TORONTO, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Former newspaper magnate Conrad Black vowed in an Ontario court filing to regain control of what remains of his business empire.
Those holdings include Ravelston Corp., a Toronto company that holds a controlling interest in Chicago's Hollinger International Inc., his former publishing company, through another Toronto firm, Hollinger Inc.
Black and three business partners have been charged in Chicago with taking more than $80 million from Hollinger International. Black faces up to 95 years in prison and $7 million in fines if he is convicted on all counts. Black denies the charges.
Black said he was also so concerned about the amount of money being spent on legal fees and asked an Ontario judge to "stop the destruction of value" of the companies he once headed, Canada's Globe and Mail reported Friday.
The Toronto Star reported that Black has hired trial consultants, who reportedly encouraged Black to give up his Rolls-Royce and expensive suits and arrive in court in a station wagon and a pedestrian suit to win favor with jurors.
