Conrad Black Draws 6½-Year Sentence

Onetime newspaper magnate Conrad Black was sentenced today in Chicago to 78 months in prison for fraud and impeding an investigation. He was also ordered to forfeit $6.1 million and fined $125,000. Prosecutors had pressed for a harsher sentence, but the judge decided to use more lenient sentencing guidelines from 2000, the Globe and Mail reports.

"You have committed a serious offense, a very serious offense,” the judge told Black. Black's lawyers had insisted that the media mogul played only a minor role in the fraud case, and produced as evidence letters from celebrities vouching for his character, including one from Elton John. Prosecutors said Black was a liar who showed no remorse for his actions. “Simply put, he's not sorry,” said one.