Ex-City staffer charged in cell phone thefts

A former city employee has been arrested for allegedly stealing 28 cell phones and Blackberrys, city officials announced today.

Mona Lamberson is charged with theft, obstruction of justice and soliciting others to break the law. According to Mayor Nutter's office, Lamberson gave the phones to friends, family members and other city employees in exchange for monthly cash payments. The actual cost for those services would have totaled about $134,000, and the scam cost the city about $30,000, officials said.

When an investigator from the Office of the Inspector General started asking questions, Lamberson told the people who were using the phones to deny everything and to get rid of the phones, officials said.