Ex-Bear Stearns fund managers plead not guilty

NEW YORK, June 19 (Reuters) - The two former hedge fund managers at failed investment bank Bear Stearns who were arrested early on Thursday have entered pleas of not guilty in Brooklyn federal court.

The two men, Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin, appeared before Magistrate Judge Steven Gold to face conspiracy and securities fraud charges following a federal probe into the collapse of funds they oversaw.

Cioffi's bail was secured by a $4 million bond, guaranteed by residences in Tenafly, New Jersey, and Naples, Florida. Tannin's bail was secured by a $1.5 million bond, guaranteed by his Upper West Side apartment in New York. Both men's wives also appeared in court to accept the bail conditions.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba, writing by Emily Chasan, editing by Richard Chang)