Tyco party tape censored by judge

A US JUDGE ordered salacious scenes cut from a video of $2m (£1.2m) party disgraced former Tyco boss Dennis Kozlowski threw for his wife's 30th birthday on Sardinia.

Kozlowski is charged with looting Tyco of $600m and prosecutors say that the company's long-suffering shareholders paid for at least half of the celebration.

The jury was shown 20 minutes of the four-hour tape, but not before the judge censored it, cutting images of an ice sculpture of Michelangelo's David urinating Stolichnaya vodka and the birthday cake in the shape of a woman's breasts.

A scene where Kozlowski's wife, Karen Mayo, was carried around by models dressed as gladiators was also cut. Judge Michael Obus said the scenes could prejudice the jury.

But the video shown to jurors still included images of half-naked models cavorting around a swimming pool and male models with few clothes posing in snapshots with female guests. Singer Jimmy Buffett performed at the party for $250,000.

Prosecutors said the party was a 'stark example' of how Kozlowski and former chief financial officer Mark Swartz looted hundreds of millions from Tyco for their personal benefit.