By Jeremy Walsh
The Westchester County woman who stole millions of dollars in gold from her Long Island City employer will spend six months in jail, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said last week.
Teresa Tambunting, 50, of Scarsdale, N.Y., pleaded guilty in November to grand larceny. She was sentenced to the jail term plus five years’ probation Jan. 5.
“The defendant, a trusted employee for over 28 years, has admitted to siphoning off millions of dollars’ worth of precious metal from her employer by concealing jewelry and raw gold in the lining of her pocketbook,” Brown said in a statement. “Her sentence is just punishment for her criminal actions.”
Tambunting was employed by Jacmel Jewelry, at 30-30 47th Ave. in Long Island City. In 1991, Tambunting was given the position of vault manager, which included the responsibility of monitoring the vault where fine gold, finished products and raw materials were stored.
Starting in 2004, Tambunting began stealing items from the vault, the DA said. The thefts were discovered when an inventory conducted in January 2009 showed a significant amount of merchandise was missing.
After the investigation began, Tambunting showed up at Jacmel’s offices wheeling a suitcase containing 66 pounds of fine gold worth about $868,000. In statements made to her employer, Tambunting said she had taken fine gold over several months during the previous year by concealing it in the lining of her pocketbook, into which she had cut a slit.
A month later, Tambunting returned another 447 pounds of fine gold, raw materials and finished jewelry she had hidden at her residence.
Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jewalsh@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
