Tyco CEO turned symbol of corporate greed turned Prisoner # 05A4820 Dennis Kowzlowski's appeal to the United States Supreme Court was rejected, leaving intact his sentence of at least eight years and four months. Kozlowski and his former CEO Mark Swartz filed the appeal together, and Swartz was told to go back to his cell as well.

The pair had sued saying they were unfairly deprived of their constitutional right to present a defense when the prosecution refused to show them notes from an internal investigation of their conduct. The N.Y. Supreme Court ruled that they weren't entitled to the notes and that decision was left intact.

This post is part of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst in Money 2008 feature.

In the decades to come, business school students will be faced with a plethora of examples from 2008 in studying how not to do something.

Picking one business decision as the worst is sort of like choosing a favorite child. Each was wretchedly awful in their own unique way. They each deserve their own wing in the hall of shame, but there only can be one winner. In my mind, the company that consistently shot itself in the foot with a heretofore unknown precision was American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG).

Of course, AIG is now owned by the U.S. government, largely thanks to two bailouts. The government ripped up the first $85 billion deal after determining that the New York-based company needed an even bigger life preserver of $150 billion. Even then, it managed to post a $24.5 billion loss.

What set the standard for corporate hubris, though, were the junkets. There was a fun-in-the-sun getaway to a resort in California, only days after the $85 billion bailout went through. Recently, it was disclosed that another junket was held in Arizona. Though the amount of money involved in the gatherings was piddly, the principle at stake was not. AIG was telling people -- especially members of Congress who approved the bailout -- that nothing had changed when, of course, everything had.

We recently presented a look at some of the most notorious financial felons of contemporary times.

Since then, news has included the indictment of Mark Cuban for insider trading in a case that is somewhat reminiscent of Martha Stewart's case. According to the SEC, the billionaire entrepreneur asked his broker to sell all his shares of Mamma.com after the company's CEO confidentially told him of an impending stock offering that would dilute the value of all existing shares. By selling before the information became public, Cuban is said to have sidestepped losses of more than $750,000. Cuban insists, though, that no agreement existed to keep the information confidential.

And then there was the indictment in Texas of Vice President Dick Cheney, along with former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others. There seems to be a conflict of interest between the vice president's influence on the federal agency that oversees federal immigration detention centers and his substantial holdings in Vanguard Group, which invests in private prison companies. But does the lame-duck county district attorney, who was a no-show in court, have the authority to bring charges against federal officials with regard to federally run institutions?

This post is part of a feature in which he wonder whatever happened to some notorious financial felons. See all 17.

In 2005, Dennis Kozlowski was convicted of misappropriating more than $400 million in company funds from Tyco International (NYSE: TYC). He had been Tyco's CEO from 1992 to 2002, during which he oversaw a massive expansion of the company through a series of strategic mergers and acquisitions. But he left the company amid controversy about his extravagant compensation package.

Though found guilty of grand larceny, Kozlowski continues to deny that he committed any crime. He feels that he was unfairly punished for his "embarrassingly big" pay package, as he once put it, as well as his extravagant lifestyle. That lifestyle included such things as $6,000 shower curtains and $15,000 umbrella stands, as well as a $2 million birthday party complete with togas, Jimmy Buffett, a cake with exploding breasts, and a stature of David that peed vodka. Oh, and the party was also "shareholder meeting" so Tyco could help foot the bill. (The home where this party occurred is now for sale for a mere $16.5 million, if you're interested.)

If you're in the market for some new digs on Nantucket -- and you have $16.45 million -- former Tyco CEO and current inmate number 05A4820 Dennis Kozlowski has got a deal for you.

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that he has cut the price on the estate from $23 million, but that's still a pretty good return on the $5 million he paid for it in 1997. You can take a look at the listing for the property here and it's pretty spectacular: 16 rooms, 7,000 square feet and plenty of fireplaces, limestone and marble. Rent out the guest cottage to help pay the mortgage!

