Jury selection continues in Conrad Black's trial

Former media mogul Conrad Black’s racketeering and fraud trial resumed its search for a jury today, with some prospective jurors expressing concerns about business corruption.

“I’m sure it happens all the time, and I hope they all get caught,” one of them said.

But most people interviewed today said they could give a fair trial to the 62-year-old British lord accused of fleecing his Hollinger International newspaper empire of £42m (€61.5m).

The trial’s opening statements are Monday morning. Twelve jurors and up to eight alternates are expected to be chosen today before breaking for the weekend tonight.

Black arrived at the courthouse with his wife and daughter today, watched by camera crews but without much fanfare. Yesterday, he slipped in unseen by a horde of reporters and photographers.

“Very good,” he said yesterday evening when asked his thoughts so far.

US District Judge Amy St Eve let slip yesterday that real estate mogul Donald Trump has been added to the government’s list of potential witnesses. There was no hint what Trump might be asked.

Black is accused of selling off hundreds of community newspapers in the United States and Canada and pocketing payments from the buyers in return for promises not to compete in markets where the newspapers circulated.

Prosecutors say Hollinger and its shareholders should have gotten the money.

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

Black is also accused of letting shareholders pay for a trip to the island of Bora Bora and much of a £30,000 (€44,000) birthday party for his wife.

Legal experts say Black’s defence team should try to empanel a jury with people who have six-figure incomes and understand Black’s lifestyle. But they ran into few such people yesterday.

One man said he lost money in the £2bn (€3bn) WorldCom debacle, and a prospective female juror said her husband’s investments all turned sour.

“We lost every dime,” she said.

When St Eve asked one woman what she thought of Black, she said, “Whenever I see his picture he seems to be dressed up in a tuxedo.”

St Eve repeatedly reminded jurors that making big money was not necessarily a crime and that there were legal ways to lower your tax bill.

Black gave up his Canadian citizenship to become a full fledged British baron - Lord Black of Crossharbour – but now wants that citizenship back.