Frank Quattrone holds his head high

Former investment banker Frank Quattrone was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in jail and fined US$90,000 ($140,450) for obstructing federal probes into kickbacks involving some of the hottest stock offerings of the 1990s.

Quattrone, a technology banker who once earned US$120 million in one year, was denied bail and ordered to surrender in 50 days.

Quattrone, 48, was convicted in May of attempting to block grand jury and regulatory investigations by forwarding an email to co-workers reminding them to "clean up" their files. He was also convicted of witness tampering, wrote the New Zealand Herald.

He said after his sentencing that he was confident he would be vindicated on appeal. "I can hold my head high because I know I’m innocent and I know I never intended to obstruct justice."

In his appeal, Quattrone’s lawyers intend to argue that the judge applied rules about the admissibility of evidence inconsistently.

Mark Pomerantz, Quattrone’s attorney, said it was a "very, very strong appeal" and he believed that his client would not serve a day of the prison sentence.

Legal experts had predicted that Quattrone would receive a sentence of between 10 and 16 months. But prosecutors had requested a harsh sentence, arguing that Quattrone lied in his initial testimony.

Before sentencing, Quattrone asked the judge to show compassion to his family "for whom any separation from me would be extremely detrimental".

Quattrone is the first senior Wall Street figure to be criminally convicted for offences related to the technology stock bubble during the late 1990s, says Business Standard.

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