Loose lips sink ships, or, these days, get your luggage stolen. At least, that's what happened to one woman who revealed too much to airline employees.
Rita Lamberg, 69, was en route to Las Vegas via Phoenix when she was stopped at a US Airways gate at New York's JFK airport. There, airline workers told her her carry on was too heavy to carry aboard. After telling them that she did not want to let its contents -- $160,000 worth of jewelery -- out of her sight, she was allowed to board, reports The Telegraph.
However, after boarding, Lamberg was approached by an airline worker who told her the bag needed to be taken and placed in cargo, according to the New York Post. She reluctantly obliged.
"[The worker] looked at me and said, 'You have a choice. You can either get off the plane . . . or [give over the bag] and take your seat. Nobody's going to touch your luggage,' " she told the paper.
Upon arrival in Phoenix, Lamberg located her bag at the baggage carousel, where it appeared to have been rifled through. The jewelry had been removed from the bag. Among the pieces were a $40,000 ladies diamond-encrusted Rolex watch, a $60,000 6-carat diamond ring and a $25,000 diamond ring with blue sapphires.
According to an airline spokesperson, the matter is being investigated. Lamberg is offering a $10,000 reward to those who can help recover her jewels.
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident of airline theft. Last November, an Iceland Air flight attendant had money stolen from her purse, and flushed down the toilet. Earlier this month, it was revealed that a TSA agent in Dallas is suspected of stealing eight iPads from checked luggage. Around that time, a TSA agent at JFK stole $5,000 from a passenger's jacket as he was going through security.
Two other JFK TSA agents have been sentenced to jail after stealing $40,000 from luggage.
To read up on how to prevent larceny in the air and at the airport, see how not to fall victim here.