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June 27, 2004 HIS SWEDISH HAVEN; Fugitive with view; Former Symbol Technologies CEO's 2-year trek across nations has kept him ahead of authorities BY MARK HARRINGTON. STAFF CORRESPONDENT; Staff writer Jamie Herzlich contributed to this article. Douglas McNabb BUSSEVIK, Sweden - Sheep graze in a hilly expanse beside the narrow gravel road marked "privat." Among a half dozen mailboxes facing the street is one emblazoned with a golden falcon and bearing a name that gives the only clue of the fugitive nearby: "Razmilovic." A winding quarter-mile drive leads to a cluster of oversize seaside chalets where that of Tomo Razmilovic, the indicted former chief executive of Symbol Technologies Inc., stands largest. Razmilovic lives here with his Swedish wife. It was at the door of the chalet that he talked with a Newsday reporter about the charges against him back in the states and an arraignment he missed in Central Islip court this month. "It is very unfortunate," he said of the two-year federal probes that led to criminal charges against him and seven alleged co-conspirators. "I feel it is all wrong." For now, the trail of fugitive Tomo Razmilovic ends here, in this remote region of southern Sweden, an outpost of gently sloping farmlands, rock-studded hills and thick forest. A four-hour drive to Stockholm, his home looks out on the Ostersjon Sea in a village near the seaport town of Torhamn. This is a journey that has taken Razmilovic, 62, from his perch atop one of Long Island's most prominent high-tech companies to the predicament of staying several steps ahead of American, British and international authorities. His two-year trek from the United States to three or more nations across Europe apparently provided time to set up havens in case charges in the Symbol case ever came. And now with an indictment waiting back in America, the issue of whether he can be extradited provides a new twist in this age of corporate crackdowns. The Razmilovics, who have owned the home in Bussevik for more than 20 years, according to their next-door neighbor, Nils Bertic Resebo, appear to live a quiet, secluded life here. Razmilovic, a Swedish citizen since 1971 and married to a Swedish national, had remained low profile since government investigations began in earnest in 2002, when he departed Holtsville-based Symbol abruptly with a $5-million severance payment. The company helped him sell his house in Poquott, an exclusive village overlooking Port Jefferson Harbor, and even paid for some of the moving costs, as well as air fare for some trips back and forth to Europe. While he eventually sold the Poquott home for $1.4 million, Razmilovic may have an additional windfall coming from the sale. A millionaire many times over, Razmilovic filed suit in state court seeking to keep $85,000 put down as a deposit on the house by a Long Island couple that later decided against the deal. The case is on appeal. Razmilovic eventually moved to a home the British press has described as a "plush London flat," in a city that is home to his two grown sons. A call to one Razmilovic residence in London earlier this month was answered by a woman who acknowledged that she knew him but wouldn't speak further. London to Croatia to Sweden Razmilovic had been based in London during his early tenure at Symbol starting as a senior vice president of worldwide operations in 1989. He still is listed on the boards of several British-based tech firms. After his departure from Symbol, he enjoyed relative seclusion while government and internal Symbol probes intensified in the wake of his departure. All that changed early this month, when word of his indictment on securities fraud charges led him to flee his flat, initially under the auspices of taking a yachting holiday on the Adriatic Sea. His 65-foot yacht, the Spirit of Split V, was moored in the city of his birth, Split, Croatia, where his mother, 93, also lives. He was quoted in the Croatian press as saying a miscommunication between himself and his American lawyer, David Nachman, was the reason he had missed a scheduled arraignment, adding that he would return to face charges for which his lawyer prepared to declare his innocence. By then, however, U.S. authorities had rejected a proposed bail agreement that would have allowed him to travel among homes in London, Sweden, Switzerland, and family in Croatia. The planned two-week holiday on the Adriatic was cut short following word that Interpol, the international police agency, had joined American and British authorities in seeking his arrest. He fled to Sweden, where he apparently "just walked across the border," according to a person familiar with the U.S. case against him. His American lawyer, meanwhile, was facing a crisis of his own, after U.S. District Court Judge Leonard Wexler threatened to hold him in contempt and put him in jail if he didn't reveal his client's whereabouts, which had been widely reported in the press. Razmilovic wasted little time in contacting the press shortly after arriving in Sweden, according to a reporter for Dagons Industri, a daily newspaper there, who interviewed Razmilovic at an undisclosed hotel. "He called us," said Bjorn Hedensjo, the reporter. "We had no idea he was in Sweden." The U.S. attorney has since asked Wexler to drop his order demanding the lawyer reveal the fugitive's whereabouts, which Nachman had withheld citing attorney-client privilege. While Razmilovic, in a Newsday interview in Sweden last week, said he missed Long Island friends and that "still, my heart is there," he clearly has deeper European connections. Though he holds both U.S. and Swedish passports, he is likely to use the latter more extensively in the new EU landscape, where citizens travel freely among EU countries. Razmilovic's lawyer in Sweden, Peter Utterstrom, said, "I expect Tomo will not hear