Court rejects ex-Tyco exec plea to dismiss SEC case

NEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge denied a request by a former senior executive at Tyco International Ltd (TYC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to throw out civil fraud charges brought against him by securities regulators.

U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet in Manhattan denied a request by Richard Power, who held several senior financial reporting positions, to dismiss the complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a written ruling that was made public late on Thursday.

Power was one of three former Tyco executives sued by the SEC in December last year. The other two have settled the case.

The SEC alleged that Power and former executive Edward Federman designed and implemented fraudulent accounting practices at Tyco.

It alleged they inflated Tyco's operating income by hundreds of millions of dollars through the use of a sham transaction.

Power reported directly to Tyco's former Chief Executive Dennis Kozlowski. Kozlowski and former Chief Financial Officer Mark Swartz were found guilty of stealing more than $150 million from the conglomerate and are in prison.

Power's lawyer could not be reached immediately for comment. (Reporting by Paritosh Bansal; Editing by Andre Grenon)