NEW YORK — The judge presiding over the obstruction of justice trial of former Credit Suisse First Boston high-tech dealmaker Frank Quattrone denied a long-shot defense motion Wednesday to dismissthe case.
Showing growing irritation with the Quattrone team, Richard Owen, the octogenarian federal judge who moonlights as an opera composer, also chastised a defense witness for being evasive on cross-examination and a defense attorney for twisting testimony.
”You’re asking one leading question after another,” Owen told Quattrone lawyer Elliot Peters after the jury retired at the end of Day 7 in one of the most high-profile Wall Street court dramas in a generation.
”I’ll try to do better, your honor,” Peters replied.
”Please succeed,” Owen said before barring the introduction of another piece of defense evidence and abruptly leaving the courtroom.
The judicial sparring came as prosecutors rested their case with testimony from CSFB’s top lawyer. Gary Lynch recalled a January 2003 telephone conversation in which Quattrone denied knowledge of any federal investigations when he forwarded and endorsed a December 2000 e-mail written by a subordinate, telling staff to ”clean up” their files. The prosecution contends the e-mail was an attempt by Quattrone to destroy evidence after learning of a grand jury probe into whether CSFB took kickbacks in exchange for giving hedge funds hot stock offerings.
The defense called its first three witnesses in an attempt to prove Quattrone did not know grand jury subpoenas had been issued for documents kept by his tech group. Richard Char, the former CSFB investment banker who initially wrote the e-mail, told jurors that he composed the e-mail because his office was overflowing with old notes and files, adding he ”felt pretty stupid” on learning later that CSFB was under a regulatory investigation and all documents relating to hot stock offerings needed to be saved.
The defense’s bid to end the trial early because of a lack of evidence fell flat. ”I’ve heard more than enough,” Owen declared. ”I deny the motion (to dismiss).”
