‘Piggy’ CEO L. Dennis Kozlowski Released From Jail — Transcript

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1. 0:00Dennis Kozlowski was one of our favorite guys in The Young Turks when we firs this show
2. 0:04at the time he was involved in a huge scandal with Tyco and he has looted close to a $100,000,000
3. 0:10million now where that money went is a little unclear we get to some of that in a minute
4. 0:15and it turns out he got caught and that was in a time where we actually punished executives
5. 0:20even under George W. Bush it's actually gotten worse under Obama none of the bankers got
6. 0:25punished in 2008 which he actually alludes to at the end of the story but now he's finally
7. 0:29a free man so now how much time did he serve and was it worth it that's what I want to
8. 0:34talk about and this guy Dennis Kozlowski is the original person that we asked Jill Pike
9. 0:39who would you rather do Kozlowski or Alan Greenspan and that was in one of our original
10. 0:46best of the Young Turks clips for a long long time she didn't say Greenspan did she I think
11. 0:52she was forced I don't remember you'd have to go back and find her demos but I think
12. 0:55she was forced into a Greenspan answer cause this guy they used to call him piggy and now
13. 0:59he calls himself that too he's a sweaty oily dude like but and he's so gross like his action
14. 1:07I know oh god he is really gross looking yeah and based on what I know about him now that
15. 1:13definitely plays a role into how gross he is but Alan Greenspan looks like a corpse
16. 1:17no I know I know so I don't want to get back into that I know we're bad guys for even asking
17. 1:21that questions sorry sorry I denounce and reject myself my earlier self OK OK anyway
18. 1:26let's get some details of this story though cause it's great Kozlowski did some hilarious
19. 1:31things he had a $2 million birthday party for his wife see that's love that's true love
20. 1:36that's insane he also like this was on the front page of the New York Post I guess he
21. 1:43had a $6,000 shower curtain now how can you have a shower curtain that's $6,000 he had
22. 1:49gold and burgundy in it OK so I mean the burgundy makes it was gold literal gold I don't know
23. 1:55but it smelled of rich mahogany so it makes sense so in the $2 million birthday party
24. 2:01he threw it in Sardinia I don't even know where that is I guess it's in Italy somewhere
25. 2:05cause they call it a Roman orgy I don't know if they actually had an orgy but at $2 million
26. 2:10I hope they did Jimmy Buffet was playing guitar they had an ice sculpture of David but he
27. 2:17was peeing vodka I mean look if I didn't hate the guy and if he hadn't stolen the money
28. 2:23it's kind of a badass party now as it turns out he goes to jail and in jail he winds up
29. 2:29meeting his current wife yes and Ja Rule isn't that hilarious now he's partying with real
30. 2:38rappers OK so but what happened so he served 6 and a half years in prison so that was real
31. 2:45and the last three years of his sentence were in a work release program on parole and that
32. 2:50was in Manhattan now Manhattan's not that bad a place to get stuck but he was on parole
33. 2:54and it was he has a curfew at 9:00 he had to come back in and he had to pay $167 million
34. 3:01in restitutions and fines that's bananas now the flipside to that is that just in his last
35. 3:06four years at Tyco now this is the money it's not that he stole this is just as an executive
36. 3:11as a CEO he made he made more than $300 million in just the last four years let alone what
37. 3:19else he made so part of his investigations actually had to do with the fact that he was
38. 3:23giving himself unauthorized bonuses so that played a role what I what I find fascinating
39. 3:28about this story is that it kind of plays into a theme that we often bring up when you
40. 3:33know looting and theft stories come up so he was initially being investigated because
41. 3:39of tax evasion so he evaded taxes on artwork that he had purchased right and then the authorities
42. 3:45are like this dude sound kind of shady why don't get look into this dealings at tyco
43. 3:50there might be some wrong doing there as well and boom they caught him so if he hadn't have
44. 3:54evaded the taxes on that expensive artwork he would have never gotten caught greed's
45. 3:59a bitch man it'll get you every time he had bought a piece of art for $14 million that's
46. 4:05when you know you have too much money you're like I don't know should I get art $14 $15
47. 4:09$16 million was difference does it make I don't know what to do with my money here I'll
48. 4:12through it up against the wall anyway and he evaded 8.25% tax that he had to pay on
49. 4:17and boom that's what cost him the last ten years of his life OK but now having said that
50. 4:22the question is would you do the same thing Kozlowski did drop it
51. 4:34OK now Ana think about it you pay $167 million in fines yes you know you were in prison for
52. 4:396.5 years that parole things not so bad you watch movies at home you can go home by 9:00
