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Palm Beach has long fascinated Black. The exclusive and ostentatious Florida resort plays summer home to America's wealthiest and most celebrated luminaries from the worlds of politics, big business and show business. Black wanted to be a Palm Beach player, but to gain acceptance in a moneyed community renowned for deterring outsiders, he needed an American pedigree.

He found one in Hanna Mining, whose largest shareholders included some of America's most socially well-connected families. It was the perfect entre. Black began courting one leading stockholder, the Humphreys family, and in 1981 bought 4.9% of the company via Norcen, a Canadian mining firm he chaired. According to court documents, the Humphreys were assured that Black's wishes were entirely friendly, both to the management of the company and the family. But in September 1981, Norcen held a board meeting, the minutes of which state the predatory "ultimate purpose" of Norcen's Hanna investment: to acquire a 51% stake at a later date. The minutes were signed by Black. Yet just a few months later, in November, Black also signed off on two submissions sent to the SEC in which Norcen's Hanna stake was described as "purchased for investment" and "an investment position". In April 1982, Norcen launched a hostile bid for Hanna, whose management hit back hard in the proceedings, accusing Black and others of fraud and racketeering.

The lawyer John Strauch was brought in by Hanna, and interrogated Black in Palm Beach. "He had some cardinal in tow," says Strauch. "He was without doubt the brightest man I have cross-examined. He was also arrogant and cocksure."

In the witness box, Black impressed Strauch with his wit and recall of evidence. Strauch was also struck by Black's inability to see fault in his own dealings. "I think he's someone who is utterly incapable of believing that he might be wrong, or that something might be his fault," says Strauch. Black testified for 20 hours over four days, but unfortunately the facts were not in his favour and Norcen lost the case, with the judge calling his reading of events "strained and unpersuasive". Black claims in his autobiography that Strauch ripped his trousers in court and was, unbeknown to the lawyer, showing his underwear to the court, a story Strauch calls "bizarre... I've discussed that part of the book with the judge in the case and others who were in court, and it seems Black's the only one who remembers it," he laughs.

In America, a subsequent SEC investigation led to Black signing a "consent decree" prohibiting him from ever again breaking rules and regulations that govern publicly traded companies.