Nortel Networks Inc. (NYSE: NT), which has been floundering for years, put itself out of its misery today by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

According to court papers filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, the Canadian telecom equipment maker owes bondholders $3.8 billion and was facing $107 million in interest payments this week. The company already was facing de-listing from the New York Stock Exchange. It has a $2.4 billion cash position.

Amidst all of the usual hopeful spin in the company's press release was this telling sentence: "The company commenced a process to turn around and transform Nortel in late 2005, and the company made important progress on a number of fronts."

That's right folks, Nortel has been in a turnaround since 2005. Then again, Nortel is not a typical company. Former Chief Executive Michael Dunn, former Chief Financial Officer Douglas Beatty and former Controller Michael Gollolgy are facing charges in Canada for manipulating earnings in the early part of the decade. Shares of Nortel hit $900 on a split-adjusted basis in 2000.