Comments on: Dennis Kozlowski: Prisoner 05A4820

Morley Safer Speaks With The Ex-Tyco Chief Behind Bars

[tammorris]

Thank you Dennis for allowing 60 Minutes to interview you. You seemed personable, honest and forthcoming. I was saddened to hear, but not surprised, that your wife and the majority of your friends had moved on. I'm looking forward to Capt. Bill Smith's book about your story. If he needs help with the book let me know. [e-mail]

[memel1]

Dear Mr. Kozlowski:
I'm sorry that you lost your wife and your friends. Maybe this is all for the best. They seem to have been more interested in your wealth than in you anyway. My husband and I found out how many friends we had once...not very many. But do you know what, it made us look at each other and I absolutely found out that my best friend was him. We are not poor now but not rich...but we are happier than we have ever been. God is on your side and you can get thru this. It seems like it takes forever but eventually, the bad guys lose. You will have found your true self, the kid from nowhere, and you can carry on. If you did that stuff then pay your dues and go on, if you didn't put it behind you and go on. In the end nobody really cares. I really do not see how you could have made all of those decisions to make that company so huge in such a short time and at the same time shop for all the stuff. It takes forever to find the stuff and alot of research to find the right stuff and I don't see you having that much time. I believe that you must be a very smart man, it would have been impossible for you to achieve what you did unless you were a very smart man. Try to forgive them all. Anger and resentment are negative energies and you need to let them go. God will take care of them. No one will escape in the end. Keep your chin up and your eyes focused on the future. You are bigger than all of this. Repair your broken heart and keep the faith. [e-mail]

[wyatturb]

I lost my life savings with the believe and trust that Dennis Kozlousy was a good man.I believed in TYCO and their idea of fiber -optic cable underwater.I won't feel sorry for him until I receive restitution.Us ordinary honest people would have received a much greater sentence if we stole millions of dollars from hard working people.

[icurkwl]

Pay attention...A CEO is like a captain is to a ship...lol...ok bad example.

[icurkwl]

rofl...this is rich...TV time on 60 minutes,with no rebute....wow !I hope this isnt another ferderal loan...~.^...Ok "im only the head im not responsiable for what the tale does...!" Im thinking he should have contacted MTV for that bash
...we could have seen it live and not been
so resentful for his deliberate use of
monies not rightly designated in a corporation with stock holders....remember them,then we could have all had a good time watching the corporate let loose
and have a little fun....now we stuck with this looser on 60 mins...next time i think ill read the check befor i sign it..u never know where it goes

[franactor]

If Dennis reads this as I watched 60 min you seemed not like someone who would maliciously do a criminal act
And when I read your story and saw you were from Newark then I really perked up I too am from Newark...I woud love to correspond with you

[e-mail]

[sdrosea]

Dennis, cry me a river. Shut up and go punch that next license plate.

[adman518]

All the expenses were on the book, not cooked books. Lets be real, the board knew what was being spent (or should have) and the auditors and CPA's certainly did. Let Dennis out. He is the one who grew the company, and lets lock up the board members and auditors.

Dennis was railroaded just like Marthas Stewart.

If Dennis wants to increase his $1 a day salary, I would ba happy to have him as an email advisor to my company. Please forward my email to him. He obviously has a brillaint business business mind.

[homeplace414]

I work at Tyco owned company. I'm glad Dennis Kozlowski got caught and is in prison. I'm sorry that he is doing well and that his friends have left him and his wife is divorcing him. It's true that when you have nothing you find out who your true friends are. There are probably a lot of other people like Dennis but he happened to get caught. But, it makes me sick that I have to scrap weekly on the little that I earn. I earn 10.75 an hour, that's 430. a week working on a production floor packaging. And this man used company money for grotesquely priced things and parties. I've missed out on bonuses in the past few years because of this thing or that. This has really affected me sadly.

[feelfree1]

Another misunderstood billionare. How very sad.

[pbmbi]

TYCO overpaid when they took over a company for which I worked. I remember sitting in my office as Director of Research after they overpaid and saying to myself, "well here I am worth twice as much as I was yesterday and no way to pay for that no matter how hard I work". Well soon I was to find out how I would pay. "We at TYCO do not believe in entitlement benefits" the Director of Human Resources told us in a meeting. "Entitlement benefits, just what is that" I asked " is it like welfare?" "Well a good example is pension plans and we are here to tell you that yours is now frozen". Turns out Dennis's was not frozen and, his even had a special provision that if he was to end up in jail he would still get his pension. A little premonition here? This was in the TYCO yearly report way before Dennis was in the news for greed and averice. TYCO's business plan was simple and destructive. Overpay for companies, then strip out any value added components such as R&D etc. shut down and write off enough of the manufacturing operation as neccesary to ensure that the aquizition numbers would be met then milk the remaining manufacturing with little regards to anything but the bottom line. Certainly that works for awhile but at some point you have to pay for a lack of new products and new initiatives. Now the new Dennis says "we are going to break up the company to release shareholder value", exactly what Dennis and Mark Swartz said and tried to do just before the collapse.

