Conrad Black On TrialWill He Pay George Will To Defend Him?

Conrad Black is in trouble:

Ex-Press Lord's Fraud Trial Set to Begin

Former media baron Conrad M. Black's racketeering and fraud trial to get under way with defense lawyers seeking jurors who won't turn sour over his Park Avenue condo, antique Rolls Royce and expense-account vacation on the Pacific island paradise of Bora Bora.

And who is he, you ask?

[...]Black, 62, may no longer be chairman and chief executive of the sprawling Hollinger International newspaper empire, but he still commands attention from reporters, scores of whom are in Chicago to cover the trial.

[...]Hollinger once owned the Chicago Sun-Times, the Toronto-based National Post, The Daily Telegraph of London and the Jerusalem Post, as well as hundreds of community newspapers. The Toronto, London and Jerusalem papers have been sold and the company name has been changed to Sun-Times Media Group.

Black is charged with selling off hundreds of community newspapers and pocketing millions of dollars in payments from the buyers in exchange for promises not to compete in the markets where the newspapers circulated.

[...]Black also is charged with tapping the Hollinger till to pay for a vacation on Bora Bora, use of the company plane and most of a $62,000 birthday party for his wife, conservative writer Barbara Amiel Black.

He is not only married to one conservative writer, but he has personally employed another:

George Will’s Ethics: None Of Our Business?

Media Beat (1/1/04)

By Norman Solomon

[...]Late December brought to light a pair of self-inflicted wounds to the famous columnist’s ethical pretensions. He broke an elementary rule of journalism — and then, when the New York Times called him on it, proclaimed the transgression to be no one’s business but his own.

It turns out that George Will was among a number of prominent individuals to receive $25,000 per day of conversation on a board of advisers for Hollinger International, a newspaper firm controlled by magnate Conrad Black. Although Will has often scorned the convenient forgetfulness of others, the Times reported that “Mr. Will could not recall how many meetings he attended.” But an aide confirmed the annual $25,000 fee.

Even for a wealthy commentator, that’s a hefty paycheck for one day of talk. But it didn’t stop Will from lavishing praise on Black in print — without a word about their financial tie.

Can't we take away Will's Pulitzer Prize or something for that? Why are news organizations continuing to pay him after such a breach of journalistic ethics?

What is it with conservatives and financial corruption? Do you have to be financially corrupt to be a successful wealthy conservative or are there just an enormous amount of coincidences?

Well, maybe Black will be punished for his unethical behavior even if Will is not.