Marcy, N.Y. – Dennis Kozlowski, the imprisoned former chief executive of Tyco International Ltd., said many of his friends have abandoned him since his fraud conviction, according to excerpts from the CBS program “60 Minutes.”
“They wanted to share in” my power and wealth, Kozlowski said in an interview with Morley Safer to be aired on the program Sunday. “That was probably 90 percent of the people in my life.”
Kozlowski, 60, is serving 8 1/3 to 25 years in a New York state prison for looting Tyco and defrauding shareholders. He is incarcerated at Mid-State Correctional Facility, about 250 miles from Manhattan.
In the “60 Minutes” interview, Kozlowski said the jury at his trial was prejudiced by his pay package. As CEO, he made $300 million between 1998 and 2002.
“I was a guy sitting in a courtroom making $100 million a year,” Kozlowski told Safer. “And I think a juror sitting there just would have to say, ‘All that money? He must have done something wrong.”‘
Additional business news briefs:
DENVER
Restaurant Week diners doubled
The number of diners who participated in Denver Restaurant Week 2007 more than doubled this year, with the 149 participating restaurants hosting 119,200 patrons during the event, the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau announced Thursday.
The convention bureau launched the annual dining event in 2005 with 84 restaurants as a way to promote Denver’s restaurant scene.
Traffic to the event’s website also spiked this winter to 103,943 unique visitors, up from 34,069 last year.
DENVER
Court allows bans on cyanide in mining
Colorado counties have the authority to ban the use of cyanide in gold mining, the state Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. A three- judge panel upheld Summit County’s rule against the technique, rejecting a challenge by the Colorado Mining Association.
Similar bans can remain in place in Conejos, Costilla, Gilpin and Gunnison counties, said Colin Henderson, president of the Alliance for Responsible Mining, which joined Summit County in defending the ban.
DENVER
Venoco to purchase West Montalvo field
Denver-based Venoco Inc., an independent energy company, announced it has recently signed purchase agreements to buy the West Montalvo field in Ventura County, Calif., and a separate agreement to acquire several Texas Gulf Coast fields for about $106 million.
The combined total proved reserves of the two acquisitions are estimated at 9.7 million barrels of oil equivalent.
DURANGO
Purgatory sets 2008 season-pass prices
Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort on Thursday became the first Colorado ski area to announce season-pass prices for next winter.
Purgatory will start selling its All-Season Pass on Saturday for $529 for adults and $229 for children. Pass holders also will get three free days at Taos and Crested Butte Mountain Resort and 10 days at Kirkwood Mountain in California.
Passes will be on sale through April 1.
WASHINGTON
Congress pressured over high foreclosures
Accusations were flying Thursday over the meltdown of the high-risk mortgage market as pressure mounted for Congress to do something about rising foreclosures among homeowners unable to meet payments.
“What we’re looking at is a tsunami of foreclosures that is on the horizon,” Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., declared at a hearing of the Senate Banking Committee. Most heavily affected, he said, will be black and Latino home owners who were pressured into taking out mortgages at rates they cannot afford.
ANN ARBOR, Mich.
Lagging Borders scrambles strategy
Borders Group Inc., lagging in an increasingly competitive industry, outlined on Thursday a company overhaul that includes focusing on superstores, slashing the size of its Waldenbooks chain and a possibly selling its international business.
The plan entails nearly halving its Waldenbooks chain to 300 stores from 564 by the end of 2008. In addition, the bookstore giant plans to unveil a new online strategy.
PASADENA, Calif.
Labelmaker buys rival Paxar Corp.
Avery Dennison Corp., the world’s largest labelmaker, agreed to buy rival Paxar Corp. for $1.34 billion to add customers outside North America.
Paxar holders will get $30.50 a share, the companies reported. The price is 27 percent higher than White Plains, N.Y.-based Paxar’s closing price of $65.55 Thursday.
SAN ANTONIO
AT&T CEO raked in $60.7 million last year
AT&T Inc., the largest U.S. telephone company, gave chief executive Edward Whitacre Jr. compensation last year valued at $60.7 million, ahead of proposals to limit pay.
Whitacre received a salary of $2.1 million and stock awards totaling $46.8 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. He also was given $6.78 million in nonequity incentives and other compensation. Whitacre and the board are urging shareholders at the annual meeting to reject three proposals tied to executive compensation.
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.
Amgen stops use of cancer drug Vectibix
Amgen Inc. stopped use of its colon-cancer drug Vectibix in a study after results showed it may be unsafe to use when combined with Genentech Inc.’s Avastin and chemotherapy.
A preliminary review found that survival rates were worse among colon-cancer patients getting the treatment regimen that added Vectibix, the Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based company said Thursday.
BEAVERTON, Ore.
Nike says 3rd-quarter profit beat predictions
Nike Inc., the world’s biggest maker of athletic shoes, said third-quarter profit rose more than analysts anticipated on sales of new products such as the Air Force 25 and iPod-compatible sneakers.
Net income climbed 7.7 percent to $350.8 million, or $1.37 a share, from $325.8 million, or $1.24, a year earlier, Beaverton, Ore.-based Nike said Thursday in a statement. Sales increased 8.7 percent to $3.93 billion.
