Woman Allegedly Smuggled $12M in Gold Bars Using Purse
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
A longtime employee of a major Queens jewelry manufacturer stole a staggering 500 pounds of gold by smuggling it in her handbag over a nearly six-year period, prosecutors announced.
Teresa Tambunting, 50, of Scarsdale, N.Y., allegedly stole the shiny merchandise by concealing it in a false bottom she created in the lining of her pocketbook, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said Wednesday.
"With gold trading at nearly $900 an ounce, the defendant is accused of establishing a virtual mining operation in Long Island City which siphoned off millions of dollars' worth of the precious metal from her employer," Brown said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Officials at Jacmel Jewelry in Long Island City, where Tambunting had worked for 28 years, noticed they were missing up to $12 million worth of gold in January.
After an investigation was launched, Tambunting, who became a vault manager in 1991, arrived at Jacmel's offices with a suitcase containing 66 pounds of gold with an estimated value of $868,000. Tambunting allegedly told detectives that she had taken the gold, Brown said. A subsequent search of her home revealed 447 pounds of fine gold. The thefts allegedly occured between January 2004 and April 2009, Brown said.
Tambunting was released on $100,000 bail and ordered to return to court on May 19. She faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted on charges of first-degree larceny and first-degree criminal possession of stolen property.