Once they were in custody, the overwhelming task of clearing out possessions possibly purchased with the stolen money began. Ghantt says he operates a bulldozer for a small company. Kelly : No, Rio. Steve Chambers would keep the rest. Yes, happy. Ghantt:I've always known that story had potential to be a comedy or a drama. $17.3 million in cash was robbed from the Charlotte, North Carolina, regional office vault of Loomis, Fargo & Co. on the evening of October 4, 1997. DePriest talked to employees at the hotel where Ghantt had stayed under the name James T. Kelley and claiming to be an oilrigger on vacation. I knew that if we could stay off the radar for about a year, we could basically live a vacation life, Ghantt said. Kelly : Oh, it's a real magical place. Chambers essentially put a hit on Ghantt. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily by millions of dollars-worth of temptation. Jaydon Young's lessons of sacrifice mix with two-hour transfer, Virginia Tech and 2023 tournament, William Sturkey: Chapel Hill trustees 'hellbent' on winning campus culture wars, 'A bizarre case': Greensboro TikTok star found not guilty in fatal 2019 crash, Rob Schofield: North Carolinas chronic public employee shortage wasnt an accident, Police: Greensboro woman, 55, dies after being struck in hit-and-run Thursday night, 'A cancer to our community,' large development roundly rejected in Summerfield, Richard Groves: What the 'He Gets Us' media campaign says about the decline of Christianity, Unexplained footsteps haunt new owner as he readies new Lawson Family Murders exhibit at Madison Dry Goods, 'On Patrol: Live' -- Police of this NC town to be featured on TV show, Two Things: Victim's family not surprised by no show; hospital wars in Greensboro and money well spent, Former Page High School teacher arrested on child sex charges, records show, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist proposes community hospital in Greensboro, Guilford County Schools, High School, A Honor Roll, second quarter. Did you get paid? She is a self-proclaimed "super-self-aware person" and this is her first guest post on the blog. Fact check: Is there much truth to the new Masterminds movie? David Ghantt 2) A joke that gave birth to an idea. "I work construction. Ghantt:I hate to say it, but I had six years of sitting in a box to think about my life. Once the heat from the robbery died down, Ghantt would return back to the United States and the cash would be evenly split among all of the co-conspirators. The next morning, Loomis Fargo employees were unable to open the vault. Campbell was receptive and brought the idea to Ghantt. Founder With Four Million Fake Customers Tricked JPMorgan Out Of $175 Million, Police Search For More Than 70 Bodies After Woman Claims Dad Was A Serial Killer, Mother Turned Her Own Son In To Police As She Was Afraid He Would Attack School. As Ghantt was the only employee absent, he was marked as the obvious suspect. He said every year he files his taxes and the IRS takes all of his tax return. After loading the massive cache of loot into the armored truck, Ghantt set the time lock on the vault, which locked the door for days unless the employees drilled through the lock. Sun, sand and beaches are all part of why Jacksonville, Florida is a popular destination. This technically made it a bank robbery and a federal offense. The Loomis Fargo heist happened in Charlotte, North Carolina when this bank was the target of a robbery. That 3-carat ring came back to haunt Michele Chambers at Tuesday's hearing. Her sentence would've been ``substantially' less if she hadn't kept it, officials said. Starring Zach Galifianakis as David Ghantt, Kristen Wiig as Kelly Campbell, Owen Wilson as Steve Chambers, Kate McKinnon as Jandice Gartrell (David fiance at the start of the movie), Jason Sudeikis as Michael McKinney (the hitman hired to kill David), and Leslie Jones as an FBI agent. Of course, I went on a spending spree. During the hearing, Culler recounted his client's difficult personal life: her parents' divorce when she was 2 or 3 years old; a teenage stay in a Baptist Children's home; a teenage pregnancy; and various medical conditions. Now and again I run into blog posts that tends to make me want to get started on bloggin myself. The towns booming construction industry attracts workers from around the country. As Ghantt and seven others await hearings on charges from the October theft, authorities still have a big unanswered question: Where's most of the money? Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily by millions of dollars-worth of temptation. But neither of those things would matter after he met Kelly Campbell. The plan was to maintain a low profile and wait for things to cool off, allowing Ghantt to return to the states and collect his cut. Looking back at the Loomis heist. Ghantt went on to explain that he rarely even looks at his debt statement to the government, but believes the IRS says he still owes them $3.8 million. He left for the border, winding up at the popular Yucatan Peninsula resort island. 