£8m gold haul was ‘smuggled in handbag’

It was certainly more than most women keep in their handbag. A trusted employee of one of America’s biggest jewellers has been accused of taking $12 million (£8 million) worth of gold from her workplace, hidden in the lining of her black leather bag.

Prosecutors allege that Teresa Tambunting stole more than 500lbs (225kg) of gold over five years. Her haul was allegedly so large that she is said to have kept it in 12 big buckets in the basement of her suburban home. In an alleged confession, she reportedly told her bosses: “I am a very sick woman. I took the gold.” Ms Tambunting, 50, who appeared in court in New York on Wednesday, worked for 28 years for Jacmel Jewelry and was promoted in 1991 to the position of vault manager.

She was in charge of monitoring the gold and jewellery stored in the company’s safe-room at Long Island City, in the New York borough of Queens, and was on a salary of $160,000 (£100,000). Even so, she was subject to regular searches by company security. She allegedly smuggled gold out in a pocket that she made by slitting the lining of her handbag. “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,” Richard Brown, the local district attorney, said.



Prosecutors say that Ms Tambunting began to steal gold in 2004. Its disappearance came to light when the company noticed that it was suffering greater losses in the manufacturing process than the normal 3 per cent. It conducted an inventory in January and found that up to $12 million-worth of gold was missing. Soon after the investigation started, Ms Tambunting wheeled a suitcase containing 66lb of gold pellets, worth an estimated $868,000, into the Jacmel office.

Police found another 447lb of gold necklaces, rings, earrings and other jewellery in a dozen paint buckets at the mock Tudor mansion that she shares with her husband and three children in the exclusive suburb of Scarsdale. No charges were filed against her husband, Edgardo Tambunting, who joined the financial company Cantor Fitzgerald after the 2001 attack on the World Trade Centre.

Neighbours described the family as friendly and normal.“They seemed like such lovely people. The children always said ‘hi’. They’re a delightful family,” Joan Kottler said. “It’s startling and sad to hear this.” Ms Tambunting faces charges of grand larceny and possession of stolen property, which carry a maximum sentence of 25 years. Appearing before Judge Barry Kron, she was released on $100,000 bail and ordered to return to court next month. Her lawyer is expected to argue that she has a form of obsessive compulsive disorder.