January 2005 retrial set in Tyco case

NEW YORK -- Tyco International Ltd.'s former top executives, L. Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Swartz, will be retried on corporate looting charges in January 2005, roughly 10 months after their first trial ended in a mistrial.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Michael J. Obus set the Jan. 18 trial date yesterday after prosecutors agreed that scheduling conflicts made their hope of a September trial unfeasible.

The judge also dismissed several sales tax counts against Kozlowski that had kicked off initial criminal proceedings in June 2002 and forced Kozlowski to resign as Tyco's chief executive. He and Swartz, Tyco's former financial chief, were later charged in September 2002 with stealing $600 million from the Bermuda conglomerate.

Their first trial lasted six months but was derailed after a juror reported receiving a phone call and letter about the case during deliberations.