The home is being sold unfurnished which is a shame given that Kozlowski once spent $6,000 on a shower curtain and $15,000 on a "dog umbrella stand." Then there was the birthday party for his wife that included togas, vodka-spouting statues of David, Jimmy Buffett, and a cake with exploding breasts. The party cost $2 million, and Tyco paid for half of it.

To see a behind bars interview with Kozlowski, check out this fascinating clip from 60 Minutes.

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.

Of the executive bad boys who gained infamy during the early 2000s -- executives at Enron and Worldcom being the most prominent -- Tyco's (NYSE: TYC) Dennis Kozlowski is perhaps the most complex story. For one, the company is still public, sporting a $20 billion market cap, plus another $15 billion for its spin-off, Tyco Electronics (NYSE: TEL).

This made Kozlowski an interesting choice for a profile on American Greed, which had thus far profiled now-defunct entities exclusively.

Kozlowski comes across as a greedy scoundrel -- fraudulently evading over $1 million in taxes on his art collection, using corporate assets to buy personal items, in spite of his frequent 9-figure paydays, and just generally acting like a pretty typical late 90's imperial CEO. Corporate governance at the company was a total joke, with one director reaping an 8-figure payday for arranging one meeting that led to a deal.

In the end, Kozlowski ended up in prison for 22 counts of grand larceny and defrauding shareholders out of more than $400 million. He has maintained that there was no criminal intent, and that the bonuses were authorized by the company's board of directors.

Still -- Tyco was never exposed as an accounting fraud on the same scale that companies like Enron and Worldcom were and, while Deal-a-Day Dennis was too aggressive in his pursuit of acquisitions, a lot of other companies were too, and the stock has appreciated more than 5-fold since he became CEO in 2002.

All that aside, the Kozlowski story definitely fits in the category of "American Greed", even if the Tyco debacle falls short as a "scam." This is definitely the best look at it I've seen so far; be sure to check your local listing for the replays.

To learn more about Kozlowski, take a look at the terrific website CNBC has set up.

Dennis Kozlowski is everywhere these days. CNBC featured an interview with the former Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) chief executive from jail where he spoke about the difficulty in doing hard time and how he's helping his fellow inmates earn their GEDs. A Wall Street Journal editorial recently argued that Kozlowski was "railroaded" and that "living large isn't a crime."

Funny thing is that his former company seems to be doing just fine unwinding the empire that Kozlowski built. The conglomerate, which is splitting up into three separate companies, today reported better-than-expected third quarter results. Net income was $181 million, or 36 cents per share. Excluding one-time items, profit was $285 million, or 57 cents. Revenue jumped $5.03 billion. The results beat Wall Street consensus estimates of 55-cent profit on revenue of $4.97 billion.

Shares of Tyco are down $1.11, or 2.82%, to $38.20 because Tyco's yearly guidance for profit of $2.50 to $2.65 a share was below the $2.62 analysts had projected.

In a conference call with analysts, Kozlowski's replacement Ed Breen said the company was "cautiously optimistic" about its outlook for 2008, according to Bloomberg News. The company's revenue growth of 5.4%, which beat Tyco's estimates, was particularly impressive.

Shares of Tyco, which are down about 18% over the past year, are trading at near their 52-week low. Do some investors miss Kozlowski? Maybe. But if the world never learned about $6,000 shower curtains and tacky birthday parties, "Deal a Day Dennis" probably would have been forced to split up the company he cobbled together through acquisitions. Conglomerates, including General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), are no longer the darlings that they once were on Wall Street.

The late 1990's and first part of the millennium showed corporate governance in America at its lowest ebb. Imperial CEOs ran their companies like personal fiefdoms, and board of directors were supine, taking care of their companies about as well as Britney Spears took care of her kids. And the poster child of it all, former Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) CEO Dennis Kozlowski, he of the $6,000 shower curtain and vodka-spitting penis of David, is in prison.

