A retraction regarding my comments about Frank Quattrone

In my endeavor to recreate the headlines and atmosphere of the dotcom era for my book and two related articles, I inadvertently insulted and made unfair statements about banker Frank Quattrone.  While not a focal point of the book or even a chapter, I can understand why he was upset to have seen his name appear alongside the overly harsh language I used. Whenever I cover a topic I try to take into account and incorporate the whole story and all sides, but in this instance I’m afraid that I failed to do so.

I promised him a retraction and an apology here on my site so that if anyone ever references my writing about him, the following can be held up to counteract it.  So here it is:

I hereby retract the unfair statements I made about Mr. Frank Quattrone in my articles at DealBook, the Huffington Post and in my book.  They have been deleted in their entirety as it became apparent to me that they were untrue and misleading.  I have mischaracterized the reputation and conduct of Mr. Quattrone in these works and for that I have apologized.

Mr. Quattrone, please accept this as my sincere apology for the way in which I spoke of you, no insult was intended and I’m truly sorry.