An employee of an upscale New York jewelry store is under arrest yesterday for stealing $12 million in gold and gems.  She turned herself in to prosecutors in Queens Criminal Court under grand larceny charges.



The suburban mother of three, who worked at the store for 28 years, gradually stole the merchandise from the store, piece-by-piece, over a six-year period. By slipping each of the items into her purse lining, she accumulated 500 pounds of gems and raw gold, worth millions of dollars. Ironically, Teresa Tambunting's job at Jacmel Jewelry was the Vault Manager.



When the company audited its inventory in January, they discovered an unexplained $12 million missing. It was then that Tambunting became worried, and arrived at work one day dragging two 80-pound bags of gold, which she returned from her stash at home. A source says that the bags were so heavy that she received help from other employees to lift them into the building. Law Enforcement Officials say that her home was then searched, and an additional 450 pounds were found in buckets in her basement.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said that the woman confessed to her boss, and is expected to plead a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder as the reason behind her long-time massive theft and not fully in control of her actions.

Jacmel Jewelry is an international company founded in 1977. According to its website, it claims to be one of the largest manufacturers in the country and employs 250 people in their Long-Island-City 100,000 square-foot headquarters.