Retro CharlotteFBI security footage of David Ghantt in the midst of the Loomis Fargo heist. Campbell left her job in the summer of 1997, but she would later use Ghantts feelings for her to her own advantage to get him to agree to carry out the multi-million-dollar heist. David Ghantt (Zach Galifianakis), an employee of Loomis Fargo, robbed his own vault, left the $17.3 million in cash with his co-conspirators, Kelly Campbell (Kristen Wiig) and Steve Chambers (Owen Wilson) and fled the country to Mexico. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Lees ons privacybeleid en cookiebeleid voor meer informatie over hoe we uw persoonsgegevens gebruiken. Q: Your troubles were self-inflicted, but you seem happy. Ask questions; get answers. Dont worry, its not drug money.. Campbell was receptive and brought the idea up to Ghantt. Guess what? Ghantt sent home a new employee and quickly loaded the money into the back of a bank van. Jandice : In any case, we got to talkin' afterwards, and I thought, well, that one's dead, this one's alive. It was an open-and-shut case and all authorities had to do now was to find the culprit and identify Ghantts accomplices. I was working sometimes 75-80 hrs a week for $8.15 an hour, I didnt even have a real home life because I was never there I was working all the time and unhappy which is understandable considering how old I was at the time. I felt cornered and one day the joking in the break room about robbing the place suddenly didnt seem so far-fetched.. At the time it was the second largest cash robbery ever to happen on US soil. David Ghantt had been a model employee for an armored car company before pulling off the second biggest cash heist in U.S. history, fleeing with more than . The thieves had simply abandoned whatever they couldnt carry away. On Oct. 4, Ghantt sent home the employee he was training and disabled two security cameras near the vault in preparation for the heist. David Ghantt : [voice-over] Steve was a petty thief, mostly known for stealing tiny wheelchairs from pediatric hospitals. Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. Michele Chambers' sentence was two months longer than that given to David Scott Ghantt, the Loomis employee who removed the money from the company vault on Oct. 4, 1997. Its heavy. Chambers had no intention of following those rules, believing the FBI would never connect him to Ghantt. Of course, the FBI was already aware of Chambers and his free-spending ways, and the murder plot helped federal agents find Ghantt south of the border. CREATIVE. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. 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. Over the next months, Ghantt, Campbell, and Chambers developed a plan. David Ghantt is more than just a man who was a part of one of the worlds largest heists, he's more than a funny name associated with a comedy movie, he's actually just an every day person who once made a really bad decision. 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).. David Ghantt (@DavidGhantt) is a man that still holds the record for the second largest bank heist on American Soil. I'd probably be that infamous gringo living in Belize, kicked back on the beach, fishing and bored out of my mind. Chambers was a small-time crook who suggested to Campbell that they rob Loomis Fargo. They also bought a BMW Z3 with cash and made several large purchases, including a $600 cigar store Indian. And so this third camera caught everything that happened next. As he later recalled about his life before the 1997 heist that changed his life forever: Prior to, I would have never even considered it but one day life kinda slapped me in the face. Chambers wife, Michelle, bought a minivan in cash and began taking frequent trips to the bank to make deposits. All of the cash from the Loomis Fargo heist was recovered or accounted for, except for $2 million. In the end, eight co-conspirators were indicted for the Loomis Fargo heist. Director Jared Hess Writers Chris Bowman (screenplay) Hubbel Palmer (screenplay) Emily Spivey (screenplay) Stars Zach Galifianakis Kristen Wiig Owen Wilson hbspt.cta.load(360031, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05', {}); Have any questions about this article or other topics? We caught up with David Ghantt about life after his $17m heist, hanging out with Zach Galifianakis and the accuracy of Masterminds, a new movie based on. He then proceeded to load about $17.3 million in cash (approximately $11 million of which was in $20 bills) into the back of a company van. Campbellwho was married herselfrepresented something new and exciting. Will Mcintyre/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images. A: When I first got in, I thought, "What in my life has led me to this?" Als u niet wilt dat wij en onze partners cookies en persoonsgegevens voor deze aanvullende doeleinden gebruiken, klik dan op 'Alles weigeren'. [1], Steven Chambers finished serving his sentence in November 2006. Nine other relatives and friends were also charged with money laundering, as they had co-signed for safe deposit boxes used to store some of the money; prosecutors opted to charge them on the grounds that they should have known the money was obtained illegally. Ghantt plead guilty to his charges andserved six years in prison, along with21 other defendantswho received chargesrangingfrom money laundering to bank larceny. In spite of Chambers assurance that the money was, you know, totally not illegally acquired, the teller remained suspicious, especially because the stacks of cash still had Loomis Fargo wrappers on them. