Dennis Kozlowski
Encyclopedia
Leonard Dennis Kozlowski http://www.biography.com/articles/Dennis-Kozlowski-234610 (born November 16, 1946, Newark, New Jersey
) is a former CEO of Tyco International
, convicted in 2005 of crimes related to his receipt of $81 million in purportedly unauthorized bonuses, the purchase of art for $14.725 million and the payment by Tyco of a $20 million investment banking fee to Frank Walsh, a former Tyco director. He is currently serving 8.33 to 25 years at the Mid-State Correctional Facility
in Marcy, New York
. His earliest release date is January 17, 2014, when he becomes eligible for parole.
's expectations and through a series of strategic mergers and acquisitions, ushered in a new era of mega-conglomerates. Kozlowski left Tyco in 2002, amid a controversy in regard to his compensation package.
Kozlowski was convicted on June 17, 2005 of crimes related to his receipt of $81 million in purportedly unauthorized bonuses, the purchase of art for $14.725 million and the payment by TYCO of a $20 million investment banking fee to Frank Walsh, a former Tyco director. On September 19, 2005 he was sentenced by Judge Michael Obus of the Manhattan Supreme Court to serve from eight years and four months to twenty-five years in prison for his role in the scandal.
Kozlowski, New York State Department of Correctional Services
# 05A4820, is in Mid-State Correctional Facility
.
His aggregate minimum sentence is 8 years and 4 months, and his aggregate maximum sentence is 25 years. His parole hearing date will be in April 2012. His parole eligibility date and his parole hearing merit release appearance are on January 17, 2014. His conditional release date is on May 17, 2022. His maximum expiration date is September 17, 2030.
newsmagazine
60 Minutes
, told Morley Safer
, "I was a guy sitting in a courtroom making $100 million a year [a]nd I think a juror sitting there just would have to say, 'All that money? He must have done something wrong.' I think it's as simple as that." http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/22/60minutes/main2596123.shtml
Kozlowski, however, asserted his innocence by stating, "I am absolutely not guilty of the charges. There was no criminal intent here. Nothing was hidden. There were no shredded documents. All the information the prosecutors got was directly off the books and records of the company." http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/22/60minutes/main2596123.shtml
Kozlowski is not the only one to question his conviction. Writing in Forbes
magazine at the end of the second trial, Dan Ackman said http://www.forbes.com/home/business/2005/06/17/kozlowski-tyco-verdict-cx_da_0617tycoverdict.html:
On November 15, 2007, the appellate division of the New York State Supreme Court denied Kozlowski's appeal in a unanimous decision.
of the late 1990s and early 2000s; allegedly, he had Tyco pay for his $30 million New York City
apartment which included $6,000 shower curtains and $15,000 "dog umbrella stands".
According to Forbes, Kozlowski also purchased several acres in the private gated community, "The Sanctuary", in Boca Raton, Florida
, while he was CEO at Tyco International
. He also purchased a multi-million dollar oceanfront estate on the island of Nantucket.
Tyco paid $1 million (half of the $2 million bill) for the 40th birthday party of Kozlowski's second wife, Karen Mayo Kozlowski. The extravagant party, held on the Italian
island
of Sardinia
, featured an ice sculpture
of the Statue of Michelangelo's David urinating Stolichnaya
vodka
. This birthday bash was disguised as a shareholder meeting in order to get corporate funding. In a camcorder video, Dennis Kozlowski states that this party will bring out a Tyco core competency - the ability to party hard. Subsequently, this shareholder meeting/birthday party became known as the Tyco Roman Orgy.
On July 31, 2006, Karen Kozlowski filed for divorce in Palm Beach County, Florida
. No specific reasons were cited, but the motion asks the court to equitably distribute the couple's assets and liabilities and asks that gifts Karen received be declared marital property. She also seeks a lien
on the couple's Boca Raton mansion. Finally, the motion requested alimony
. Kozlowski said his wife visited him in prison just once - and that was to tell him that she wanted a divorce, and that she wanted money. She married a Baltimore property developer shortly thereafter.
