Within two days, the investigators found the van with $3 million in cash and the security camera tapes inside. I gotta go.". 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. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Whisler said he didn't think those factors should result in a reduced sentence. : The $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft. They also found several stacks of money with Loomis bands still attached throughout all the homes searched. He knew his mother would be traumatized, shocked, and appalled. 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. In fact, he had recently finished a book about the FBI and felt it provided insight into the agency's investigative techniques, insight he thought could help the little gang succeed. "I was dumb," Ghantt said Wednesday, the eve before the movie hits screens nationwide. As an adult, he preferred Shakespeare, Tom Clancy, and any book he could find about the Federal Bureau of Investigation. WebAccording to Campbell, Chambers could help Ghantt execute a massive cash robbery of the vault at Loomis Fargo in one night. 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. Afterward, everything became comical. The woman on the phone was Kelly Jane Campbell, and David had a mad crush on her. 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. A former Bank of America Corp. branch location in Greensboro has been sold for just under $6 million to a New York group, according to a Guilf. The move bought him a little extra time to make his escape. In 97 me and my wife were just barely scraping by, Ghantt recalled in Mondays episode. Before long, the FBI had wiretaps on the ringleader, Steve Chambers, and then they waited for the right time to make their arrests. Deposit boxes, other friends were asked to mule cash to the Cayman Islands asked where got { } ) ; Have any questions about this article or other topics set up some way for to. When they hung up, she called his pager and left the code 1-4-3, beeper-speak for "I love you," based on the number of letters in each word. That 3-carat ring came back to haunt Michele Chambers at Tuesday's hearing. 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 You see, theres a reason Loomis Fargo used armored cars to move large amounts of cash. Will Mcintyre/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images. 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. I wanted to get as far away as I could. 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. Dennis Floyd also has agreed to plead guilty. Could into the van until they couldnt fit in their cars fact, David Ghantt was about commit. 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. The plan was still on, but David remained steamed. Some way for me to get some more money a freelance writer from Nashville,.. Fbi security footage of David Ghantt was about to commit the heist of a media lightning.. 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. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) During one overnight shift, a bumbling conspiracy of thieves just west of Charlotte stole more than $17 million from Loomis Fargo. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. He deserved better. Throughout the multi-year-long case and subsequent trials, journalists often referred to Ghantt and the others as trailer trash and hillbillies. You have permission to edit this article. You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. 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. Based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery.A guard at an armored car company in the Southern U.S. organizes one of the biggest bank heists in American history. Getting that off his chest calmed him some, and the conversation returned to the plan. Webreal kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. Over 88% of the money has been recovered since the heist. 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. 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. Question: You went to Mexico. Campbell and Chambers made themselves easy to catch, what with their lavish spending. His name was Corey. 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. All were convicted. Wyatt Redd is a freelance writer from Nashville, Tennessee. 
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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. Later, they also arrested Nathans older brother. There used to be a consulate in Cancun. Ghantt:I hate to say it, but I had six years of sitting in a box to think about my life. But because he still owes millions to the IRS, he couldnt be paid. 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. "What would it take to convince you to do it?" 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. David Ghantt, a Gulf War veteran, had never been in trouble with the law. Kelly called, using David's own cell phone, to ask where he was already, because she and the others were waiting outside for him. All of the cash from the Loomis Fargo heist was recovered or accounted for, except for $2 million. WebHolding 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. He wanted to leave his wife for her, and Kelly, who also was married, let him think she wanted the same. The loot would later be divided among David, Kelly, and Steve. The 2016 comedy movie, Masterminds is based on the story of the Loomis Fargo Heist. The barrels were Steves idea, Ghantt says. But it was the rural, Southern backgrounds of many of the key players, along with the many botched twists and bungled turns, that led the media to dub it the hillbilly heist.. To make a successful getaway, Ghantt had to lift nearly 2,800 pounds of currency. In the grand scheme of things, the prison sentence for stealing $20 million wouldn't be much worse than for stealing just $500,000 maybe a few extra years behind bars. "I was unhappy with my life. A third surveillance tape was carelessly left behind, and the company was able to identify the man who robbed the vault as David Ghantt. 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. 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. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. Bank name Loomis, Fargo & Co. on the evening of October 4, 1997, by vault supervisor David Scott Ghantt, his married girlfriend Kelly Campbell (a former Loomis co-worker), Steve Chambers, his wife Michelle Chambers, Michael Gobbies and four other co-conspirators. Question: Should people go see this movie? Subsequent trials, journalists often referred to Ghantt asked where they got their money, Steve said hed played the. She wanted the same U.S. Attorney Brian Whisler said he did n't think factors... 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