Judge Puts Alternate on Tyco Case Jury

A Manhattan jury weighing grand larceny charges against a former Tyco International Ltd. general counsel had to restart deliberations Monday after the judge replaced a juror with an alternate.

“Commence your deliberations anew,” New York Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus told the jury after he dismissed the juror because the juror’s wife had a baby.

The jury ended its deliberations for the day without reaching a verdict on charges that Mark Belnick, 57, stole a $17-million bonus from Tyco in 2000, schemed with other executives to defraud shareholders and falsified records to hide almost $15 million in loans he got from the conglomerate. If convicted, Belnick faces up to 25 years in prison.

The alternate juror was one of three kept on hand in case a juror had to leave the trial for some reason. The dismissed juror has worked as a personal banker at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. for four years. Obus said last week that the juror, No. 8, might be unable to continue with the case. Belnick consented in advance to the substitution of the alternate juror.

Belnick, who testified for seven days in his defense, told jurors that he earned a $17-million bonus for helping Tyco avoid sanctions by U.S. regulators, who were investigating the company’s accounting. He said the loans were not required to be disclosed.