Kozlowski is a graduate of Seton Hall University
, and served on the Middlebury College
Board of Trustees in the 1990s.
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
) is a former CEO of Tyco International
Tyco International
Tyco International Ltd. is a highly diversified global manufacturing company incorporated in Switzerland, with United States operational headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey...
, convicted in 2005 of crimes related to his receipt of $81 million in purportedly unauthorized bonuses, the purchase of art for $14.725 million and the payment by Tyco of a $20 million investment banking fee to Frank Walsh, a former Tyco director. He is currently serving 8.33 to 25 years at the Mid-State Correctional Facility
Mid-State Correctional Facility
Mid-State Correctional Facility is located between the cities of Rome and Utica in New York State.Before Mid-State was a prison, it was a hospital for both the mentally ill and mentally handicapped. There was a so called “25-year building spree” in the prison system, when the number of prisoners...
in Marcy, New York
Marcy, New York
Marcy is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 9,469 at the 2000 census. The town was named after Governor William L. Marcy....
. His earliest release date is January 17, 2014, when he becomes eligible for parole.
Tyco International
Kozlowski joined Tyco in 1975, becoming CEO in 1992. With Kozlowski at the helm, Tyco massively expanded during the late 1990s. The company consistently beat Wall StreetWall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
's expectations and through a series of strategic mergers and acquisitions, ushered in a new era of mega-conglomerates. Kozlowski left Tyco in 2002, amid a controversy in regard to his compensation package.
Scandal, trial, and conviction
Kozlowski has been tried twice. The first attempt was a mistrial as one of the jurors, Ruth Jordan - who sided with Kozlowski - later claimed that she was threatened by a member of the public. Kozlowski testified on his own behalf during the second trial, stating that his pay package was "confusing" and "almost embarrassingly big", but that he never committed a crime as the company's top executive.Kozlowski was convicted on June 17, 2005 of crimes related to his receipt of $81 million in purportedly unauthorized bonuses, the purchase of art for $14.725 million and the payment by TYCO of a $20 million investment banking fee to Frank Walsh, a former Tyco director. On September 19, 2005 he was sentenced by Judge Michael Obus of the Manhattan Supreme Court to serve from eight years and four months to twenty-five years in prison for his role in the scandal.
Kozlowski, New York State Department of Correctional Services
New York State Department of Correctional Services
The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision or NYSDOCCS is the agency of New York State responsible for the care, confinement, and rehabilitation of approximately 63,000 inmates at 71 correctional facilities funded by the State of New York. The department employs...
# 05A4820, is in Mid-State Correctional Facility
Mid-State Correctional Facility
Mid-State Correctional Facility is located between the cities of Rome and Utica in New York State.Before Mid-State was a prison, it was a hospital for both the mentally ill and mentally handicapped. There was a so called “25-year building spree” in the prison system, when the number of prisoners...
.
His aggregate minimum sentence is 8 years and 4 months, and his aggregate maximum sentence is 25 years. His parole hearing date will be in April 2012. His parole eligibility date and his parole hearing merit release appearance are on January 17, 2014. His conditional release date is on May 17, 2022. His maximum expiration date is September 17, 2030.
Commenting on his trial
Kozlowski, commenting on his trial in a March 2007 interview with the CBS televisionCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
newsmagazine
Newsmagazine
A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published piece of paper, magazine or a radio or television program, usually weekly, featuring articles or segments on current events...
60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
, told Morley Safer
Morley Safer
Morley Safer is a Canadian reporter and correspondent for CBS News. He is best known for his long tenure on the newsmagazine 60 Minutes, which began in December 1970.-Life and career:...
