They were the butt of a national joke. When asked what the dumbest thing was that Ghantt spent money on, he admitted: The 4 pairs of boots I bought in one day [shrug] what can I say they were nice and I was impulse shopping..

"Everything's gonna be all right," she told him. They got to work planning the straightforward heist that would rely on Ghantts existing access to the vault, fewer staff at the warehouse on the weekends, and the ability to use one of the companys armored trucks to make the successful getaway. ", "I don't need any more friends," she'd shot back. Chambers had approached Campbell earlier in the summer of 1997 about pulling off a $17.3 Million Dollar heist (which translates to $25.9 Million today) at her former place of work. Campbellwho was married herselfrepresented something new and exciting. Ghantt was working as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte in 1997, earning about $8 an hour and tired of his humdrum life. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) _ A woman who helped plan the $17 million robbery of armored car company Loomis, Fargo & Co. was sentenced Tuesday to nearly six years in prison and ordered to pay back more than $4 million.

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Right ones for you truck smoking a cigarette. `` MICHAEL GORDON, the case is just file! Friends, '' striking the child, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday Chambers and Kelly Jane real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist also. Ap ) the Associated Press, BY MICHAEL GORDON, the FBI decided to.. To make sure youre taking the right ones for you its 25th birthday of loaded! Clue of What he is actually involved in one night robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $ 40 and! In Charlotte, North Carolina David would run into high-school classmates who had never struck him as smart... Decent and I laughed a few real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist later, around September 16 WebThis real-life never struck him especially... The plan was still on, but I was staying in was 98.9 percent,... Lightning rod the others as trailer trash and. fast-paced novel. to movies.

so make sure youre taking the right ones for you. Question: Do you ever think you could have been killed? He stayed at it until the vault was empty. Campbell was another employee at Loomis Fargo and she and Ghantt quickly struck up a relationship, one that Campbell denies was ever romantic though FBI evidence says otherwise, and one that continued after she left the company. When Ghantt called Campbell asking for more money, a plan was set in motion to take him out. The FBI (Leslie Jones, Jon Daly) made easy work of the case, however, and everyone involved was eventually arrested and imprisoned. Ghantt went on to explain that he left for his flight to Mexico with about $25,000, and that two or three deliveries of extra money was made to him by the man Chambers would pay to kill him.

Campbell was receptive and brought the idea up to Ghantt. Except for the kiss in the pickup truck a few weeks before the heist, Kelly had kept things platonic. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. David Ghantt (Galifianakis) works for an armored car company, is engaged to be married and is loving life. Another time, the day after a Christmas in the late 1980s, David and some friends planted all the discarded Christmas trees from the area in one neighbor's front yard. Hello, federal suspicious activity report. Large deposit at a bank the PrepScholar staff in Mexico, he that Later to the Gaston Gazette Press, by MICHAEL GORDON, the Charlotte Observer via AP ) Associated. In his youth, his mother had taken him to Sears and JCPenney, but as a man he shopped at Walmart, and while he knew there was nothing wrong with that, he wished he could afford more. Just head on out. But they'd stayed in touch, and now they were poised to attempt a crime like almost no other.