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. Three of the 21 defendants in the case haven't been sentenced. I learned that I was an a--hole. A: I'm in dire need for some RO's barbecue and some Tony's Ice Cream. That suspicion was immediately confirmed by a quick glance at the security camera footage that showed Ghantt doing a little dance after loading all the cash into the van. Hes way smarter than youd think he would be because he tends to play Bozos. They left behind the cash they couldnt fit in their cars. The defense has finished its closing argument in the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh. 1) David Ghantt is underpaid and unhappy. I knew it was over then, Ghantt said. He was insecure. Her reaction seems so far away now, all these years and a Hall of Fame career later. From Oct. 6 through Feb. 20, the couple made 47 deposits totaling $271,500 at a Belmont bank, and at. Then check out another bank robber who inspired a movie, John Wojtowicz. This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 16:45. (Ghantt works as a heavy machine operator in the construction industry.). One of the best ways to learn more about U.S. history is to make sure youre taking history classes. So he hatched a plan to rob his employers. David Ghantt discovers the true meaning of adventure far beyond his wildest dreams. Als u uw keuzes wilt aanpassen, klik dan op 'Privacyinstellingen beheren'. The Army veteran and Hunter Huss High graduate was captured in Mexico five months later when one of the others involved in the theft, Steve Chambers, decided he needed to tie up loose ends by having Ghantt killed. When the rest of the Loomis Fargo employees showed up the next morning and found that they couldnt open the vault, they called the police. He then began loading $17 million in unmarked bills inside a company van before driving away. Chambers promised to wire him money in Mexico until the investigation blew over and Ghantt could return to North Carolina. David Scott Ghantt Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. Nous, Yahoo, faisons partie de la famille de marques Yahoo. The former star . Wij, Yahoo, maken deel uit van de Yahoo-merkenfamilie. On Oct. 5, 1997, Ghantt carried out the heist during his regular shift after sending another employee home, stealing more than $17 million from the bank vault. Project #ShowUs. dvelopper et amliorer nos produits et services. Chambers, who made an ill-fated decision to buy a home in the gated Cramer Mountain community with his newfound wealth, now runsa gym on Lowell-Bethesda Road. Meanwhile, Ghantt would take $50,000, as much as could legally be carried across the border without questions, and flee to Mexico. [3][4] Its Charlotte office would be the victim of David Scott Ghantt and his confederates later that year. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. What ACT target score should you be aiming for? Ghantt, in order to conserve this money, curtailed his spending. David Scott Ghantt was the vault supervisor at the regional branch of Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte, North Carolina. A: People are very forgiving if you're open and honest right from the start. Im like, You need to understand that, that money has been missing for 20 years. The morning after the height, employees of Loomis Fargo realized they couldnt open the vault. Though she agreed to cooperate with the government when she pleaded guilty to bank larceny and money laundering in August 1998, Michele Chambers didn't tell the FBI she still had the ring until December, when she turned it in. (I) bought jewelry, bought a van, Campbell recalled of her own spending. Based on a true story, the premise itself is fascinating, which makes Masterminds all the more a waste. Because the money in the vault was largely from banks, the crime was technically a bank robbery and thus a federal offense. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. The FBI investigation was aided by the gang's extravagant spending. 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. At the time it was the second largest cash robbery ever to happen on US soil. David Scott Ghantt: Vault Supervisor David Scott Ghantt was the vault supervisor at the regional branch of Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte, North Carolina. Chambers and his wife also made some cash payments on a few cars. My Proof: https://twitter.com/DavidGhantt/status/827476087596789760, My AMA time is up now, but thank you all for your participation in the Ask Me Anything session :-), New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, https://twitter.com/DavidGhantt/status/827476087596789760. Theyre Doing it in the USA Too, On False Hopes and Broken Promises: Behind the Scenes of the UN Statement on Palestine, A Conversation With Keith Lamar, From Death Row in Ohio, The Nightmare of Great Power Rivalry Over Taiwan, Left to Die: Deterrence, Death, and Rescue in the Borderlands, Japan to Delay Ocean Dumping of Contaminated Waste Water from Fukushima, A Socialist Survival Tactic: Cubas Worker Parliaments, Politics In the Catastrophe, the Elders Calling, The Deafening Silence of Intellectuals in the Face of Growing Global Conflicts, Women Wont Renegotiate Our Place in the Economy, Land for Peace: Borders Arent Sacred, Human Lives Are, Workers, Machines, and Bonus Depreciation, The Abstainers: What Biden Left Out of His Warsaw Speech, When Companies Hire Low-Wage Contractors, They Put My Life at Risk, Humanitys Secret War Against the Environment, Ourselves, and Our Children, Before Norfolk Southern Poisoned Ohio, It Poisoned the Statehouse, Reconciliation Does Not Mean Forgetting in Nicaragua, Its Time to Realize the Farm Bills Transformative Potential, Why News of Population Decline and Economic Slowdown Isnt Necessarily a Bad Thing, Doing Washingtons Bidding: Australias Treatment of Daniel Duggan, Remembering Kuwasi Balagoon and the Forgotten Legacy of Black Anarchism, Prairie Populist, Honest Senator James Abourezk, Fearless Fighter for Justice, Why Biden Snubbed Chinas Ukraine Peace Plan, ILWU Alums Tackle Labor Power and Strategy Questions. CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM MASTERMIND MOVIE. He and his wife,. Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy a Toyota Sienna minivan in two cash installments. At the time it was thesecond largest bank heistin U.S. history. As Campbell would later explain, If David got killed, there couldnt be any finger pointing. Inside the truck, they found Ghantt's ring and surmised this was a sign of Ghantt's intention to end his relationship with his wife. Then you end up in a eight by ten cube and youre going to share that cube with two other people. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. David Ghantt : I had a hard time liftin' it up. ``There are many people with those factors who don't resort to crime,' he said. Hes a great person. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. 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. People still laugh when they think of the "velvet Elvis" Chambershad in his Cramer Mountain mansion, or how his former wife showed upat a local bankto deposit wads of cash that she assured the teller was not "drug money.". Michelle Chambers received a harsher sentence than Ghantt seven years and eight months because she had violated several bond conditions. Although the history of the predecessor Wells Fargo & Company dates back to 1852, Loomis Fargo & Company was established in 1997 by the consolidation of Wells Fargo Armored Service and Loomis Armored Inc.; the resulting corporation employed 8,500 people and provided armored transportation, cash handling services, and automatic teller machine maintenance. Custom Content. Said Ghantt, one day life kinda slapped me in the face. Where ever it was, it is long gone now. Lindy Hop: The Dance That Defined The Golden Age of Jazz, Inside The Unsolved Disappearance Of Jennifer Kesse, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, David Ghantt attends the 2016 after party for the Hollywood premiere of. This Wednesday marks the 20th anniversary of the notorious Loomis Fargo heist. Unfortunately, he failed to disable the third camera. 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, To find out more about how the thieves got caught and how long they landed behind bars, tune in the. When the cheerleading coach broke the news to Katrina Kohel that she was the only one left on the cheer squad, Kohel was determined to compete anyway. He made his own self miserable. On the evening of October 4, 1997, one man loaded $17.3 million in cash from the vaults of Loomis, Fargo & Co. into the back of a van. followed by "Don't worry, it is not drug money," the bank filled out a suspicious activity report, which ultimately reached the FBI. Q: You came to the North Carolina mountains during Hurricane Irma, but what do you miss about Gastonia? That usually takes the shine right off of it, when you start explaining that. He continued, Youd be wearing a lot of khaki brown and eating crappy food., Since the films release and its recent Netflix debut, Scott Ghent cited that the most common question he receives is about the missing $2 million never recovered by the FBI; Ive had people actually ask me that question. All of the defendants except for one pleaded guilty and accepted their sentences. To its credit, Masterminds does nail down the broad strokes of the real story, although there were a couple of noteworthy details the film left out. Its 90-minutes of mugging for the camera, but the only people who feel mugged are those that pay to see Masterminds. Do you still have contact with him? Chambers and his wife Michele moved out of a trailer and into a luxury mansion in a nice neighborhood. 2023 www.gastongazette.com. You've decided to give up on a part of your life. If you're trying to make yourself better today, that's all most people care about. The Loomis Fargo robbery was one of the largest heists in history, with $2 million in stolen funds still unaccounted for. [citation needed], It was later confirmed by the FBI that more than 88% of the stolen cash had been located or otherwise accounted for. Ghantt was the vault manager. His partners, who planned to stay behind, agreed to send him his full cut of the money after the heat from investigators had died down. AI Chatbots are Even Scarier Than You Think, DeSantiss Educational Policies Come Right Out of the Fascist Playbook, Erase the Memory to Erase a People? On March 12, a Charlotte grand jury indicted the eight co-conspirators for bank larceny and money laundering; the latter offense was included because of how they spent the stolen money. I work construction. The plan was for Ghantt to commit the robbery and then quickly leave the country for Mexico but to leave the bulk of the cash with Chambers. The connection to Chambers took more time. I did get to meet him. On