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Frank Quattrone, a long time pal of Eric Schmidt's, spent years under a cloud of accusations of obstruction of justice while at Credit Suisse.

Quattrone's subsequent clearing of the charge after four years removed any obstacles for him to work in the financial industry. He founded a new firm, the Qatalyst Group, and now has a role advising the big search advertising company.

The Dealbook Blog cited sources close to the matter on confirming Qatalyst's hiring by Google. Yahoo and Google became a little closer this week, with the news that Yahoo will carry AdSense for Search in a two-week, limited test of the service.

Quattrone's controversial past elicited plenty of commentary about his involvement with Google. Peter Kafka at Silicon Alley Insider said those who remember the Quattrone case "can go straight to 'can you believe this!' phase."

Charles Cooper at CNet suggested those people need to get over it, especially since the banned-for-life from the securities industry's Henry Blodget has been able to move on with his life.

People who feel Quattrone's days at Credit Suisse cost them a ton of money will likely never forgive him. Schmidt has, if he ever thought ill of his friend in the first place. His presence makes the whole Yahoo, Microsoft, Google, News Corp, AOL drama a more interesting deal to watch.