Hostility Seen in Tyco Jury Room

Jurors in the Tyco International Ltd. corruption trial told the judge Thursday that deliberations had “turned poisonous” and that animosity in the jury room threatened the outcome of the five-month trial. He refused to call a mistrial and gave them the night to cool off.

One or more jurors do not have an open mind, they said in one of three notes sent to New York Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus. “The disagreement is so intense that it has resulted in very bad acrimony. Perhaps this jury cannot continue. What shall we do?” the jurors said.

“The atmosphere in the jury room has turned poisonous.”

The messages prompted a motion for a mistrial by the defense. “We believe our right to a fair trial no longer exists,” said defense attorney Austin Campriello, representing former Tyco Chief Executive L. Dennis Kozlowski.

Obus denied the motion, then told the jury to go home, relax and return today, when “we will see if we can continue.”

In dismissing the jurors for the day, the judge said he was concerned about some of the content of the notes. “It is important as a personal matter that you all continue to respect each other’s opinion,” he said.

The notes portrayed a jury divided by insults and hard feelings. One member of the jury, a note said, “had stopped deliberating in good faith.” Jurors were also swapping “incendiary accusations,” the note continued.

Jurors sat through five months of testimony before deliberations in the case against Kozlowski and former Tyco Chief Financial Officer Mark Swartz even began.

The notes came seemingly out of the blue. Earlier, the jurors had asked the court to “indulge us with more time” before they returned to the courtroom to hear a read-back of testimony.

“With your kind permission, we would like to let you know when we are ready -- hopefully today,” the note concluded.

Swartz, 43, and Kozlowski, 57, are charged with 32 counts of grand larceny, falsifying business records and violating state business laws. They each could face as much as 30 years in prison if convicted. The two allegedly took unauthorized bonuses and abused company loan programs and used the money to finance lavish lifestyles.

The defense argued that the two men earned every dime and that the board of directors and the company’s auditors knew about the compensation and never objected. One year, Kozlowski made more than $100 million.

Swartz testified that he did not do anything he believed was illegal. He said he and Kozlowski received bonuses and had their loans forgiven at many informal company board meetings at which no minutes were recorded. Kozlowski did not testify.

Prosecutors alleged that some of the looted money was used to purchase and decorate an $18-million Fifth Avenue apartment used by Kozlowski. Amenities in the residence included a $15,000 umbrella stand and a $6,000 shower curtain.