Dennis O’Neal Blackstone, Registered Principal, Arlington, Texas

FINRA Stock, Bond, Variable Annuity and Private Placement Arbitration Attorney, Russell L. Forkey, Esq.

February, 2011:

Dennis O’Neal Blackstone (CRD #1517755, Registered Principal, Arlington, Texas, formerly licensed with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Incorporated) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he was barred from association with any FINRA member in any capacity. Without admitting or denying the findings, Blackstone consented to the described sanction and to the entry of findings that, as the registered representative on the joint securities account of customers at his member firm, he created a false Letter of Authorization (LOA), without the customers’ knowledge or authorization, and forged their signatures to authorize a transfer of funds from their joint account at the firm to a bank account that Blackstone controlled. The findings stated that based on the forged LOA, the firm wired $28,320 from the customers’ joint account to the bank account Blackstone controlled and, after receiving the funds in his bank account, Blackstone used the funds for his personal expenses. (FINRA Case #2009020488001).