Black's wife blasts media as trial adjourned

The incident happened as the couple, along with Black's daughter Alana, were waiting to go down an elevator at the federal courthouse in Chicago following the adjournment.

A TV producer approached and asked if they were leaving the building.

"As the doors closed, suddenly, out of nowhere, Barbara Amiel said -- in a very cut-glass, rather aggressive voice -- 'You slut!'," said British journalist Joanna Walters, who was in the elevator with some other journalists.

"She continued her explosion, saying, 'You're all vermin, you make me sick'," Walters said.

Edward Genson, one of Black's attorneys, later said: "I wasn't there. I would suggest I do not think that is something she would do, knowing Lady Black as I do."

Tom Bower, author of a biography on the Blacks that triggered an $11-million lawsuit, managed to lock eyes with his subject.

"He (Black) saw me and he just stared at me, not the normal 'hello Tom' that he usually in the past has given. I think Barbara has always been cool -- she was as cool as ever," he told CTV outside court.

The judge decided to adjourn proceedings in the trial until Tuesday morning after jurors were asked whether they had heard about settlements made by former Black associate David Radler.

He pleaded guilty to mail fraud in 2005.

Radler was given a 29-month sentence and fined US$250,000, in exchange for his co-operation with prosecutors. He is expected to testify against Black, in exchange for the reduced sentence.

Black faces charges of fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, racketeering and obstruction of justice. If found guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

The prosecution alleges that Black, former chief executive of Hollinger International (now Sun Times Media), took money from that company to help finance his luxurious lifestyle. At the centre of that allegation is US$85 million in "non-compete" payments that prosecutors claim Black took unlawfully.

On Friday, Radler told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission he would pay a fine of $23.7 million in "disgorgement and prejudgment interest," along with a $5 million civil penalty. And Sunday night, he made a US$63.4-million settlement with Sun Times Media.

Genson said he had "never seen a settlement negotiated on a Sunday." He also said a Sun Times Media press release quoted Gordon Paris, a former Hollinger CEO and prosecution witness, "bragging about the money these people collected from Radler."

Judge Amy St. Eve first agreed to delay the opening remarks until the afternoon, so she could interview jurors about whether they knew anything about Radler's settlements.

But she later decided to adjourn proceedings until Tuesday, delaying opening remarks.

If the jury issues are resolved Tuesday, St. Eve will allow Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Cramer to deliver the prosecution's opening remarks. The defence will then make its own opening address.

"In Canada, with only rare exceptions like the Robert Pickton trial, the defence never gets to open at the beginning. They have to wait until the start of the defence," legal analyst Steven Skurka told CTV Newsnet.

"But now, Ed Genson is going to stand up immediately after the prosecutor."

Each opening address is only expected to last 90 minutes, in part due to the judge's reputation for keeping trials on track.

"With this judge, 90 minutes is the budgeted time and they will be precise," said Skurka.

With a report from CTV's Lisa LaFlamme and files from The Canadian Press