A rare treat for fans of the wisdom of Dennis Kozlowski, the former Tyco chief currently serving up to 25 years for grand larceny, conspiracy and securities fraud stemming from his heroic devotion to corporate excess.
Prisoner 05A4820 has given an interview to the Wall Street Journal in which he admits that he might have got a little "piggy" when trousering those giant bonuses at the manufacturing group.
Speaking in a visitors' room at the Mid-State Correctional Facility in New York State, he demonstrated a previously disguised penchant for irony by siding with the Occupy Wall Street protesters, saying:
I understand their frustration.
Kozlowski - who pulled in a pay package worth more than $105m in 2000 and famously got Tyco to fork out for his New York apartment, which included a $6,000 shower curtain and a $15,000 "dog umbrella stand" - says he is now attempting to take a work-release job (although New York State is blocking him) and that he reckons he has been harshly treated. He moans:
My sentence is the same as people who brought down Enron and WorldCom
He also criticises ailing financial firms for paying out massive bonuses after they were bailed out by the taxpayer, musing:
That's indefensible.
Quite.
.png?w=600)
