zimv20
Sep 19, 2005, 01:54 PM
link (http://nytimes.com/2005/09/19/business/19cnd-tyco.html?hp&ex=1127188800&en=e973f8852e727c2c&ei=5094&partner=homepage)
L. Dennis Kozlowski, the chief executive whose extravagant spending and pay packages at Tyco International became notorious examples of corporate excess, was sentenced today to 8 1/3 to 25 years in state prison for stealing from his company and deceiving shareholders.
Mark H. Swartz, Tyco's former chief financial officer, received the same sentence for his role in the fraud.
Judge Michael J. Obus of the State Supreme Court in New York also ordered Mr. Kozlowski to pay $97 million in restitution and $70 million in fines. Mr. Swartz was ordered to pay $37 million in restitution and $35 million in fines.
The sentences add to the list of lengthy prison terms for former executives convicted recently of white-collar crimes, most notably Bernard J. Ebbers, of WorldCom, and John J. Rigas, of Adelphia Communications. It is a trend that even former prosecutors have questioned, pointing out that the jail terms for many violent crimes are shorter.
Mr. Kozlowski and Mr. Swartz had faced a maximum sentence of 15 to 30 years, and a minimum of 1 to 3 years.
Because Mr. Kozlowski and Mr. Swartz were tried and sentenced in state court, they will have the opportunity for parole, unlike other high-profile executives sentenced in the past year.
Still, legal analysts said that Mr. Kozlowski and Mr. Swartz's sentences were of the same mold as other prison terms handed down in recent months - close to the maximum allowable, unheard of years ago.
Mr. Ebbers, the former chairman and chief executive of WorldCom, was sentenced in July to 25 years in prison for masterminding a record $11 billion fraud that toppled the telecommunications company.
Mr. Rigas, who built Adelphia Communications into the country's sixth-largest cable company, received a 15-year sentence in June for stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from the company and deceiving investors. At 80 years old, he is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison. His son Timothy, the company's former chief financial officer, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
All three executives are currently free on bail as they await their appeals.
Proponents of such sentences argue that strong measures are necessary to deter others, particularly after the spate of corporate scandals like Enron and WorldCom. Mr. Kozlowski and Mr. Swartz were accused of stealing $150 million from Tyco - a conglomerate whose products include security systems and health care - and reaping $430 million more by covertly selling company shares while "artificially inflating" the value of the stock.
(more)
and what of ken lay? any progress on that investigation, i wonder.
L. Dennis Kozlowski, the chief executive whose extravagant spending and pay packages at Tyco International became notorious examples of corporate excess, was sentenced today to 8 1/3 to 25 years in state prison for stealing from his company and deceiving shareholders.
Mark H. Swartz, Tyco's former chief financial officer, received the same sentence for his role in the fraud.
Judge Michael J. Obus of the State Supreme Court in New York also ordered Mr. Kozlowski to pay $97 million in restitution and $70 million in fines. Mr. Swartz was ordered to pay $37 million in restitution and $35 million in fines.
The sentences add to the list of lengthy prison terms for former executives convicted recently of white-collar crimes, most notably Bernard J. Ebbers, of WorldCom, and John J. Rigas, of Adelphia Communications. It is a trend that even former prosecutors have questioned, pointing out that the jail terms for many violent crimes are shorter.
Mr. Kozlowski and Mr. Swartz had faced a maximum sentence of 15 to 30 years, and a minimum of 1 to 3 years.
Because Mr. Kozlowski and Mr. Swartz were tried and sentenced in state court, they will have the opportunity for parole, unlike other high-profile executives sentenced in the past year.
Still, legal analysts said that Mr. Kozlowski and Mr. Swartz's sentences were of the same mold as other prison terms handed down in recent months - close to the maximum allowable, unheard of years ago.
Mr. Ebbers, the former chairman and chief executive of WorldCom, was sentenced in July to 25 years in prison for masterminding a record $11 billion fraud that toppled the telecommunications company.
Mr. Rigas, who built Adelphia Communications into the country's sixth-largest cable company, received a 15-year sentence in June for stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from the company and deceiving investors. At 80 years old, he is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison. His son Timothy, the company's former chief financial officer, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
All three executives are currently free on bail as they await their appeals.
Proponents of such sentences argue that strong measures are necessary to deter others, particularly after the spate of corporate scandals like Enron and WorldCom. Mr. Kozlowski and Mr. Swartz were accused of stealing $150 million from Tyco - a conglomerate whose products include security systems and health care - and reaping $430 million more by covertly selling company shares while "artificially inflating" the value of the stock.
(more)
and what of ken lay? any progress on that investigation, i wonder.
