Ex-Merrill broker to serve 2 to 6 years prison

NEW YORK, June 2 (Reuters) - A former Merrill Lynch & Co broker who bought a Ferrari with some of the $780,000 he stole from the company will spend between two years and six years in prison, a New York judge ruled on Wednesday.

The broker, Steven Mandala, pleaded guilty on May 19 to grand larceny and identity theft charges brought by the office of the Manhattan District Attorney in February.

Prosecutors accused Mandala of overstating his employment history in persuading Merrill, which is part of Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), to hire him in April 2009.

They said he then used $245,580 from a loan he obtained from the company to buy a 2006 Ferrari F430 Spider, in his father's identical name.

Mandala forfeited the Ferrari and must repay an additional $360,000 in restitution under his plea agreement and sentencing in New York State Supreme Court.

The case is New York v. Mandala, New York State Supreme Court, New York County, No. 00100-2010. (Reporting by Grant McCool, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)