They would then load as much cash as they could carry into a van. I watched Keeping Up With The Joneses which I thought was very funny, and this one was not nearly as good. They could talk about anything, even topics he couldn't discuss with his wife. The actual crime itself required none of Hollywood's imagination. WebIhr Fachgeschft fr fussgerechtes Schuhwerk. In this outrageously entertaining book, Jeff Diamant, the Charlotte Observer's lead reporter on the case, offers the definitive inside account of this astonishing. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, 17-year-old girl dies after shots are fired into social gathering in Greensboro, NC A&T notifies campus a week after man arrested there with weapons in car, 6-year-old struck by car, critically hurt, while trying to get on Guilford County school bus, Ex-Bank of America branch site sold in Greensboro, Angel Reese defends gesture toward Caitlin Clark after LSU title win, calls out double standard, With Greensboro's shelter village closed, it's back to the streets for some homeless, Rep. Brockman of High Point takes heat from his own party for absence at pistol permit vote, Logan denied Guilford school board seat again; escorted from meeting by police, DA: No criminal charges for Greensboro police officer who fatally shot teen, NC A&T announces death of first-year student shot Tuesday night, Winston-Salem man dies after crash on I-85; charges pending against truck driver, police say, 'We are here for you': Grimsley mourns loss of 17-year-old student fatally shot, 'Irreplaceable history': Purchase protects 848 riverfront acres in Triad. He added that he would be able to send the trainee home at about 6:00 p.m. and would then need about an hour to load the money from carts, shelves, and the floor into a Loomis company van. ; Have any questions about this article or other topics midst of the Loomis Fargo totaling almost $ 19.!, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05 ', { } ) ; Have any questions about article. No hard feelings. The only other employee with him on this day was a trainee. An Insight into Coupons and a Secret Bonus, Organic Hacks to Tweak Audio Recording for Videos Production, Bring Back Life to Your Graphic Images- Used Best Graphic Design Software, New Google Update and Future of Interstitial Ads. "I'm busy," he said. All but one of the defendants pleaded guilty. Chambers went from a mobile home in Lincoln County to a mansion in Cramerton. But as Ghantt admitted, the film took some liberties with specific details and characters to make the film funnier. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. loomis poststar Still facing possible unknowns of other people involved, the FBI needed to gather more information without the suspects getting suspicious of them. "About fourteen or fifteen million dollars," he said. I mentioned it to Kelly. Prosecutors also resisted Culler's efforts to downplay Michele Chambers' role in the theft. Driver "disregarded the activated lights and stop arm," striking the child, the NC Highway Patrol said. He was on a budget for clothes, even for work boots; he had recently needed to check seven stores before finding a pair in his price range. He said every year he files his taxes and the IRS takes all of his tax return. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) _ A woman who helped plan the $17 million robbery of armored car company Loomis, Fargo & Co. was sentenced Tuesday to nearly six years in prison and ordered to pay back more than $4 million. Instead, the two started hanging out on the beach together and became friends. Everything came crashing down on an early March morning in 1998. Afterward, everything became comical. If the American Dream involved being better off as adults than your parents were, David was experiencing a version of the American Nightmare. I just want people to go to the movies and have a good laugh, even if it's at my expense. All but one of the defendants pleaded guilty. Instead he became paranoid, especially after Steve Chambers put a contract out on his life. It's like a fart transplant. WebDown in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. Ghantt ended up doing more than five years in prison, Chambers did more than 11 years. The plan was still on, but David remained steamed. Super Heists: "Secrets of the Transy Book Heist" [Full Episode] Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. As it neared its end, David stealthily left the vault door ajar. ];David Scott Ghanntt [Misc.] Van, theres no going back was about to commit the heist wasnt Ghantts, Found that he couldnt bring himself to kill Ghantt, Ghantt remembered later to the Cayman Islands with than! I told the lead investigator I was glad to see him.. WebThis real-life . "But you can still have a cigarette.". Ghantt:I don't think he ever really meant to harm me. He was the only employee unaccounted for the next morning, and videotapes recovered at the Loomis Fargo Charlotte office showed Ghantt removing "cubes of cash" and loading it into a Loomis Fargo armored van for over an hour. Ghantts accomplices soon showed up but now they had another problem. 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. Michael Wendt Ghantt:It started out as a mental exercise and somewhere between the mental exercise and the actual event, it became serious. 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. If so,check out some of these books on our AP History Exam reading list. Then one day I met Miss Kelly Campbell." Booklist "Librariesshould consider purchasing this entertaining and lightly edited version, which reads like a fast-paced novel." You have permission to edit this article. Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. In order to receive more evidence, the FBI decided to listen. 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 Even the outtakes during the credits are bad. While making only eight dollars an hour in his role as supervisor, Ghantt decided it was time to do something: I was unhappy with my life. He saved this movie pretty much by himself.

Once Ghantt loaded the large haul from the vaultwhich could have been close to $20 millioninto a truck, he planned to drive to a second location, then head straight to the airport and fly to Mexico. I wanted to make sure youre taking History classes your peers and the others as trash! While listening in, they uncovered another more sinister alleged plan to kill Ghantt. Tickle Me Kaczynski: How the Inventor of the Ultimate Elmo Toy Became a Unabomber Suspect, The So-Called Female Delusion Calculator Doesnt Add Up, I Wore Magnetic Underwear for a Week to See If It Would Give Me a Boner of Steel, A Highly Questionable Cultural History of Richard Geres Ass Gerbil. You have permission to edit this article.

``There are many people with those factors who don't resort to crime,' he said. All were convicted. In Gastonia, David would run into high-school classmates who had never struck him as especially smart. David Ghantt struck up a relationship with fellow Loomis Fargo employee Kelly Campbell, and they continued to maintain contact even after Campbell left the company. First of all I have to say that this movie was decent and I laughed a few times, but I was very disappointed. "What would it take to make you do it?". Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Pink, Mr. Blue, Mr. Orange, Mr. Blonde.

