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Defense: Ex-Tyco CFO Swartz Committed No Crime

Associated Press
Published | Updated

NEW YORK – Former Tyco International Ltd. (TYC) finance chief Mark Swartz committed no crime and always believed the money he received from the company was authorized, his lawyer said Monday in closing arguments.

Lawyer Charles Stillman also said Mark Swartz never acted to conceal his large company bonuses and "make secret entries that nobody knew about."

"The DA must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mark intended to steal the money," Stillman told jurors in Manhattan State Supreme Court. "They've proven no such thing."

Swartz, 44, and former Tyco CEO L. Dennis Kozlowski (search) are accused of looting Tyco of about $600 million by hiding unauthorized bonuses, secretly forgiving loans to themselves and pumping up Tyco stock with lies about company finances.

The pair's second trial is wrapping up more than a year after their first trial ended in a mistrial when a juror who was named by some media and depicted as being a defense holdout reported receiving threats. That former juror, Ruth Jordan, was in court on Monday watching the closing arguments.

Stillman said a company plan instituted before Swartz was chief financial officer provided that bonuses would be paid based on Tyco financial performance — and he said the company met its targets.

"Mark never received a penny more than was provided under his bonus formula," Stillman said.

Stillman also said Swartz believed he was carrying out the wishes of the board of directors' compensation committee when he took a $12.5 million loan forgiveness in 1999 rather than a cash-and-stock bonus.

Stillman's closing argument for Swartz was expected to continue throughout the day Monday. Lawyers for Kozlowski and prosecutors will take their turns after that.

Stillman went after the prosecution's case in his argument: "If you're still wondering if Mark Swartz did anything wrong in the first place, then that means that the prosecution did not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt."

Swartz took the witness stand at both trials in his own defense. During the second trial, he stated flatly that "I never stole money from Tyco."

Shares of Tyco rose 8 cents to $29.89 on the New York Stock Exchange (search), near the low end of a 52-week range of $27.27 to $36.58.