008. A co-defendant in the case, John Boultbee, was released on bail earlier this month.

The Supreme Court in May agreed to hear arguments from Black, Boultbee and former Hollinger Corporate Counsel Mark S. Kipnis. Their appeal contends that they couldn't be convicted under the so-called honest services provision of the mail fraud law because the company wasn't at risk of losing money.

A federal appeals court upheld the conviction. The Supreme Court will consider the case during its 2009-2010 term, which starts in October.

At one time Hollinger owned hundreds of U. S. newspapers, including The Carthage Press and the Neosho Daily News.