March 1, 1988, Mexican police arrested Ghantt at Playa del Carmen. For instance, after stealing $17.3 million $11 million of which was in $20 bills the conspirators had to leave behind $3 million in cash because they couldnt fit all of it in their cars. Biography Comedy Crime A guard at an armored car company in the Southern U.S. organizes one of the biggest bank heists in American history. He told me they were in the dirt business, so he didn't have to worry too much about me. The chief running joke in Masterminds is the Prince Valiant 'do gamely sported by Galifianakis as David Ghantt, . The painful part is that when you get caught, that the part of your brain that was trying to talk to you when you first started the robbery was right, and that's like a dump truck running over you. If I hadnt of done that, Id probably still be in North Carolina and I would not have got to meet a lot of the interesting people that Ive got to meet. David Ghantt was the vault supervisor for Loomis, Fargo & Co. armored cars, which managed the transportation of large sums of cash between banks in North Carolina. The details of the heist itself, coupled with the missteps the crew made after stealing the money, attracted the attention of writers and movie producers. BBC Motion Gallery. Question: Which do you regret more, stealing the money or getting caught? ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score, How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League, Is the ACT easier than the SAT? The brother of a man killed by a woman now charged with murder in Chambers County said he sees similarities in his brother's case and the case of woman's latest husband's death. By now, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, Steve Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell. To make a successful getaway, Ghantt had to lift nearly 2,800 pounds of currency. In the meantime, however, Chambers not only refused to wire money to Ghantt in Mexico, but ultimately hired a hitman (Jason Sudeikis) to take him out. David Ghantt, a Gulf War veteran, had never been in trouble with the law. Kate. Just days after agreeing to the plan, the group set a day to carry out the robbery. All but one of the defendants pleaded guilty. Explain: The scary part is that as soon as you put that little bit of money in the van, that there's no going back. Chambers, it turned out, became the biggest source of evidence for the FBI. ABC7 Eyewitness News Watch Now David Ghantt was portrayed by Zackary Hatfield. Zach Galifianakis played David Scott Ghantt, with other roles played byOwen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Leslie Jones, Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon. David Ghantt normally came home between 6 and 8 p.m., and often he was late, his wife said. They had initially agreed to control their spending for a year or two, in the belief that the government would vigorously track the spending habits of any and all suspects for at least a year before relenting. Naturally, Ghantt started to run out of cash and turned to Chambers, who was annoyed by his requests for more money. Of course, I went on a spending spree. Ghantt, who had been with the bank since 1994, was promoted from driver to vault supervisor in 1997, where he earned $360 a week and befriended Kelly Campbell (Wiig), who got Ghantt mixed up in the plans for the heist after she left Loomis. No rift here! We were in Old Fortwhen they were shooting the movie and went out to eat. However, the fact that a man who formerly lived in a mobile home was lavishly spending money on a luxury home ($635,000 in cash), expensive cars, and a ring ($42,000 in cash) eventually made it easy to connect the dots. Ask below and we'll reply! Not only was Ghantt the only unaccounted for employee the morning after the heist, there was also footage of Ghantt moving the cash into the back of the Loomis Fargo van. Chambers would hold on to most of the remaining cash and wire it to Ghantt as needed. Q: Do you ever think about what your life would be like if you had gotten away with the money? Instead, the bandits just started throwing as much money as they could into the van until they couldnt fit anymore. But last Oct. 4, when he still hadn't gotten home by 2:30 a.m., she called his parents in. Everybody thinks being famous and being an actor is stupendous, and the money is fantastic, but they kind of live in afish bowl. In 2020, the television show Super Heists portrayed the heist in Episode 3, "Van Full of Dollars". Even though they drove away with less than they had initially intended, they still had more than $17 million in hand. ``I wish she'd gotten less. They asked me how I felt about it and I said, Its my story, but its your movie so have at me. Too bad it was so poorly planned. I really don't miss that guy. Two days after the heist, the FBI found the missing van with $3.3 million of cash left in it. The Current TikTok Ban Doesnt Go Far Enough. The True Story of David Ghantt and the Loomis Fargo Heist, Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Score, check out some of these books on our AP History Exam reading list. After finding himself in prison he made a concious choice to do things differently. While listening in, they uncovered another more sinister alleged plan to kill Ghantt. 