English
FORT WAS ON THE Tyco board when he sold a house in New Hampshire in 1996 to former CEO L. Dennis Kozlowski, who resigned last week. An internal probe by Tyco is looking into whether the house was improperly purchased with corporate funds, the source told Reuters.
Kozlowski resigned last week and was indicted in New York on charges of scheming to avoid paying $1 million of state sales taxes on artwork. New York investigators are now also looking at whether Kozlowski and other Tyco executives improperly used an executive stock options fund to buy real estate and personal items.
In addition, Tyco is looking into a second possible conflict of interest involving Fort, as well as one involving director Stephen Foss.
In 1999, Tyco sold a unit that makes pipes and valves for $810 million to DLJ Merchant Banking Partners II, a fund that Fort advised and invested in.
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"Mr. Fort recused himself on the board vote and we believe the transaction was handled properly," a Tyco spokesman said.
Foss leased a plane to Tyco, perhaps through a fabric company for which he serves as chief executive.
"We can confirm that he has leased a plane, but it was at low market rates after competitive bidding, the Tyco spokesman said"
In a conference call with investors on Friday, Fort said the internal investigation would take up to six weeks to eight weeks to complete.
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