such an extent that it has ruined Black's empire and his reputation.
"The trial by attrition of Conrad Black has exposed the dark underbelly of the legal system, where the government can ruin a man, take his proper means of livelihood, and make him a social pariah, all without securing a conviction."
Although Canadian-born, Velshi says he has neither met nor spoken to the Toronto-based Black. He accepts that Black may well have been mistaken in running Hollinger as though he owned it all, but argues that this is not a crime and shouldn't be treated as such.
For example, Black may have been ill-advised to turn down a salary increase - taxed as income - and opt instead for management fees. But Velshi suggests these are technical and probably innocent issues. Indeed, he says, Black's old-fashioned proprietorial manner was important to the Hollinger brand and its success. It "hardly justifies the punitive lawsuits against him nor the pre-trial seizure of his assets."
Nor is Black anything like the late Ken Lay 
