Quattrone may choose not to testify in second trial

The one-time superstar of Wall Street's hi-tech stock circus, Frank Quattrone, faces his second trial in New York, with speculation swirling over whether he will take the stand again - a decision that was heavily criticised last time as having harmed his case with the jury.

The one-time superstar of Wall Street's hi-tech stock circus, Frank Quattrone, faces his second trial in New York, with speculation swirling over whether he will take the stand again - a decision that was heavily criticised last time as having harmed his case with the jury.

Jury selection began in a New York court yesterday with testimony expected to begin next week. Mr Quattrone, who faces up to five years in prison if convicted on federal charges of obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence, escaped a verdict at his first trial in October last year when the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict.

Legal experts warned that prosecutors faced an uphill battle to avoid a repeat of last year's mistrial. While the US government enjoyed success with the conviction of the domestic diva Martha Stewart two months ago, more recently it suffered another mistrial in the case against the former Tyco chief executive Dennis Kozlowski, after six months of arduous testimony.

"There's no question this is a tough case for the prosecution," said Roland Riopelle, a former federal prosecutor. "There's a good chance a mistrial will happen a second time around."

The cases centres on events at Credit Suisse First Boston on 5 December 2000, when Mr Quattrone endorsed a colleague's email advising employees to "catch up on file cleaning" by destroying documents. This came after Mr Quattrone had allegedly learned of a federal investigation into claims that Credit Suisse First Boston was distributing new hi-tech stocks in return for inflated commissions.

Mr Quattrone, who earned $120m (£66m) at CFSB in 2000, has pleaded not guilty, insisting he was merely following bank policy. But in 2002, CFSB agreed to pay $100m to settle a government complaint that it had overcharged clients for trading in the new stocks.

Mr Quattrone faces the same judge as at his first trial. In pre-trial hearings, Judge Richard Owen denied motions from the defence that the trial should be moved to the West Coast, where the defendant lives, and that members of the jury should be kept anonymous to protect them from media pressure.