Man accused of using ATM card skimmer

A Queens man was arrested after he was seen removing an electronic card skimming device from an ATM at the Astoria Federal Savings Bank on Hempstead Turnpike in Franklin Square late Wednesday night, police said.

Florin Ilea, 34, of 6122 Woodbine St., Ridgewood, was in possession of two fraudulently encoded American Express gift cards -- cards encoded, Nassau County police said, with information stolen from the Bank of America.

Police said plainclothes officers observed Ilea enter the bank and remove the skimming device from the ATM in question at about 10:40 p.m.

Ilea was charged with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and second-degree unlawful possession of a skimmer device. He is scheduled for arraignment Thursday in First District Court in Hempstead.