[walt1944-2009]

Working as I have in the offices of companies both large and small, I have seen the workings of the upper management world and the recklessness and greed that goes on with the "uppers", many of whom don't have the brains to find their way out of a paper bag, but get big bucks and perks simply for being there and making stupid decisions. I've seen a coporate Executive VP take a limo to work for 2 weeks at $1,000 a day, while the company was deep in the red and the grunts benefits were cut down to nothing. I worked for a place where the owners stole all the workers medical, and pension contributions and worked for another guy who parked his kids new water jet bikes in the plant while arguing there wasn't money enough to give anyone a raise. So, I don't feel sorry one bit for cheats like Koslowski, Ebbers, Skilling, and all the others who got caught. Unfortunately, there are a lot more crooks like them out there, a lot more!!!

[adman518]

All the expenses were on the book, not cooked books. Lets be real, the board knew what was being spent (or should have) and the auditors and CPA's certainly did. Let Dennis out. He is the one who grew the company, and lets lock up the board members and auditors.

Dennis was railroaded just like Marthas Stewart.

If Dennis wants to increase his $1 a day salary, I would ba happy to have him as an email advisor to my company. Please forward my email to him. He obviously has a brillaint business business mind.

[mgardino]

I AM WRITING THIS FOR MR.KOZLOWSKI, WHO IS NOW CONFINED TO THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM THAT CONVEYS THE MESSAGE OF NO JUSTICE IN MOST IF NOT ALL SITUATIONS.
MR.KOZLOWSKI,
I WANT TO TELL YOU THAT THE REALITY OF OUR INDIVIDUAL SELF-WORTH TO OTHERS IS A HORRIBLE WAKE-UP CALL WHEN WE LOSE OUR MONETARY VALUE. BY USE OF "OTHERS" I MEAN FAMILY, ALL OF THE FAMILY, FRIENDS,BUT WERE THEY REALLY FRIENDS, AND LOVERS.I LOST MY MONETARY VALUE IN 1998 AND I TOO LOST ALL THOSE THAT "LOVED" AND "ADMIRED" ME ALL MY LIFE, EXCEPT FOR MY MOTHER AND FATHER, WHO HAD PASSED. I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW, THAT BY LOSING ALL OF MY MONEY, I HAVE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY PAST 44YRS. CAN SEE MYSELF FOR WHO I REALLY AM AND NOT WHAT THE PEOPLE IN MY LIFE WERE TELLING ME. YES, IT HAS BEEN VERY HARD TO COME FROM WELL-RESPECTED,BECAUSE OF MY FATHER'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS,TO SITTING IN A VEHICLE AND REALIZING I WAS HOMELESS. I WAS 45 YRS OLD & HAD TO LEARN WHAT ALL OF THIS IS REALLY ABOUT, MONEY. HAVE A DEEP & CLOSE CONNECTION TO YOUR HIGHER POWER AND REALIZE "HE" WILL HOLD & PROTECT YOU AND TAKE YOU PLACES IN LIFE TO HELP YOU REALIZE THAT "HE" IS WHAT ALL THIS LIFE IS TRULY ABOUT. I WILL PRAY FOR YOU AND HOPE TO HEAR OF ALL YOUR NEW ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN LIFE SOON. THE KEY WORD IS "NEW". SINCERELY, M.GARDINO

[brettstar4]

Hello, I have not watched 60 minutes for quite a few years now...I tuned in this evening to catch the Dennis Kozlowski story and it was saddening to see such a fall from riches to rags... Anyways keep up the good reporting and I have now added 60 minutes to my Yahoo favorites!

[fizzal-2009]

Here is a ceo of a multinational corperation trying too count something in the USA that is not legal tender here in the USA, and while the USA spends a billion for health care in South America i,m shure the New York atourny,s office will arrest them for not paying tax,s in the USA for the services they recieved when they show up in New York for citizenship?

[jones10000]

Kozlowski's (Tyco's) half built yacht has sat for several years in a boatyard in Bridgeport, CT. You can still see the boat on I-95 near exit 29 (I just saw it again on 3/22/07). At the time it was being built, I had heard that it's construction was being overseen directly by full-time on-Site Tyco employees. The shipyard had built Kozlowski a helipad so he could fly in and inspect the ship at any time. Call me crazy, but I don't think that shareholders would approve of this allocation of corporate resources.

[alfire1]

MR. Koslowski is not gulity of the crimes he is gulity of putting trust in the wrong people.

This man did great thing but it is alway the case the one on top will always be attack and pull on.

I not sure if he will every see this but do tell him that it is clear to me he is a innocent man. Tell him to have faith and pray for the God I serve can free him even from prison.

I would wish to tell him myself be not discourage as you are not alone. The so call friends and family that left you did not truly love him. Be strong and let them go

However there are those that respect you and love you still even now.

I wish you health and longevity to fight this fight.

Hold on sir and know you have friends and this friend will pray for you.

I know your innocent.

Alfire

[c2302]

An innocent man sits in jail tonight....my heart goes out to him.....may god bless him and keep him strong

[alfred2cush]

Send Dennis to Iraq to fight fires, that will make a believer out of him.