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Non-Tech : The Enron Scandal - Unmoderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LPS5 who wrote (3014)	5/10/2004 3:35:26 PM
From: Glenn Petersen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3602

story.news.yahoo.com. Quattrone Guilty on All Counts Mon May 3, 6:04 PM ET Add Business - Reuters to My Yahoo! By Paul Thomasch NEW YORK (Reuters) - Frank Quattrone, a former banker famous for taking hot technology companies public, was found guilty on Monday of obstructing federal investigations into some of the most popular stock offerings of the 1990s. Jurors delivered their verdict after deliberating about seven hours over two days, concluding the ex-banker tried to block grand jury and regulatory investigations by forwarding an e-mail to co-workers reminding them to "clean up" their files. It was the second trial for Quattrone, 48, who will likely face one to two years in prison at his sentencing, set for Sept. 8. The first trial ended in a hung jury. Quattrone, who grew up in a working-class neighborhood and later earned $120 million in one year as a banker, showed no emotion as the verdict was read. But he later hugged his crying mother. The jury convicted him of obstructing a grand jury probe, obstructing a Securities and Exchange Commission (news - web sites) probe and witness tampering. His attorney pledged to appeal. "We are obviously grossly disappointed. I feel like we failed Frank," attorney John Keker said outside the federal courthouse where both trials were held. "He's innocent." Quattrone's former employer, Credit Suisse First Boston, had no comment. At CSFB, Quattrone was among the first bankers to see the coming technology boom. He once generated so much buzz that he had his own press team. By late 2000, however, the market for hot stock offerings had dried up. Investigators began looking at whether CSFB, a division of Switzerland's Credit Suisse Group (CSGN.VX), had doled out shares of the most popular initial public offerings to hedge funds in exchange for kickbacks. After learning about the investigations, Quattrone received an e-mail from a subordinate that began "Time to clean up those files" and reminded staff that CSFB's policy called for destroying outdated records and files. Quattrone forwarded and endorsed that e-mail the following day -- an act that landed him in Manhattan federal court. As the final witness in the two-week trial, Quattrone testified that he simply failed to connect the investigations and e-mail in his mind. He said he believed the investigations involved a different division of CSFB. Juror Sheldon Silver, a receptionist from Manhattan, said the first vote by the six men and six women on the jury turned up seven guilty votes, four not guilty and one undecided. Although Silver initially voted for acquittal, he changed positions as the jury began to discuss the case. "Frank Quattrone was at the top and you don't get to the top without being aware of a lot of things," he explained. "He was too well aware of what was going on to let that slip his mind," Silver added. Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York David Kelley said in a statement that uncovering wrongdoing in financial markets "depends upon the integrity of grand jury and SEC investigations." Quattrone's testimony appeared to play better in this trial than it did in his first, when one juror said he damaged his chances for acquittal by appearing confrontational. "We thought he made a good witness for himself," said juror Jonathan Miller, a software entrepreneur. Jurors "wrestled" with whether Quattrone intended to obstruct the probes by forwarding the e-mail, Miller said. "The crux of the case was the intent of the defendant, what was in his mind." Quattrone's testimony could not overcome several damaging pieces of evidence, including e-mails from a top CSFB lawyer expressing "extreme concern" about broadening investigations. Jurors asked for those e-mails during deliberations. They also heard testimony read back to them in which lawyer David Brodsky recounted a phone call in which he told Quattrone the "inquiries going on were likely to lead to him being called as a witness" and advising him to retain a personal lawyer. "Brodsky clearly played a key role," Miller said. About eight hours after that telephone call, Quattrone forwarded the e-mail, adding 22 words and ending "I strongly advise you to follow these procedures."