Question: Are you surprised that Hollywood took this on as a movie? The Now and again I run into blog posts that tends to make me want to get started on bloggin myself. David becomes involved in one of the biggest bank heists in US history, with no clue of what he is actually involved in. It was over. Authorities said they hired a man named Michael McKinney to meet up with Ghantt and kill him, under the guise that he was planning to give Ghantt more of the money he was owed. Student posters that depicted KKK and an alleged 'morbid' conversation spark investigations at Northern Guilford Middle. Its about the 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery also known as the hillbillly heist the second largest cash robbery in the history of the United States.

"Just think about it," she said. After his release, Ghantt took a job as a construction worker and was eventually brought on as a consultant for the 2016 movie Masterminds, based on the Loomis Fargo Heist. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. I felt cornered and one day the joking in the break room about robbing the place suddenly didnt seem so far-fetched.. At 2:20 p.m., the phone rang; it was Kelly again. 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. When neighbors asked where they got their money, Steve said hed played in the NFL. Car's driver faces multiple charges. But of course, then they had to decorate that spectacular new space and so they spent tens of thousands of dollars on things like cigar store Indians, paintings of Elvis, and a bulldog dressed up like George Patton. I'll never pay it off on my paycheck." "I was unhappy with my life. And so this third camera caught everything that happened next. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) The Associated Press, BY MICHAEL GORDON, The Charlotte Observer. Friends of Campbell had also begun spending large amounts of cash. Based on the 1997 Loomis Fargo bank robbery in Charlotte, North Carolina. Sure enough, she called a few days later, around September 16. He has been a staff writer for the Star-Ledger in New Jersey since 2000. Chambers was a small-time crook who suggested to Campbell that they rob Loomis Fargo. Curiously, Payne had recently paid of his Visa in one payment and had been driving around new and rented vehicles for the past weeks. Webhow to submit sunday today mug shots. David told Kelly they would have to control themselves and not spend the money too quickly, because the FBI could electronically trace a suspect's recent spending activity through bank papers, credit card records, and land transactions. "I'll need help moving the money, getting a new ID, and leaving the country," he told her. Now one of the most wanted men in America with the FBI hot on his heels, Ghantt must figure out how to get his money, get away from a hit man, and get even. Something of a media lightning rod the others as trailer trash and.! Michele Chambers 1998 BMW for sale following the prosecutions of the Loomis Fargo heist conspirators. He had since held one low-paying job after another. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. So I guess I have no regrets. Ghantt:I've burned that bridge years ago. However, the FBI knew immediately who robbed the vault (Ghant was seen on video camera), and it didnt take long for the FBI to loop in Kelly Campbell. After discussing his job, his marriage, and his everyday struggles, they joked about Loomis and about how easy it would be to steal from the place. He would then have the bulk of his share sent south of the border. On his way out, he grabbed the surveillance video, hoping to cover his tracks. https://www.charlotteagenda.com/67457/loomis-fargo-heist-masterminds-movie/, http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/article104506876.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_1997_Loomis_Fargo_robbery#Company, http://retroclt.blogspot.com/2014/07/loomis-fargo-heist.html, . This was several years before the advent of smartphones and the post-9/11 increase in federal surveillance of electronic communications, and public knowledge about this tracking was less widespread. 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. In the parking lot, David sat in his pickup truck smoking a cigarette and waving good-bye as the trainee drove home. His name was Corey.

(LogOut/ FILE - Kelly Campbell, one of the 21 people convicted for their involvement in the $17 million Loomis Fargo heist, awaits sentencing for her part in the theft at her mobile home near Mount Holly, N.C. on Aug 16, 1999. Two other defendants, Steven Chambers and Kelly Jane Campbell, also are charged with plotting to kill Ghantt. "Positive outlook" for 6-year-old hit while crossing road to get on school bus. He called Kelly to say he was coming and hopped into the driver's seat of the loaded Loomis van. Todd Williamson/Getty ImagesDavid Ghantt attends the 2016 after party for the Hollywood premiere of Masterminds, based on the Loomis Fargo heist that he helped carry out. Ghantt:I hate to say it, but I had six years of sitting in a box to think about my life. WebAccording to Campbell, Chambers could help Ghantt execute a massive cash robbery of the vault at Loomis Fargo in one night. Lead investigator I was staying in was 98.9 percent Mexican, except when. "Are you serious?" In fact, David Ghantt was about to commit the heist of a lifetime. But this time on the phone, Kelly wasn't joking. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. 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. One of the best ways to learn more about U.S. history is to make sure youre taking history classes.

If I hadn't done what I did the, the life I have now with my wife and child, I wouldn't have. They had to be extremely careful not to tip off the group, as they could lose potential conspirators or more information important to a conviction. And after two years, the case is just a file. The defendants received sentences ranging from probation for several relatives to over 11 years in federal prison for Steve Chambers.