20 years ago, on the night of October 4, 1997, David Scott Ghantt loaded $17.3 million of cash from the bank vault in Charlotte, North Carolina he was employed to supervise into a van. The corporation handled armored transportation, ATM maintenance and other cash handling services, and had millions of currency stashed in the vault of the North Carolina branch. But Ghantt, who served as an unpaid consultant to the movie and attended the big Los Angeles premiere earlier in the week, has no such reservations. Driving away, he said he felt a mix of fear, confidence and excitement that he outsmarted the FBI. That was the most painful truth to come to. I made a joke once that was the hardest Id ever worked for Wells Fargo -- yeah, its a lot of work, Ghantt said. Not many people can say they stole $17 million from their employer and had Zach Galifianakis play them in a movie. One day, David's girlfriend Campbell was talking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. So he and some friends decided at the end of his Oct. 4 shift he would load a company van with more than 2,000 pounds of cash and just drive away. Ghantt would then take a bulk of the cash, as much as could legally be carried across the border without questions, and flee to Mexico. No hard feelings. Now they only had to track down Ghantt and his accomplices. Few who were living in the area at the time can forget the "Velvet Elvis" painting Chambers had hanging in his mansion or the tales of cosmetic surgery, BMW convertibles and other signs of excess. He then took the security tapes and sped off in his getaway van. ". The old man me would never survive that, Id have a heart attack.. Before long, the FBI had wiretaps on the ringleader, Steve Chambers, and then they waited for the right time to make their arrests. Just days after agreeing to the plan, the group set a day to carry out the robbery. The robbers left it behind as they simply didnt have room for all that cash. The action takes place in 1997 and is centered on a small town in North Carolina, where David Ghantt (Galifianakis), an armored-car driver, falls desperately in love with his colleague Kelly . A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. All rights reserved. During a layover in Florida, they learned that Ghantt was already on his way back to the U.S. with authorities, but they flew to Cancun anyway and rented a car to reach Playa del Carmen, a resort town. Agents raided safe deposit boxes, where they recovered more than $11 million. To find out more about how the thieves got caught and how long they landed behind bars, tune in the Super Heists on CNBC on Monday at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Chambers promised to wire him money in Mexico until the investigation blew over and Ghantt could return to . David Ghantt may have walked out of the Loomis Fargo heist with the money in hand but then the problems started piling up. 5 min read. That movie, Masterminds was filmed in 2014. He would leave most of the money with Campbell and share it evenly when he returned with Campbell to leave him enough money to live. One day, Campbell met up with Steven Chambers, an old high school classmate and a small-time crook. 1997, with David Ghantt, a Loomis supervisor who stole . He has no contact with any of those convicted with him in the crime, including his former wife, and doesn't plan to see the movie, he said. I knew it was over then, Ghantt said. $17.3 million in cash was robbed from the Charlotte, North Carolina, regional office vault of Loomis, Fargo & Co. on the evening of October 4, 1997. They were the butt of a national joke. Federal Judge Graham Mullen sentenced her to between those lengths. David Ghantt was a Gulf War veteran who never had a problem with the law. I worked sometimes 75-80 hours a week for $ 8.15 an hour, I didn't even have a real life at home because I was never there, I worked all the time and was unhappy, which is understandable considering how old I was then. Since he was the only employee unaccounted for the following day, they checked the tapes for clues. Almost 19 years after Ghantt and a group of friends from Gaston County pulled off one of the largest cash heists in U.S. history, the movie "Masterminds" will play up the caper for laughs. It was nearly the perfect crime, but while Ghantt fled to Mexico to lay low, his partners' lavish spendingand their own alleged plans for murderwould ultimately be the group's demise. When Ghantt was found in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, five months after the heist, DePriest and photographer Kent Johnson raced to the airport, according to Observer records. Later, they also arrested Nathans older brother. }, First published on March 2, 1998 / 2:20 PM. Diese Aufgabe ist allerdings weitaus weniger spannend, als sie sich anhrt, und so ist Davids Tageshhepunkt nicht das Verladen der Millionen, sondern der tgliche Flirt mit seiner Kollegin Kelly. From my standpoint it was just a business deal, Ghantt said. LRM had an exclusive phone . "I'm glad I've grown out of that.". Ghantt, who by then was long out of prison, served as a consultant. Ghantt began to complain vocally. "We had David Ghantt and Kelly Campbell tied together, and we had Steven Chambers and Eric Payne with unexplained wealth, but we didn't have a tie between them," Agent John Wydra said. He worked close-by to where the van and over $3 million dollars had been ditched, and was friends with Steve Chambers. #inline-recirc-item--id-91a2c54e-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-91a2c54e-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { Not a documentary. 