GOLD-FINGERS: THE QUEEN OF BLING

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A wealthy woman’s love of gold could land her behind iron bars.

Teresa Tambunting earned $165,000 a year working for a jewelry manufacturer and lived in a $2 million Tudor-style home in swanky Scarsdale, N.Y. But she had a glittering secret – hidden in her basement.

Over a five-year period, the bling queen stole more than 500 pounds of gold and jewelry – worth a whopping $12 million. Incredibly, she made off with the entire fortune, piece by piece, by hiding it in the lining of her handbag, say authorities.

She began her criminal career in January 2004, charge investigators, who discovered she kept the loot like a pirate’s treasure in 12 big buckets at her home.

"This woman has got to be the ultimate gold digger," a police source told The ENQUIRER.

Teresa worked at Jacmel Jewelry in Long Island City, N.Y., for 28 years. She joined the company shortly after arriving from her native Philippines. In 1991, the trusted employee was given the critical position of vault manager – responsible for monitoring all the gold and jewelry stored there.

Although subject to routine searches by the security staff, Teresacame up with a clever way to avoid detection. She slit the lining of her handbag and hid the gold and jewelry inside the opening.

So clever was her scheme that Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said she established "a virtual mining operation in Long Island City, which siphoned off millions of dollars’ worth of precious metal from her employer."

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