FORMER TYCO International Ltd. Chief Executive Dennis Kozlowski, who declined to testify at his first trial, finally took the witness stand yesterday to deny charges he stole millions of dollars from the company.
At various times during his testimony, Kozlowski, 58, described his pay package as "confusing" and "almost embarrassingly big" but said he never committed a crime as the top executive of the conglomerate.
Kozlowski and Mark Swartz, his former right-hand man and the company's former finance chief, are standing trial for the second time in New York State Supreme Court on charges of grand larceny and securities fraud, among others, in connection with massive compensation packages they received.
Their first trial, which cost the state as much as $6 million, ended in a mistrial last year after a juror reported receiving a phone call and letter about the case during deliberations.
While Swartz testified for nine days at the first trial, Kozlowski never took the stand in his own defence.
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