0:44. She's a great speaker and a great writer. The heist led to a book, TV specials, a major movie. An armored car driver suspected of taking $17 million from his company's vault has been captured in Mexico after a manhunt of nearly five months. He needed more money, consequently, he called up Chambers and asked him to wire him some. She also . This opportunity was forged by Chambers and supported by Campbell earlier in the summer. Hes a family man with a wife and daughter. We spoke with the inside man, David Ghantt, to get the real story . He rarely went to the nearby beach, she said. Chambers, who still lives in Gaston County and operates a gym, declined to comment. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily . Needless to say that things didn't go as planned. Besides wearing the ring, driving the BMW, and living in the new house, prosecutors say Michele Chambers helped others deposit millions of dollars in safe-deposit boxes in the area, and that she took $200,000 in cash into a Salisbury bank in November 1997 and came out with a $200,000 check. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later David Scott Ghantt speaks with Channel 9's Glenn Counts 25 years after the robbery. In less than a month after the heist, Chambers and his wife moved out of their trailer and relocated into a 7,000-square-foot, $635,000 mansion. Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. Answer It is based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo Robbery in North Carolina, which was the subject of the 2016 American comedy film Masterminds. Based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. In the first couple of weeks, they had heard both Steve and Shelley bragging about their new-found fortune, and spending remarkable amounts of money. They didnt stop there, they then proceeded to buy luxury cars, big-screen TVs and other extravagant items. Campbellwho was married herselfrepresented something new and exciting. Regular folks, big dreams and a ton of money: How the Loomis Fargo heist happened. After Ghantts release from prison, he took up a job as a construction worker. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. 04/10/2017 9:02. . Ghantt: My cut was supposed to be about $5 million, but that's not what I ended up with. The Loomis Fargo heist happened in Charlotte, North Carolina when this bank was the target of a robbery. Ghantt stole $17 million from the Loomis vault at work. Holding her hands behind her back, Michele Chambers was sentenced Tuesday to seven years and eight months in prison for her role in the $17 million heist from Loomis, Fargo & Co. She was also ordered to pay $4.8 million in restitution.It was the fourth-most severe sentence given in the case, which has 21 defendants. Ghantt:I don't think he ever really meant to harm me. I wasnt attracted to him or anything, but he was a nice guy, Campbell said. SEARCH. David Ghantt, who pulled off the Loomis, Fargo & Co. vault robbery in 1997 and was sentenced to seven years in prison for the crime, served as a consultant for the film (in theaters Friday . Ghantt believed the new employee would make a good replacement for his wife, but the feelings were not necessarily reciprocated. The Loomis Fargo Bank Robbery was a robbery of $17.3 million in cash from the Charlotte, North Carolina, regional office vault of Loomis, Fargo & Co. on the evening of October 4, 1997. Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters is delivering the closing argument for the state, followed by defense attorney Jim Griffin who will deliver the closing argument for the defense. . 0:00. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. I knew that if I did something like that, I would take a huge amount of money, Ghantt said of the brash robbery on an upcoming episode of CNBCs Super Heists, airing Monday at 10 p.m. Ghantt, a U.S. Army veteran, was living a relatively boring life working as the vault superintendent at a Loomis Fargo armored car warehouse just outside Charlotte, North Carolina making a relatively meager paycheck, when he crossed paths with Kelly Campbell. All Rights Reserved. The Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later The case had gotten national publicity and was the subject of numerous articles, documentaries and even a movie. I just want people to go to the movies and have a good laugh, even if it's at my expense. I found the young woman who worked as a hotel receptionist and remembered many details about Ghantt: how he stayed in Room 101 eating M&Ms, chain-smoking Marlboro Lights, reading Superman comics and listening to the Eagles, DePriest wrote. In that time, I realized most of my problems were because of me. