Defense Team Spotlights Quattrone’s Character

Jurors in the trial of Frank Quattrone heard several character witnesses Monday describe the honesty of the former Silicon Valley investment banker, as his second obstruction-of-justice case drew toward a close.

It was unclear whether Quattrone would take the stand in his own defense.

Federal prosecutors, who finished their phase of the trial last week, charge that Quattrone tampered with witnesses and obstructed a government probe of Wall Street practices when he forwarded an e-mail in 2000 advising other bankers at Credit Suisse First Boston to destroy certain documents.

At the time, regulators and a grand jury were investigating whether CSFB unfairly allocated shares of hot stock offerings in return for illicit kickbacks.

Quattrone’s first trial ended in a hung jury in October.

The banker’s lawyers have argued that he simply was trying to get subordinates to follow company policy, which required regular file cleanup.

One of the most contentious points of the current trial is whether the records in question were kept by Quattrone or his staff. Countering the government’s charges, Quattrone’s lawyers called CSFB’s former head of investment banking in the Americas to testify that such documents were stored elsewhere in the bank.

“I believe Frank Quattrone is a man of high integrity and high honesty,” the witness, Charles Stonehill, told jurors.

The e-mail in question was initially written by another banker, Richard Char, who testified that he wrote it out of concern that co-workers were ignoring the firm’s policy of purging old records.

Char said he felt “frustrated and embarrassed” when he belatedly learned that CSFB lawyers had suspended the policy.

“Did you communicate with Mr. Quattrone in any way to let him know the document-retention policy was going to be suspended?” Char was asked.

“No,” he said, adding that within two hours of learning of the suspension he discovered Quattrone had forwarded and endorsed his e-mail.

Other witnesses Monday painted a glowing portrait of Quattrone.

“Throughout the course of my lifetime, Frank Quattrone is the most honest, ethical and truthful person I’ve been privileged to know,” testified Russ Lamberto, who said he has known Quattrone for 43 years.

Peter Giles, chief executive of the Technology Museum of Innovation in San Jose, where Quattrone has served on the board of directors, said the former banker was “deeply committed to our community,” and described him as “absolutely honest and truthful.”

On cross-examination of the character witnesses, prosecutors made clear that none of them had specific knowledge of the case or whether Quattrone intended to obstruct justice in the government’s investigation.

Those witnesses could be the last heard if Quattrone elects not to take the stand.