Former Tyco (NYSE: TYC) CEO Dennis Kozlowski and former CFO Mark Swartz asked New York's Supreme Court to throw out their convictions on the grounds of insufficient evidence -- Kozlowski had been convicted of grand larceny.
As despicable of a character as Kozlowski is, he doesn't belong in prison: Tyco was a corporate governance train wreck, and he was essentially jailed for being paid an obscene amount of money. Tyco was not a massive securities fraud and, in fact, has produced solid returns for its shareholders.
One of the flaws with the Tyco case -- and it extends into media coverage of corporate governance today -- is that it held an executive responsible for gross negligence on the part of the board of directors. By throwing Kozlowski in jail and writing him off as a crook, the real threat to shareholders was essentially let of the hook: complacent and compliant directors at public companies.
Free Dennis Kozlowski, stop wasting taxpayer money imprisoning someone who was more reflective of an era than evil, and move onto bigger battles.
Free Dennis Kozlowski! Former Tyco chief pursues appeal
Posted Sep 5th 2008 10:30AM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Law, Scandals
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-06-2008 @ 10:08AM
Neal Ames said...
Throw away the key!!!
9-08-2008 @ 6:53PM
susan rafe said...
Free Dennis Kozlowski!! Absolutely! How can you convict someone of taking monies due them? There is plenty of crime out there we should be concentrating on - not someone who has deferred payments they dipped in to. I agree - save tax payers money - free Kozlowski - concentrate on real crime!
9-09-2008 @ 7:42AM
Bonnie J said...
Free Dennis Kozlowski indeed. No one lost any money and the company is doing fine and making a profit. What a terrible injustice to a man who did so much for so many people. He was indeed authorized to get that money (he earned it).
This was NOT Enron, but they treated him like it was.
9-27-2008 @ 7:49PM
HighROI said...
Mr. Kozlowski joined Tyco as one of his first jobs out of college and spent a lifetime building the company into what it was prior to his indictment. He was earning a salary of $1.25M the year he went to prison - the rest of his "insane" compensation was tied to shareholder value - frankly it was earned as all CEO compensation should be. If the shareholders get a return, so should the execs who are hired to provide shareholder returns. It aligns motivations.
Deep beneath the lies told of what happened to Dennis Kozlowski is a truth that sadly has imprisoned the American Dream for being among the very best corporate executives and providing outstanding return rates for Corp. American that are rare. The money he was paid he earned and was authorized to take. The guilt in this case lies with a board that did not support him (for reasons of their own greed), a DA who wanted cameras to help him get re-elected and a special prosecutor who was held above the law. Dennis not only deserves to be liberated, he deserves to be exonerated and restored of his dignity. He changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and the economy in such a positive way. His story is remarkable and so far has a despicable end game that he is undeserving of. PWC should NEVER have settled.
The EDGAR reports are there to read.
10-08-2008 @ 6:24PM
susan said...
well i dont think he did anything wrong...only pal around with the wrong people...where are they now?
i woulndnt mind writing him but alas no address : (
10-10-2008 @ 3:01PM
former tyco employee said...
I would like to comment on Bonnie J's "no one lost any money" I lost ALOT of money along with many others due to this crook who robbed the company which affected the stocks in a major way. I hope he ROTS in jail and is bent over daily! If he did things properly maybe he wouldn't be where he is today. (bent over) hahahhahahhahahha