Two charged with stealing from New York mayor

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In apparently unrelated cases, two New Jersey men have been charged with stealing from the bank accounts of billionaire New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Odalis Bostic, 23, was charged with depositing two fraudulent checks totaling $420,000, drawn in the name of Bloomberg's financial manager, Geller & Co, with the mayor's personal account information appearing on both checks.

Separately, investigators said a probe turned up an apparently unrelated fraud. In May, Charles Nelson, 31, transferred $10,000 from Bloomberg's account to an account he had set up, prosecutors said.

The Manhattan District Attorney's office has not uncovered any evidence that either man was aware of the other, spokeswoman Barbara Thompson said.

Bostic was arrested in New Jersey in August and was arraigned in New York State Supreme Court on Tuesday. He is charged with attempted grand larceny. Nelson has been charged with grand larceny and identity theft.

Calls to Geller & Co were not immediately returned.

If convicted, both men face up to seven years in prison.