53. 4:44who cares you pay $167 million you had $300 million I can't imagine that he didn't pocket
54. 4:52at least $100 million net out of this whole thing do you take it no really you get to
55. 4:59meet Ja Rule in prison he says he wasn't stabbed I don't care about Ja Rule like no OK if that's
56. 5:04not good enough he also met Alan T Hepansey who's the former comptroller for New York
57. 5:11State oh well now I don't know I think no hell no I love my life no you know just the
58. 5:18other night I was thinking about how absurdly lucky I am right I'm not wealthy right but
59. 5:24I'm alright I take care of myself I'm like I'm in love ohh I live in a place that I want
60. 5:29to live in that's not a mansion it's not a house doesn't even have more than one bedroom
61. 5:33but I'm happy like I'm happy I'm doing what I want to do for my life I don't need any
62. 5:37of that I don't need $6,000 shower curtains alright so we go to Jesus the chief justice
63. 5:42he's going to weigh in on this I would be shocked if I couldn't predict your answer
64. 5:46go ahead yeah I think it's pretty easy it's too much money I do that shit standing they're
65. 5:53like hey jesus you got to go to prison for 6.5 years he's like don't give me a cot I
66. 5:57will do it standing don't worry man I won't sleep it's too easy man yeah too easy see
67. 6:04too easy drill sergeant dude you're insane OK now I'll give you more fun quotes from
68. 6:08Kozlowski he says yes quote I was a piggy this guy is hilarious but he says but I'm
69. 6:17not that person anymore OK he really has changed based on what he said you think so you're
70. 6:22buying that maybe I don't what do you think I don't know like he fell in love with another
71. 6:27woman and like he really seems like he's enjoying his freedom now I'm such a cynic OK so that
72. 6:33girl or woman used to work with him back in the day on financial industry yadda yadda
73. 6:40and before they set this up she starts hollering at him she's like do you need anything I know
74. 6:46you're going through a rough divorce by the way that ungrateful second wife she's the
75. 6:50one that got the $2 million birthday party and then oh you're going to jail boom I dump
76. 6:54you give me half your money I know I know but is he surprised I mean when you're like
77. 6:57flaunting your money around right when you're flaunting your money around you know your
78. 7:01whipping it around well year women are going to marry you because of your wealth I mean
79. 7:06that's what they totally bank on so then the woman out of nowhere comes back to the third
80. 7:12one now comes and starts visiting him then she starts visiting him every weekend and
81. 7:16then since months in they hook up which I think in jail was just hugging that's kind
82. 7:19of sad but anyway and now they're married and she says her ring is cubic zirconia and
83. 7:27it's just $300 no big deal on the other hand if he's sitting on $100 million she's 20 years
84. 7:31younger than him if he's sitting on $100 million I'm not saying anything I'm just saying that
85. 7:37might be wise financial move from someone that was in the financial industry and this
86. 7:43was oh he found true love with his you're a dick anyway look and my ruling on this as
87. 7:52to what I would do OK I can't do it I can't do the corruption I can't do the shower curtains
88. 8:01and I don't want to lose 6.5 years of my life so I'm going to go no I'm going to disappoint
89. 8:06jesus I'm going to say no I wouldn't take the deal but we're both crazy any reasonable
90. 8:11person should take the deal right because that's I mean look man 6.5 years of anything
91. 8:18for a $100 million is a great deal right I don't think it is 6.5 years is a long time
92. 8:24and when you really think about it Cenk when you really about it are you that unhappy with
93. 8:29where you're at in your life that like $100 million is going to change everything no no
94. 8:33we're super lucky I'm relatively happy I got my kids I don't want to miss 6.5 years with
95. 8:37my but you ask any normal person out there who I don't want $100 million he says I served
96. 8:42my time with some agony but he didn't get stabbed and he was in a 10 foot by 10 foot
97. 8:47thing by himself largely like he talked to the other guys who were sequestered away he
98. 8:52was never in danger in the general population I mean a lot of push up and sit up I'd come
99. 8:57out in great shape right I'd read a lot of book and $100 million is hard to turn down
100. 9:03and finally he's super bitter because he said after 2008 nobody was prosecuted he's like
101. 9:10wait a minute why did the prosecutions stop with me then all the other sons of bitches
102. 9:15totally got away with it they got some of them got $600 million and more and then didn�t
103. 9:21serve any time in prison well did he participate in any of the legalized bribery maybe that's
104. 9:26where he screwed maybe you got a little too greedy homeboy maybe has something to do with
105. 9:31the $2 million parties or in addition to that if you'd have sent $2 million congresses way
106. 9:35you wouldn't have the problem in the first place