Conrad Black fights to keep honor title

OTTAWA, July 10 (UPI) -- Convicted media fraudster Conrad Black has begun a Federal Court bid to avoid being stripped of the honor of being an officer in the Order of Canada.

The honor he received in 1990 was for "a lifetime of achievement and merit of a high degree, especially in service to Canada or to humanity at large," the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said.

Black, the former head of the Hollinger media conglomerate, was convicted in Chicago in 2007 of three counts of fraud and one count of obstruction of justice. He served 37 months in a Florida jail and returned to his Toronto mansion earlier this year.

Although he renounced his Canadian citizenship in order to join Britain's House of Lords as a peer in 2001, Black is fighting to keep his Order of Canada membership, the CBC said.

Last month, the 11-member council that oversees the order ruled Black can only make a written argument to remain a member. This week, Black's lawyers asked the Federal Court to intervene and also allow an oral presentation, the report said.

Since its inception in 1967, the order has revoked four people's membership for tarnishing its core values.