VANCOUVER - Former newspaper executive David Radler, imprisoned for joining Conrad Black in a multimillion-dollar swindle of the Hollinger International media empire, has been granted full parole from a Canadian prison.

The 65-year-old was convicted in the U.S. and sentenced to 29 months at federal jail in Pennsylvania in February.

Radler was transferred in September to a Canadian prison to serve out his sentence.

In a decision released Monday, the National Parole Board granted Radler full parole.

Although the board would not confirm that Radler has left prison, he was eligible for release on Sunday.

In granting Radler parole, the board noted that his crime did not involve violence.

"Your file does not contain any indication of behaviour that demonstrates a potential for violence," the board noted.

It said Radler committed his offence for financial gain.

"Your greed has resulted in this sentence and the Correctional Service of Canada has no programs identified on your correctional plan to address this stressor," the board wrote.

Radler pleaded guilty to a single count of mail fraud under a bargain that included his testimony against his co-accused.

Six other fraud counts against him were dropped as part of the plea agreement.

He was granted a lenient sentence of 29 months and handed a $250,000 fine, in exchange for his testimony against Black and three other executives in a four-month trial last year.

Under the terms of his release, Radler must provide full financial disclosure to his parole officer on request and can't have any contact with his co-accused without written permission.

Black and his lawyers fiercely attacked Radler during the four-month trial for choosing to testify, and accused him of lying about Black's role in the fraud scheme to secure his deal with prosecutors.

At one time Radler was a close colleague to Black, a Canadian-born British lord and the former face of the Hollinger International newspaper holding empire.

Black himself is serving a 6-1/2-year sentence for fraud related to the pillaging of Hollinger.

Black was charged with taking part in a scheme under which numerous Hollinger-owned newspapers were sold off and money was included in some of the deals for so-called non-compete payments.

Such payments are common in the newspaper business when buyers want to make sure the sellers don't come back to the same circulation area to compete.

But prosecutors said the buyers in the Hollinger International sales didn't really want such agreements and even if they had, any payments should have been made to the corporation and not Black and a group of executives around him.

Black maintained he knew little about the agreements and never intended to swindle anyone.

Hollinger International at one time owned the Chicago Sun-Times, the Daily Telegraph (London) and the Jerusalem Post, as well as hundreds of U.S. and Canadian community papers.

The Telegraph and the Post have been sold and the company has changed its name to Sun-Times Media Group.

A spokeswoman for Sun-Times Media said the company was unaware Radler had been released but had no comment.

William Aziz, chief restructuring officer of Hollinger Inc. of Toronto, Sun-Times Media Group's parent company, also had no comment.

Eugene Fox, managing director of Connecticut-based Cardinal Capital Corp., and one of the leaders of the revolt against Black and Radler's regime, likewise had not heard Radler was out.

"I don't have a comment at this point," he said. "I just haven't had a chance to focus on it. I don't have anything constructive or useful to say."

Even the housekeeper at Radler's south Vancouver mansion appeared surprised but said she was delighted at the news.