The trial was a travesty, and the government's obstruction of justice case against Quattrone (after two mistrials, the government gave up and settled for a slap on the wrist) was miserable. But whether doling out IPO shares--really, at the time, free cash--to the people you hope will give you business may or may not be illegal, but it was unquestionably a sleazy business. What I could never understand, though, is why giving out the shares was worse than taking them. Why is offering a bribe worse than accepting one? I still can't, and if indeed Whitman runs I hope someone gets around to asking about it.
Update: After I published this post, I wrote in more detail about Meg Whitman's IPO shares, and everything else wrong with her plan to run for governor of California in this story for The Big Money.
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