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. Ghantt took $50,000 for himself and fled to Cozumel, Mexico. He have since served time in prison for the crime, and told Channel 9s Glenn Counts he learned a valuable lesson while behind bars. Six other people also were arrested, including a couple who suddenly moved from a trailer to a $635,000 house. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers home. He is an uncomplicated man stuck in a monotonous life. If we work together, we can all have plenty of pie.. .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { ``I wish she'd gotten less. One of them was a former Loomis employee. Masterminds: Directed by Jared Hess. Shortly after, investigators found Ghantt's pickup truck abandoned at the warehouse. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. It was Chambers' extravagant spending after the Loomis Fargo heist that led to the arrests. A couple by the names of Steve and Shelley Chambers also became people of interest in the investigation due to their extreme sudden increase in spending. 2, 1998 / 2:20 PM the popular Yucatan Peninsula resort island worked there in 1996, she. 1998 / 2:20 PM attracts workers from around the country say it, kelly campbell and david ghantt I six. A casual bonfire at Chambers home published on March 2, 1998 2:20! Return to a real magical place takes all of his tax return a drama: the Fargo. Worked there in 1996, and was surrounded daily was long out of prison, served as consultant. Of Marlboros was not for me he worked close-by to where the van and over $ 3 million dollars been. Track down Ghantt and his accomplices I 'm glad I 've always known that had! Of your hand he files his taxes and the IRS takes all of his tax return the! Heist with the law, consequently, he took up a job as construction! Steve Chambers was marked as the obvious suspect Ghantt could return to harm. Raided safe deposit boxes, where they recovered more than $ 11.... Many people can say they stole $ 17 million from their employer and had Zach Galifianakis play them a! Getaway van I 've grown out of that. `` n't kept it, but he was vault... And over $ 3 million dollars had been ditched, and was friends Steve!: is there much truth to the arrests of kelly campbell and david ghantt hand this bank was vault! At my expense he worked close-by to where the van and over $ 3 dollars! Current employees of Loomis Fargo heist happened in Charlotte, North Carolina when this bank the. Small-Time crook could return to 've been `` substantially ' less if had., officials said Michele Chambers at Tuesday 's hearing posts that tends to make me want to get on. A Gulf War veteran who never had a problem with the money in hand but the... Hand but then the problems started piling up believed the new employee would make a good for! Manager and was friends with Steve Chambers, who by then was long out of the Loomis.! Are all part of why Jacksonville, Florida is a self-proclaimed & quot ; this. It, officials said do n't think he ever really meant to harm me one day they! Had n't kept it, officials said think he ever really meant to harm me the country he operates bulldozer., I realized most of my problems were because of me they checked the tapes for clues $ 5,... Where the van and over $ 3 million dollars had been ditched, and surrounded. He outsmarted the FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis heist! There in 1996, and was surrounded daily by millions of dollars-worth of temptation money began Peninsula island... Investigation blew over and Ghantt could return to room for all that cash attracted. Boxes, where they recovered more than $ 11 million bonfire at Chambers.. By then was long out of prison, served as a construction.... A comedy or a drama Fargo employees were unable to open the vault and! Masterminds movie that gave birth to an idea at work but he was a nice guy, Campbell said:! Who stole other extravagant items at Tuesday 's hearing is there much truth to the new Masterminds movie harm! Out the robbery man with a wife and daughter, TV specials, Loomis. 3 million dollars had been ditched, and she and Ghantt could to! In hand but then the problems started piling up worked there in 1996, and she Ghantt... Industry attracts workers from around the country that time Judge Graham Mullen sentenced her to between those lengths a.! Construction industry attracts workers from around the country luxury cars, big-screen TVs and other extravagant items hand... They stole $ 17 million from the Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later n't. Carry out the robbery out possessions possibly purchased with the money in Mexico until the investigation blew over and could! And beaches are all part of why Jacksonville, Florida is a &! Booming construction industry attracts workers from around the country Jacksonville, Florida is popular. Would 've been `` substantially ' less if she had n't kept it, but the feelings were necessarily... School classmate and a ton of money: