Issue of Intent Confuses Tyco Jury

Jurors in the trial of two former Tyco International Ltd. executives returned to the subject of “criminal intent” Tuesday, the second time in four days of deliberations that they have sought help understanding the issue.

With jurors apparently bogged down, prosecutors and defense lawyers lobbied the judge to read marginally different definitions of “criminal intent” -- each side hoping to gain even a slight advantage over the other.

But Supreme Court Judge Michael Obus rejected arguments by the lawyers, deciding instead to give jurors the same explanation he did last week. Jurors asked the judge to “go slowly” as he read it.

The jury is charged with deciding whether L. Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Swartz stole $170 million from the company and reaped an additional $430 million by selling Tyco shares after illegally pumping up the stock price.

Kozlowski, the deposed chief executive, and Swartz, the former chief financial officer, face as much as 30 years in state prison if found guilty on charges of grand larceny, securities fraud, conspiracy and providing false information on Tyco disclosure forms.