NEW YORK Mistrial declared in technology banker's obstruction trial

The banker was accused of trying to thwart a government probe of his bank.
NEW YORK (AP) -- A federal judge declared a mistrial Friday in the obstruction of justice trial of Frank Quattrone, one of the nation's leading technology bankers during the Internet stock craze.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Richard Owen came after jurors reported they were deadlocked on all three charges against the former financial star -- two counts of obstruction and one count of witness tampering. "This particular trial is over," Owen said to jurors. "Thanks for your service." The government earlier indicated that a retrial was likely. However, Michael Kulstad, spokesman for federal prosecutors, said no decision has been made.
The judge scheduled a Nov. 5 hearing, and "we'll talk about where we are then," prosecutor Steven Peikin said.
Quattrone, 48, showed no reaction as the mistrial was declared and declined to comment afterward.
His lawyer, John W. Keker, said: "We are disappointed because Frank Quattrone is a man of integrity and a man who followed the rules."
Central e-mail
The case centered on an e-mail written by a subordinate and forwarded by Quattrone to his staff on Dec. 5, 2000, that encouraged employees to "catch up on file cleanup" by destroying some documents. Quattrone added a brief endorsement that concluded: "I strongly advise you to follow these procedures."
Federal prosecutors contended Quattrone was aware at the time that securities regulators and a federal grand jury were conducting an extensive investigation of his bank, Credit Suisse First Boston, and that he was deliberately trying to block it.
The charges carried a potential sentence of 25 years in prison, although Quattrone would have received a much lighter term under federal sentencing guidelines if convicted.
The mistrial came on the sixth day of deliberations. Jurors had told the judge after two days that they were sharply divided, but Owen urged them to try harder to reach consensus. Deliberations were held with 11 jurors, one less than standard, because a juror's mother had a heart attack on the day closing arguments ended.
Quattrone, the highly successful head of CSFB's technology group, made $120 million in 2000.
At the time he sent the e-mail central to the case, authorities were looking into whether CSFB clients paid the bank illegal kickbacks so they could get in on hot new stocks. The investigation was closed in 2001 with no criminal charges filed, and the bank paid $100 million to settle related civil charges without admitting wrongdoing.
Quattrone's defense attorneys contended throughout that Quattrone, in sending the e-mail, was merely encouraging his employees to follow the bank's document policy. The policy requires employees to routinely discard some documents -- unless they are aware the documents are under subpoena or are the subject of a lawsuit. Prosecutors insisted Quattrone was aware that the grand jury and Securities and Exchange Commission were making broad inquiries that could require documents from his investment bankers.
"Frank Quattrone knew the rules," Assistant U.S. Attorney David Anders told jurors in closing arguments. "He knew without being told that when there's a subpoena, you can't destroy documents."