NYC Mayor Bloomberg’s Car Stolen, Aide Beaten

One of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s personal employees was beaten by a thief who then stole the billionaire’s car Wednesday morning in New Jersey, authorities said.

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The employee was driving the gray 2001 Lexus in Hackensack on an errand for the mayor shortly before 9 a.m. when a woman came to the window to ask for money, police said. As he declined and began to roll up the window, a man got into the passenger seat and punched him in the face, authorities said.

“They force him out and take off,” said Capt. Frank Lomia, of the Hackensack Police Department.

The carjackers sped away, driving over a lawn as they made their escape, he said. Grass and dirt still clung to the car when it was recovered about two hours later, abandoned on the side of a road in nearby Fair Lawn.

Police were looking for the two suspects. Two people matching their description were spotted at a convenience store in the area just before the car was stolen.

The mayor’s spokesman, Stu Loeser, said Bloomberg “hopes that those who committed this crime are swiftly brought to justice.”

Bloomberg’s employee, Gradimir Bosnjak, was in Hackensack to pick up a colleague. He was not seriously injured, although the mayor called to check on him after the crime. The worker is one of many staffers who take care of Bloomberg’s personal business and his homes, including his town house in Manhattan and country house in upstate New York.

“Everything is fine, thank you,” Bosnjak told The Associated Press late Wednesday.

The Republican mayor has not driven the car for years. He typically travels by subway and official city vehicles that can accommodate his security entourage.

Bloomberg is not the first New York mayor victimized by car thieves. In 2000, Ed Koch’s black Lincoln Mercury was stolen in Queens, although the Democrat had been out of office for about 10 years.

Koch said Wednesday that his car was never recovered.

“If it’s only property that’s involved in a crime, nobody should worry about it because it can always be replaced,” Koch said. “But Hackensack should call in Sherlock Holmes and do everything they can because this guy was punched.”