Bond for imprisoned former media tycoon Conrad Black was set at $2 million Wednesday morning. U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve ruled that Black, the former CEO of Chicago Sun-Times parent company Hollinger International, must stay in the U.S. under the terms of his release.
Black could be released as early as today once the court order is sent to the Florida prison where he is being held, his attorney, Miguel Estrada, said. St. Eve asked that Black appear in front of her at 12:30 Friday to be informed of the conditions of his bond.
Black’s friend Roger Hertog, a retired businessman and the chairman of the New York Historical Society, appeared in court at the Dirksen Federal Building to secure the bond.
St. Eve said Black should not obtain a passport, unless it is his only identification document, and if he does obtain one he cannot use it.
Defense attorney Estrada asked that Black be allowed to live in Canada.
“His home and his abode is in Toronto,” Estrada said. Also appearing for Black was Chicago attorney Marc Martin.
Black was convicted in 2007 of fraud and obstruction of justice and has been serving a six-and-half year sentence at the Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in central Florida since March 2008. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling late last month dramatically winnowed the ‘Honest Services’ law used to prosecute him.