Today the New York State Court of Appeals upheld the criminal convictions of former Tyco International CEO Dennis Kozlowski and the company’s former CFO, Mark Swartz.
In a written opinion, the Court stated that
In this appeal relating to the convictions of two former executives for crimes associated with corporate wrongdoing, we are asked to determine whether the admission of an attorney’s testimony concerning certain facts related to a corporate internal investigation improperly conveyed to the jury an opinion regarding defendants’ guilt. We conclude that this testimony — and the prosecutor’s summation comments thereon — did not convey such an opinion. Second, we hold that Supreme Court did not abuse its discretion in quashing defendants’ subpoena duces tecum, which sought the factual portions of certain interview notes and a memorandum prepared during the course of the internal investigation.
Mr. Kozlowski and Mr. Swartz were found guilty of fraud, grand larceny and other charges by a jury in 2005 after prosecutors said they stole more than $150 million from the company, Reuters reports. Both men have now served about three years of their prison terms, which were reportedly set at 8 1/2 to 25 years apiece.
