Conrad Black Gets Sprung

The media titan, 67, was back in Toronto today after being released from a Miami prison following serving his sentence of 42 months. He walked out at approximately 8:00 AM and departed via a vehicle that was part of a police motorcade. At home in the afternoon he was photographed by journalists as he strolled his Bridle Path neighbourhood, kissed his wife and greeted his dogs. In 2001 Black had renounced his Canadian citizenship to accept a peerage in the British House of Lords, but more recently he applied for and was granted a temporary resident permit that will allow him to live in country through next May. Black was sentenced to 78 months in 2007 after being convicted for an alleged fraud scheme involving his company Hollinger Inc. Black served 29 months and was released from another correctional facility after the Supreme Court overruled his conviction citing a misuse of the "honest services" provision in the fraud statute. Then last June he was convicted of obstruction of justice charges and fraud and was sent to a low-security institution in September to complete his sentence. Though a free man now, Black is still facing an IRS tax bill of $70 million.