Transcription of letter FOX Business Network received from former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski:

October 02, 2008

Dear Eric,

            As I sit in a N.Y. State prison I am shocked at the financial destruction going on in our society.  It’s sad and distressing that institutions that have stood the tests of time for well over a century can have such an ignominious end.  In my opinion there are a number of reasons we are in such a mess:

            We have been banbozzled (sp) by wall street.  Those who know better led others into believing that there are shortcuts to makings (sp) mountains of money overnight -- as we’re seeing now, this is not only impossible, but it also destroys what was built over lifetimes.  At one time I thought the wall st. types to be so much cleverer than those of us who spent many years building a company.  At times they seemed to make more money in one year than we made in many.  Then we find little of it was real -- it was a big act that destroyed jobs and lives. 

            On “Main Street” many had an urge to live in bigger, nicer houses.  Financial institutions were happy to satisfy that urge with easy credit.  Many upgraded to homes they simply could not afford over time.  When the housing market finally turned -- it always does -- the home became an unaffordable burden rather than a dream. 

            Regulators imposed mark-to-market accounting back in the 90’s.  Assets on the books of a company are to be valued at their fair market.  Sounds simple, but it does not work when there is value but there exist (sp) no market.  The resulting write downs of the assets only exacerbates the problem. 

           There’s plenty of blame. Motives varied.  Some wanted to make a fortune quickly, some wanted their wow house they could not afford, some wanted to please their constituency at any cost and be reflected and some wanted the economy to grow.

            Now we must pay the price.  I hope I don’t sound holier than thou.  At one time I enjoyed the good things in life as much as anyone else.  But the way it was done since I left business in 2002 is honestly frightening to me. 

            Momentous events are now happening in America.  We have bought into socialism like it or not. The argument now is; how much of what we’ve known all our lives will change and what the new order is likely to look like.

Good Spirits,   

Dennis