Black will be assigned basic jobs and will be
paid between 12 and 40 cents an hour. At the peak of his career as head of newspaper empire Hollinger International, it is estimated Black made anywhere between $12,000 and $40,000 an hour.
"In the beginning it's really going to be yard work, kitchen duty, cleaning duty -- not exactly what he had anticipated," CTV's Lisa LaFlamme told Canada AM.
In an email to The Globe and Mail,
Black said he expected to spend time behind bars writing, praying and even teaching other inmates. But prison officials told LaFlamme that Black will start out with the same jobs as everyone else.
A relative of one of the prison's inmates said the same thing.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
"Money doesn't matter in there," the relative said. "It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor; they treat you the same."
The strict regime for Black and the other 2,500 prisoners will include:
- Getting out of bed at 6 a.m. daily;
- 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. work hours; and,
- A head count up to seven times a day.
CTV's legal analyst Steven Skurka, author of the new Black book "Tilted," said Black is likely to face the challenge head-on, as he has with other difficulties in his life.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2008/03/42.jpg
"Number one, he has a loving family and the support of friends. Number two, he doesn't want to vindicate his enemies, and I think that's going to drive him," Skurka told Canada AM.
Peter C. Newman, a Black biographer told CTV News, said that he expected Black to survive his stay in prison but added that "
he won't be the same person" when he gets out.
There was no lavish party on Sunday at the Black mansion in West Palm Beach, Florida - a property he acquired while still the head of Hollinger, once the world's third-largest newspaper empire. Instead, it was a quiet time for Black and Amiel.
Coleman prison has a strict visitor policy that Amiel will need to abide by including:
- She can visit Black up to nine times a month if she visits on weekdays, but only three times a month if she comes on weekends;
- She can only kiss or hug Black at the start of the visit and before she leaves; and,
- She must follow a strict dress code and not dress "provocatively."
Federal prisons in the U.S. do not allow conjugal visits.
The 63-year-old Black was found guilty last summer on four of 13 charges stemming from his activities at Hollinger International, the arm of his empire that actually operated his vast stable of newspapers. The convictions were for fraud and obstruction of justice.
The trial showed Black and three others had siphoned money from Hollinger by unlawfully using "non-compete" agreements -- monies paid to avoid having someone start a competing publication after having sold a newspaper in a given market -- to line their own pockets.
Although he tried to stay out of prison pending his appeal, Black was unsuccessful.
Two other men, Peter Atkinson and Jack Boultbee, were allowed to remain free on bail before their appeals are heard.
The two former Hollinger International executives were convicted on fraud-related charges but not obstruction of justice. Boultbee was sentenced to 27 months and Atkinson to 24 months.
Black's appeal process is ongoing. The trial judge's comments on the remaining fraud counts, he has said, show that the government case is a "grotesque charade."
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2008/03/43.jpg
The appeal process could take anywhere from four months to a year to play out, Morton said.
David Radler, Black's former business partner, preceded Black to prison, having surrendered himself last Monday.
Because Black gave up his Canadian citizenship to serve in the British House of Lords, the British subject cannot apply to transfer to a Canadian prison.
CTV.ca | Conrad Black starts sentence at Florida prison
