Since his conviction for fraud and obstruction of justice, Conrad Black has portrayed himself the victim of liberal, over-zealous courts. He is really innocent and a good guy all around, according to his pals in the media. The truth about the man, however, is less than flattering and closer to reality. Here’s the consensus from two officials at the prison where Little Lord Black was incarcerated.
“Black initially demanded special treatment, expecting counsellors to prioritize his requests over those of other inmates,” said Tammy Padgett, the unit manager of Lord Black’s prison ward.
“During the time that Black was at Coleman, I observed that he gathered a following of inmates who performed services for him, acting like servants,” she said in a two-page affidavit filed by U.S. prosecutors in advance of a June 24 re-sentencing hearing.
“These inmates cooked for Black, cleaned for him, mopped his floor, ironed his clothes and other similar tasks. This is not at all frequent at Coleman.”
In another affidavit, Carrie De LaGarza, an education specialist at the prison, described Lord Black as a less-than-stellar tutor of the three assigned to her class. She said Lord Black “put in the fewest hours” tutoring his four classes in the Vocational Training Department.
Ms. De LaGarza said Lord Black was often late for his sessions where he usually tutored one student per class; he often sat outside the classroom reading newspapers, novels and “writing what appeared to be a book,” she said.
“I would not say, however, that Black went above and beyond what was expected of him in his job or impacted the program any differently than other tutors,” she said.
Powerful stuff from a paper he founded and known for defenders of all things Black, Conservative and Republican. Can we count on Howard Kurtz to come to the Lord’s rescue?
Cross posted at Sister Sage’s Musings.