4 million images and real time event coverage from coast to coast , ImageCollect is the only celebrity photo site you'll ever need. Hayley Milliman is a former teacher turned writer who blogs about education, history, and technology. Her husband, Steve Chambers, whom prosecutors have called the main defendant, began serving an 11-year sentence earlier this year. C hristopher David Ghantt Phone Numbers (704) 678-8911. Across the border in Mexico, Ghantt was also living it up. Authorities had the receipt and had known it was missing. His wife, they said, got breast implants and used cash to purchase a 1998 BMW Z3 sports car. Pour en savoir plus sur la faon dont nous utilisons vos donnes personnelles, veuillez consulter notre politique relative la vie prive et notre politique en matire de cookies. Galifianakis seems to be playing a character out of Dumb and Dumber 3: The Dumbening; Kristen Wiig plays what could only be described as her worst SNL character; Owen Wilson plays an Owen Wilson character; and Sudeikis plays a bumbling hitman who cant pull the trigger after he finds out his target shares the same name and birthdate, which is the dumbest twist since the Martha revelation in Batman vs. Superman. Harper Beckham and her dad David Beckham dressed in matching black outfits as they headed to a Paris Fashion Week event being thrown by Harper's mom and David's wife Victoria . All but one of the indicted pleaded guilty. By then, the FBI had become greatly concerned for Ghantt's personal safety; they had learned that Chambers had plotted to have Ghantt killed in a murder for hire scheme using a "hit man" named Michael McKinney. Just the ability to come and go as I please and walk barefooted in the backyard means so much. Within two days, the investigators found the van with $3 million in cash and the security camera tapes inside. He made it across the border just as his deception was discovered. Over the years many of his social . He was angry a lot. The plan went off with few problems, but after Ghantt was safely in Mexico, his partners were left storing large amounts of cash. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually . All rights reserved. The missing couple were identified as David Harrison Robinson and his wife Lucretia Robinson. The Loomis Fargo heist became something of a media lightning rod. Si vous souhaitez personnaliser vos choix, cliquez sur Grer les paramtres de confidentialit. David Ghantt was a nuisance to Steve Chambers and Kelly Campbell, John Wydra, a retired FBI agent who handled the case, told Super Heists.. Bubbling under the surface, however, was a deep frustration at the way he was treated. Based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery. I knew that if we could stay off the radar for about a year, we could basically live a vacation life, Ghantt said. Dont come to me for a treasure map, Ill put it to you that way., Michael Sainatos writing has appeared in the Guardian, Miami Herald, Baltimore Sun, Denver Post, Buffalo News, the Hill, Alternet, and several other publications . And it didn't take long to figure out that this was not the place for me. A: I like the 47-year-old David Ghantt more than I did the 20-something David Ghantt. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! But after one visit, she asked a teller "How much can I deposit before you have to report it to the feds?" As a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo, David had access to the vaults and all the cash within. Vous pouvez modifier vos choix tout moment en cliquant sur le lien Tableau de bord sur la vie prive prsent sur nos sites et dans nos applications. The pair were both from the United States but had lived in the Peloponnese region of Greece for the past few years. On Oct. 4, 1997, former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt finished his shift as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte. An additional tip reached the FBI when Michelle Chambers made a large deposit at a bank. When he was done, the man drove off to a nearby printing press, where the money was distributed into private vehicles amongst a handful of people. ``This defendant was second to Steve Chambers in (benefiting) from the crime,' he said. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Nebraska cheerleader competes by herself at state competition, but crowd doesn't let her feel alone, Police identify victim who died Wednesday in Greensboro's 11th homicide of 2023, William Sturkey: Chapel Hill trustees 'hellbent' on winning campus culture wars, Rob Schofield: North Carolinas chronic public employee shortage wasnt an accident, KFC is bringing back a fan favorite after a nearly 10-year hiatus, Richard Groves: What the 'He Gets Us' media campaign says about the decline of Christianity, Two Things: Victim's family not surprised by no show; hospital wars in Greensboro and money well spent, Mark Elliott and Jeremy Rinker: Budget reductions at UNCG punish it for serving disadvantaged students, Samet: Guilford County wanted more black-owned businesses added to construction project after the bids were opened, Former Page High School teacher arrested on child sex charges, records show, Proposed rules for Airbnb, other short-term rentals advance in Greensboro, 'A bizarre case': Greensboro TikTok star found not guilty in fatal 2019 crash, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist proposes community hospital in Greensboro, Greensboro police officer involved in confrontation on Golden Gate Drive resigns, Jaydon Young's lessons of sacrifice mix with two-hour transfer, Virginia Tech and 2023 tournament.
German Single Shot Rifles,
David Cohen Sheffield,
Nancy Ludwig Hughes Net Worth,
Articles D
