Pursuit of NYSE specialists all but ends.

(From AFX Asia (Focus))

NEW YORK (AFX) - The federal government ended prosecutions Tuesday against five former New York Stock Exchange supervisory floor traders, all but ending an effort that had brought mixed results amid claims that traders were being arrested for behavior long tolerated on Wall Street.

In a statement from the office of U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia, prosecutors announced they had "concluded that continued prosecution in these cases are not in the interests of justice."

The five were among 15 NYSE specialists accused of using their inside positions to earn an estimated $20 million illegally for themselves and their firms.

Last month, prosecutors won their third jury conviction against a specialist when a jury in U. …