Prosecutors in the case of Conrad Black and three former Hollinger executives are reportedly not pleased with a pre-sentencing report that appears to recommend lighter sentences.

The U.S. Department of Corrections report is meant to help Judge Amy St. Eve determine what punishment she will impose when she sentences Black and his co-defendants on Dec. 10 in Chicago.

Published media stories suggest Black should face anywhere from five to seven years behind bars if the judge follows the pre-sentencing report — far less than what prosecutors had sought.

In their 32-page rebuttal to the pre-sentencing report, prosecutors said they want the current, tougher guidelines used in setting jail time, not those dating from 2000 as recommended by the report.

They are asking the court to punish Black for committing a $32-million US fraud, not just the $6.1-million US detailed in the report. They want special penalties because some of the crimes were committed outside the United States, which made investigating them more costly.

The prosecutors want extra punishment because they say the crimes were unique, brazen, complex and were committed by executives of a publicly traded company.

They also say Black deserves a harsher sentence because they say he was the instigator and leader of the fraud.

At a book signing on Wednesday, Black said a confidentiality order prevents him from commenting on the pre-sentencing report.

"So the best I can give you is that my counsel was satisfied." he said. "I obviously read it carefully and I can obviously discuss it at length, but that would not be appreciated by the judge, so I won't do it."

Black was asked about the prospect of potentially serving a lengthy prison sentence.

"I'm not resigned to that but if it happens, I don't think it will be long and will highlight the injustice of this entire process."

Pocketed millions, court ruled

Black and his co-defendants — Mark Kipnis, John Boultbee and Peter Atkinson — were convicted July 13 by a Chicago jury on three charges each of mail fraud. Black was also convicted of obstruction of justice.

Black, Boultbee and Atkinson were found to have improperly pocketed millions of dollars in non-compete fees that prosecutors said should have gone to shareholders of the Hollinger International newspaper chain. Prosecutors said Kipnis facilitated the diversions.

In early November, Judge St. Eve denied the defendants' request for a new trial, but she quashed one of the mail fraud convictions against Kipnis.

The Montreal-born Black, 63, faces the possibility of up to 35 years in prison. At various times, prosecutors have said that Black's convictions warrant a sentence of anywhere from 15 to 30 years.

Lawyers for Black and the others have a week to file their reply.

Also on Wednesday, Ravelston Corp., the private Canadian holding company that Black used to control Hollinger International, was fined an agreed-upon $7 million US and ordered to pay $6 million US in restitution for fraud.

Toronto-based Ravelston Inc. entered a guilty plea to a single count of mail fraud back in March. The company was in receivership at the time, and a Chicago lawyer entered the plea on behalf of Ravelston's receiver.