from the Swedish authorities," noting that his client is not accused of wrongdoing in that country. His American lawyer, Nachman, has said Razmilovic "did not commit any crime." Sweden's extradition treaty with the United States doesn't require that it extradite its own citizens, experts say. Utterstrom said he's not been contacted by any authorities concerning his client and insisted Razmilovic is "not in hiding. ... To the extent that Interpol does want to meet with him, they can touch base." Authorities in the United States, who are said to be exploring ways to pressure him to return, for now appear to have come up against the wall of Swedish law and Razmilovic's obvious sophistication. Said the person close to the case against Razmilovic, "I think he's planned on not coming back to the U.S. for a long time." He should have the benefit of substantial financial resources as well - with total compensation, including stock options exercised, of $33.4 million for 1999, 2000 and 2001. In addition, when he left Symbol in 2002, he made a gain of $16.4 million exercising options. 'Numbers-driven' culture As a young man, Razmilovic studied electrical engineering in Croatia, and went on to study data processing, management psychology and manufacturing time studies at Hermods Institute in Sweden. But his business career in Sweden was marked by his ouster as president and chief executive of the computer company, Cominvest, after stock exchange officials discovered accounting irregularities at the company that led to a financial restatement that halved reported profits, according to the New York Post. He had previously been president of ICL, a division of the British International Computer Co., between 1985 and 1988, where he was credited with its "profitability turnaround and major growth," according to a 2000 news release announcing his promotion to CEO of Symbol. In his interview, Razmilovic said he took pride in his accomplishments at Symbol, restoring it to profitable growth. But authorities in their recent indictment charged much of the growth at Symbol was fictitious, and blamed Razmilovic for fostering a "numbers-driven" culture. "The truth is that Symbol made its numbers through fraud," according to a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint. Symbol has since acknowledged wrongdoing by former executives, and restated four years of financial results, erasing $233 million in revenue and $255 million in shareholder equity. Razmilovic's Swedish lawyer, Utterstrom, last week reiterated claims the former CEO made in the Croatian press earlier this month, alleging that accounting irregularities at Symbol "were present two years before Tomo became CEO and took place one year after he left." Symbol itself has since settled accounting-fraud charges, paying a landmark $138-million settlement, and avoiding criminal indictment through what the U.S. attorney called "model cooperation." While for now Symbol must continue to pay legal fees of those indicted, it has joined in a shareholder action seeking to reclaim money from former executives. The investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the SEC and the U.S. attorney is continuing. On Long Island, his case still causes some bewilderment among business leaders. Matthew Crosson, head of the Long Island Association, on whose board Razmilovic served, said, "Knowing Tomo, I was surprised at the allegations. Beyond that, Mr. Razmilovic has a right to defend himself as the law allows." But Razmilovic for now appears to have found safe haven in the country he has called home for more than three decades, with little apparent intercession from authorities here. The town of Torhamn doesn't have a police office. Authorities unaware Numerous calls to police offices in the Swedish city of Karlskrona, which has jurisdiction over the city in which Razmilovic resides, and the central police office in Stockholm proved fruitless in finding an official aware of the case. A woman answering one official's phone cautioned against reading too much into that, saying many had gone home early Thursday in advance of the national holiday, Mid Summer's Eve. Neighbor Resebo, with whom the Razmilovics share a large garage, described himself as "good friends" with the former Symbol executive, whose legal travails he had read about in the papers. "He's a good guy," he said, speaking of his 20-year friend. "We've never had any problems." Another neighbor offered to drive a visitor to a mailbox she remembered as bearing Razmilovic's name. When she heard her neighbor was a fugitive in the United States, she put her hand to her mouth and asked that a reporter not mention who led him to the house. The Jerketeg family, disembarking from their boat at a nearby dock, appeared startled when told of their neighbor's status. "We never heard about a fugitive," said Anneli Jerketeg, clutching her daughter. "That's extraordinary." Staff writer Jamie Herzlich contributed to this article. Extradition agreements vary Tomo Razmilovic's journey has apparently been driven in part by the welter of differing laws between countries on extradition. Here's a look at how they might apply in his case: United Kingdom: Strong extradition treaty, high likelihood Razmilovic would be apprehended and returned to the United States if he traveled there, particularly given his arrest warrant in that country. Switzerland: Strong U.S. extradition treaty for fugitives of financial fraud and other high-level crimes, though those accused of lesser crimes such as tax evasion have used it as a haven. Sweden: Limited extradition treaty with low likelihood he would be returned to the United States given Sweden's self-proclaimed right not to extradite its own citizens; the Razmilovics are Swedish citizens. Croatia: No extradition treaty with the United States and considered friendly to Razmilovic given his Croatian birth. | |