Two years ago, Federal prosecutors landed a big fish when Frank Quattrone, a former star investment banker, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for hindering a government investigation into how Credit Suisse First Boston allocated initial public offerings.

Quattrone, who during the internet boom of the late 1990s had earned as much as $120 million a year, was also sentenced to two years' probation and fined $U90,000.

But prosecutors were cracking open the champagne too early. All that's gone down the toilet.

After the 2004 conviction on appeal - that's after an earlier trial was declared a mistrial - Quattrone has struck a deal with prosecutors that will allow him to avoid a third criminal trial on obstruction charges and restart his career in finance, reports The New York Times.

Bloomberg reveals a bit more: not only will prosecutors impose no penalty if Quattrone doesn't violate any laws in the next several years, they'll wipe the slate clean and dismiss criminal charges.

This is an enormous setback for prosecutors. But as one former prosecutor told Bloomberg, the evidence against this guy was not very good.

He has a point. The first attempt turned into a mistrial and the second was thrown out on appeal. This was strike three.

The White Collar Crime Prof Blog makes the point that no-one's a winner here. The Government fails to make a successful prosecution and Qattrone is up for massive costs and is left with a reputation that stinks.

At the time, Qattrone was portrayed as a symbol of Wall Street greed. Looks like it's back to business as usual.