Prosecutors Argue Against Delaying Banker’s Sentence

Former Silicon Valley investment banker Frank Quattrone should report to prison this month to begin serving his 18-month sentence for obstruction of justice, federal prosecutors argued in court papers Monday.

Quattrone is due to report to prison by Oct. 28 to serve his sentence for obstructing investigations of possible kickbacks in hot stock offerings of the 1990s.

But Quattrone’s lawyers have sought a court order that would allow him to remain free on bail while appealing the conviction, arguing that the judge overseeing the case made unfair rulings against him during the trial.

U.S. prosecutors called those arguments “distortions of the trial record” that were “offered for an improper, inflammatory purpose,” and asked the appeals court to reject the request.

In a 30-page motion, prosecutors said, “Notwithstanding his obvious dissatisfaction with the jury’s verdict, Quattrone has not raised a ‘substantial question’ for appeal, and the law therefore requires that his motion for continued release be denied.”

Quattrone was convicted of trying to block federal probes by forwarding an e-mail reminding co-workers at Credit Suisse First Boston to “clean up” their files.