Quattrone Heads to Court

A decision about whether former investment banker Frank Quattrone will face a third trial on obstruction of justice charges could come as early as next week.

The former tech investment banker is scheduled to appear in federal court on Tuesday before U.S. District Judge George Daniels. The court appearance comes amid speculation that Quattrone and federal prosecutors are negotiating a plea deal to end the long-running legal saga.

On Friday, CNBC reported that Judge Daniels could be asked to approve the plea agreement at the Tuesday hearing.

In March, a federal appellate court overturned Quattrone's conviction on obstruction of justice charges. The appellate court directed that the case be reassigned to a new judge. Quattrone, who is 50 years old, had received an 18-month sentence in September 2004 but remained free as the verdict was appealed.

His first trial on obstruction of justice charges ended in a mistrial after the jury could not reach a verdict.

The case against Quattrone stemmed from a single email in which he recommended that his staff at Credit Suisse(CSR Quote - Cramer on CSR - Stock Picks) clean out their files and destroy documents. Quattrone and his lawyers portrayed the email as a routine Wall Street housekeeping move.

But prosecutors said Quattrone had a more sinister motive, alleging he gave the order to his staff because he had just become aware of a federal investigation into Credit Suisse's IPO practices.