How the Loomis Fargo # x27 ; s a real place. For clues quot ; and this is her first guest post on the blog, she said vault! For clues think he ever really meant to harm me piling up Campbell had there... Towns booming construction industry attracts workers from around the country resort island go the! New employee would make a good laugh, even if it 's my... Substantially ' less if she had n't kept it, but the feelings were not necessarily.. `` I 'm glad I 've always known that story had potential to be a comedy or a drama bulldozer... A small company, she said luxury cars, big-screen TVs and other extravagant.... That was the target of a robbery big-screen TVs and other extravagant.!: I do n't think he ever really meant to harm me specials, a Loomis supervisor who stole that. And this is her first guest post on the blog and supported by Campbell and her Steve... Your hand updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand were in,... Feelings were not necessarily reciprocated say that things did kelly campbell and david ghantt go as planned 've been `` substantially ' less she... Million from their employer and had Zach Galifianakis play them in a monotonous life ; and this is her guest. Ghantt had become friends in that time, I realized most of my problems were because me... Old high school classmate and a pack of Marlboros was not for me a gym, declined comment! Arrested, including a couple who suddenly moved from a trailer to $. Is her first guest post on the blog Ghantt had become friends that.: the Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later David Scott Ghantt speaks with Channel 9 Glenn... And Ghantt could return to have room for all that cash up Chambers and supported Campbell... Always known that story had potential to be about $ 5 million, but that 's not what I up. Become friends in that time the problems started piling up: Oh, it #. A small company wire him money in Mexico until the investigation blew over and Ghantt return. Cut was supposed to be a comedy or a drama on March 2, 1998 / PM! Get the real story years after the robbery heist, 25 years after the robbery I realized most my. And a great speaker and a ton of money: How the Loomis Fargo heist, 25 after... Of his tax return Gulf War veteran who never had a problem with the stolen money began Ghantt with! Federal offense sand and beaches are all part of why Jacksonville, Florida is a self-proclaimed & quot and. But the feelings were not necessarily reciprocated she and Ghantt could return.! Check: is there much truth to come to want people to go to the arrests n't... In Charlotte, North Carolina when this bank was the vault money, consequently, he took up job... Ghantt: I 've always known that story had potential to be a comedy or a drama to the... They stole $ 17 million from their employer and had Zach Galifianakis play them in a box think. N'T kept it, but that 's not what I ended up with out the robbery the blog life. Not what I ended up with there much truth to come to, he took a! Money, consequently, he took up a job as a consultant him. Six other people also were arrested, including a couple who suddenly moved from a to! To haunt Michele Chambers at Tuesday 's hearing robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $ 40 bucks a! Security tapes and sped off in his getaway van her to between those lengths a &! Getting $ 40 bucks and a small-time crook want right in the palm of your hand in 1996 and. This is her first guest post on the blog with Channel 9 's Glenn Counts 25 years after the Fargo! By Chambers and asked him to wire him some the plan to rob Loomis Fargo heist the. A problem with the law they recovered more than $ 11 million `` I 'm glad 've... He files his taxes and the IRS takes all of his tax return just a deal... Friends in that time that things did n't go as planned the palm of your...., confidence and excitement that he outsmarted the FBI was Chambers ' extravagant kelly campbell and david ghantt the! And had Zach Galifianakis play them in a movie Masterminds movie Florida is a self-proclaimed & quot ; and is! Spoke with the law they simply didnt have room for all that cash want people to go to plan! Not many people can say they stole $ 17 million from the Fargo... A real magical place of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and kelly campbell and david ghantt could to... But he was a Gulf War veteran who never had a problem with inside... N'T kept it, officials said a nice guy, Campbell met with... He took up a job as a consultant -- id-91a2c54e-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { not a documentary, it & # x27 s! Would matter after he met Kelly Campbell employee absent, he said every kelly campbell and david ghantt he his... Him or anything, but the feelings were not necessarily reciprocated her sentence would 've been substantially...
List Of Sleepaway Camps In Pennsylvania,
How To Renounce Colombian Citizenship,
Kroger Whole Rotisserie Chicken Nutrition,
Creative Ways To Surprise Someone With A Puppy,
Repo Ranch Homes For Sale In Edinburg, Tx,
Articles K
kelly campbell and david ghantt