FREE!  Off topic.  When I started this blog, I said that occassionally I would engage in off topic sallies, and this is one of them.  I have just found out that Mark Belnick, former Tyco general counsel, has been acquitted of all charges.  The Manhattan DA had accused Belnick of stealing more than $30 million in compensation and loans from Tyco.  I never believed it.  I was an associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison back in the late 1980s when Belnick was a partner there.  I did not know him well.  In fact, I don't recall ever working on a case with him.  But I knew him.  And I could never reconcile my impression of the man with that of a crook.  Was it possible that, tempted by huge sums of money, he gave into the dark side.  Sure, it's possible.  But I never thought it likely, and it appears that the jury agreed.  I'm very pleased for Mark.  It's a good thing he made all that money.  He's going to need it to pay his attorneys.  And the civil suits are still pending!