N.Y. Brokerage Expelled From Industry

Stratton Oakmont, a brokerage firm with a long disciplinary history, was expelled from the industry, the National Assn. of Securities Dealers said. The Lake Success, N.Y., firm may have appealed to the Securities and Exchange Commission, said Mary Schapiro, president of NASD Regulation Inc. The SEC could overrule the expulsion, but it wasn’t immediately known how the agency would act. The company and two executives were charged with fraudulent and excessive markups on securities. Barry Goldsmith, a senior regulator at NASD Regulation, said Stratton was involved in 12 disciplinary cases since June 1989. Previously, the SEC won a $2.5-million settlement in 1994 after it sued Stratton for fraudulent sale practices.