, "I was a guy sitting in a courtroom making $100 million a year [a]nd I think a juror sitting there just would have to say, 'All that money? He must have done something wrong.' I think it's as simple as that." http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/22/60minutes/main2596123.shtml
Kozlowski, however, asserted his innocence by stating, "I am absolutely not guilty of the charges. There was no criminal intent here. Nothing was hidden. There were no shredded documents. All the information the prosecutors got was directly off the books and records of the company." http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/22/60minutes/main2596123.shtml
Kozlowski is not the only one to question his conviction. Writing in Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine at the end of the second trial, Dan Ackman said http://www.forbes.com/home/business/2005/06/17/kozlowski-tyco-verdict-cx_da_0617tycoverdict.html:
It's fair to say that Kozlowski and Swartz abused many corporate prerogatives and that they invented new ones just so they could abuse them. They acted like pigs, as a lot of CEOs act like pigs. Still, the larceny charges at the heart of the case did not depend on whether the defendants took the money--they did--but whether they were authorized to take it. Questions of authority are, by nature, legal questions, not questions for jurors. Much has been made of how the second Tyco trial was less of a circus than the first one. That's true, but only by comparison.
On November 15, 2007, the appellate division of the New York State Supreme Court denied Kozlowski's appeal in a unanimous decision.
Lifestyle
Kozlowski became notorious for his extravagant lifestyle supported by the booming stock marketStock market
A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
of the late 1990s and early 2000s; allegedly, he had Tyco pay for his $30 million New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
apartment which included $6,000 shower curtains and $15,000 "dog umbrella stands".
According to Forbes, Kozlowski also purchased several acres in the private gated community, "The Sanctuary", in Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA, incorporated in May 1925. In the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 74,764; the 2006 population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 86,396. However, the majority of the people under the postal address of Boca Raton, about...
, while he was CEO at Tyco International
Tyco International
Tyco International Ltd. is a highly diversified global manufacturing company incorporated in Switzerland, with United States operational headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey...
. He also purchased a multi-million dollar oceanfront estate on the island of Nantucket.
Tyco paid $1 million (half of the $2 million bill) for the 40th birthday party of Kozlowski's second wife, Karen Mayo Kozlowski. The extravagant party, held on the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
of Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, featured an ice sculpture
Ice sculpture
Ice sculpture is a form of sculpture that uses ice as the raw material. Sculptures from ice can be abstract or realistic and can be functional or purely decorative...
of the Statue of Michelangelo's David urinating Stolichnaya
Stolichnaya
-Description:Fermentation of Stolichnaya starts with wheat and rye grains and artesial water from the Russian city of Samara and the Kaliningrad region. The fermentation takes about 60 hours. Once fermentation is complete the resulting liquid is distilled four times to a strength of 96.4% ABV....
vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
. This birthday bash was disguised as a shareholder meeting in order to get corporate funding. In a camcorder video, Dennis Kozlowski states that this party will bring out a Tyco core competency - the ability to party hard. Subsequently, this shareholder meeting/birthday party became known as the Tyco Roman Orgy.
On July 31, 2006, Karen Kozlowski filed for divorce in Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in total area, and third in population. As of 2010, the county's estimated population was 1,320,134, making it the twenty-eighth most populous in the United States...
. No specific reasons were cited, but the motion asks the court to equitably distribute the couple's assets and liabilities and asks that gifts Karen received be declared marital property. She also seeks a lien
Lien
In law, a lien is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation...
on the couple's Boca Raton mansion. Finally, the motion requested alimony
Alimony
Alimony is a U.S. term denoting a legal obligation to provide financial support to one's spouse from the other spouse after marital separation or from the ex-spouse upon divorce...
. Kozlowski said his wife visited him in prison just once - and that was to tell him that she wanted a divorce, and that she wanted money. She married a Baltimore property developer shortly thereafter.
Kozlowski is a graduate of Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. Seton Hall is also the oldest and largest Catholic university in the...
, and served on the Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
Board of Trustees in the 1990s.
