MARKET SCAMS

[easymoney101]

Aide to Hollinger's Black to plead guilty-lawyer
Wed Aug 24, 2005 12:24 PM ET
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CHICAGO, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Former Hollinger International Inc. (HLR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) President and Chief Operating Officer David Radler will plead guilty next month to fraud charges tied to a scheme estimated to have defrauded investors of $32 million, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

Radler, a one-time lieutenant to newspaper baron Conrad Black and publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times, is to appear in U.S. District Court in Chicago on Sept. 15 to enter a guilty plea.

But the nature of his plea deal was not immediately clear and Anton Valukas, Radler's lawyer, declined to comment on growing speculation among legal observers that his client may testify against Black.

Prosecutors say Radler faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted on all seven counts of fraud linked to the siphoning off of $32 million in non-compete payments after Hollinger-owned newspapers were sold off.

Black and Radler are also the subject of numerous civil suits accusing them of cheating investors.

Hollinger's in-house attorney Mark Kipnis on Wednesday appeared before U.S. Judge Amy St. Eve and pleaded not guilty to the same seven-count fraud charge. He was ordered to surrender his passport and released on his own recognizance.

Ravelston Corp. Ltd., Black's insolvent Toronto-based holding company, has also been charged in the scheme, but a prosecutor said the company's lawyer had asked for more time to consider what plea to enter.
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