NEW YORK (Bloomberg) ? Tyco International Ltd.?s former chief financial officer Mark Swartz will take the stand in his own defence at his criminal trial, his lawyer said after ex-chief executive L. Dennis Kozlowski?s defence rested.

Swartz and Kozlowski are being tried on fraud and larceny charges for the second time after the first case ended in a mistrial in April, 2004. In that trial Swartz testified for nine days, including seven days of cross-examination. Jurors in the earlier case said his testimony backfired and persuaded some to vote to convict before the mistrial was declared. ?We plan to give Mark the opportunity to tell his story,? Swartz?s lawyer, Charles Stillman, said outside the New York state court. Stillman said in court that Swartz will take the stand today. Swartz and Kozlowski declined to comment.

Swartz will be taking a risk by testifying. Jurors who heard his testimony in the first trial said they were 11 to one in favour of conviction on some counts when New York State Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus, also presiding over this trial, declared a mistrial after the holdout juror reported receiving a threat.

Kozlowski?s defence rested after the former chief executive finished four days of testimony, a change of strategy from the first trial, when he didn?t testify. Kozlowski, 58, and Swartz, 44, are charged with looting Tyco of $150 million and defrauding its shareholders by selling $575 million of Tyco stock at inflated prices.

Kozlowski was the only witness called by his lawyers.

Kozlowski testified on Monday that he didn?t keep track of the $12 million in company funds he spent to decorate a $18 million Tyco apartment on New York?s Fifth Avenue, of which he had exclusive use. He used $14.6 million in Tyco loans and funds to buy art for the apartment, including a Monet and a Renoir. Kozlowski said the apartment was for business purposes and not a residence.