should a 150 million thief be treated as a common criminal???// NYT

[Miklos Vasarhelyi <miklosv@andromeda.rutgers.edu>]

September 20, 2005
The Crime and the Time

The cries for blood have certainly quieted since the recent corporate 
crime spree first made headlines with the disasters at Enron and 
WorldCom. Some cried foul when Bernard Ebbers of WorldCom and John 
Rigas of Adelphia Communications got sentences that meant those 
white-haired white-collar criminals would probably die in prison. 
Tomorrow night, Martha Stewart's version of the reality show "The 
Apprentice" will have its premiere amid her burst of postprison popularity.

In this morning-after atmosphere, when tempers have cooled, comes the 
news that the former Tyco chief executive, Dennis Kozlowski, and the 
ex-chief financial officer, Mark H. Swartz, have been sentenced to a 
minimum of 81/3 years and a maximum of 25 years in prison plus 
millions in fines and restitution. This is no cause for celebration. 
Their lives ruined, they face hard jail time. But that does not 
change one fact: they deserve it and they should serve it.

There always was a hint of buffoonery to the Kozlowski proceedings, 
with the $6,000 shower curtain and the $2 million birthday party for 
his wife, that diverted attention from very serious crimes. Mr. 
Kozlowski and Mr. Swartz were charged with stealing $150 million and 
earning $430 million in sneaky sales of falsely pumped-up stock. They 
were convicted on 22 counts of grand larceny, conspiracy, falsifying 
business records and securities fraud.

Lenient commentators were quick to point out that there are no "Club 
Fed"-style prisons in New York. Well, any small-time embezzler 
convicted in New York State faces the same horror of bunking with 
violent criminals. A car thief convicted of 10,000 counts of grand 
theft auto - and those would have to be luxury cars even to come 
close to the crimes committed at Tyco - would be pleased with a 
probable sentence of 10 to 12 years.

The persistent myth that a robber in a suit and tie instead of jeans 
and a T-shirt deserves a prison with better amenities should be put 
to rest for good.



Miklos A. Vasarhelyi
KPMG Professor of AIS
Rutgers University
Director Rutgers Accounting Research Center
315 Ackerson Hall
180 University Avenue
Newark, NJ 07102
(973) 353 5002
(201) 4544377 mobile


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