But as Dan Ackman pointed out (subscription required) in The Wall Street Journal yesterday, he may not really belong there: "Kozlowski wasn't convicted for overspending, nor for defrauding investors -- the most common charges leveled against corrupt CEOs. He was convicted instead of grand larceny, that is, of stealing his bonuses, which were certainly over-sized. But even if you believe the worst about Kozlowski and his co-defendant former Tyco CFO Mark Swartz, they were paid according to a contract, and that is not stealing."

Kozlowski appears to have been jailed as a scapegoat for an era that most of us wish hadn't happened. Kozlowski's lawyers are attempting to have the conviction overturned (subscription required) on appeal, and that looks like the right thing to do. If the board had done something even remotely close to its job, none of this would have happened. Kozlowski should not be punished for receiving a completely outrageous pay package, and behaving in the manner that CEOs were expected to behave in at the time.

Dennis Kozlowski, the former CEO of Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) who gained notoriety for his infamous party sporting a statue of David spouting vodka from its penis, paid for in part by the company's shareholders, is back in the news.

The 60-year old former bigwig was sentenced to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison in 2005, and his wife filed for divorce in January. He was served with the papers in prison. But now divorce talks between the two parties have broken down, and it is expected that Kozlowski will have to disclose his assets by October 15.

That could make shareholders happy, as they may be able to collect damages related to Kozlowski's looting during his tenure at the company.

According to Bloomberg, Kozlowski has paid $97 million restitution to Tyco, but still owes a $70 million fine, most of which is being held in escrow pending the outcome of his appeal. Roughly $600 million in assets held by Kozlowski were frozen by a court in 2002, and Tyco is still hoping to recover more money from its former CEO.

For an excellent overview of everything that went wrong at Tyco during Kozlowski's time at the helm, check out Greed Corporate Failure.

Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC) has finally settled multiple lawsuits that accused the company of inflating earnings.

It only had to pay $2.98 billion for the privilege. The bad behavior, which overstated Tyco's income by more than $5 billion during the tenure of former Chief Executive Officer L. Dennis Kozlowski, can now be pushed into the past. That will allow the company to go forward with it plan to split into three companies.

Under the plan to break up the company, its healthcare and electronics divisions will become new public companies. Tyco will keep the company's fire, security and engineered products divisions. One of the news companies will be called Tyco Electronics and the other will take on the name Covidien.

Shareholders seem to think that having the company in three pieces is a good idea. The stock price is up about 18% over the last year and trades near a 52-week high at $32.19.

In the last quarter, Tyco's revenue rose 7% to just over $10 billion. Net was off from $895 million in the quarter a year ago to $835 million. Costs of the breakup drove up expenses.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

On Sunday, 60 Minutes profiled Dennis Kozlowski, former Tyco International Ltd (NYSE: TYC) head who built Tyco from nothing into one of the largest conglomerates in the US. That is not an exaggeration, that is pure fact. Now he is in jail. There is little if any evidence that Kozlowski commited any crime, but a trial held by his peers concluded to put him away. He may have gotten paid a lot of money and had a nice expense account; but illegal? No.

Yesterday, David Stockman, Reganomics wunderkind was indicted for allegedly defrauding investors while being an investor and chairman of Collins & Aikman Corporation (OTC: CKCRQ), the auto-parts maker. The unions are going after him.

In January, Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD) canned CEO Robert Nardelli. While there were serious questions about the strategic direction of the company, supposedly the final straw came down to his compensation. He would not scale back his compensation package so he was gone. New CEO Blake has suggested the political backlash of Nardelli's pay package was too much to handle.

No matter how much you read and analyze the history of business, it always comes back to two forces: capital and labor. The 1980s and 90s were periods for capital to earn its due. With labor markets getting tighter and tighter, it is time for workers to earn their due.

This is not a coincidence that Kozlowski, Stockman and Nardelli are all in the headlines. Labor is saying it is time we run things for a while. This shift tends to go in 20 year cycles, so this is just the beginning. Portfolios need to be adjusted for labor spending and saving more money. Instead of owning Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT), start looking at Tiffany & Co (NYSE: TIF).