When did you conclude yeah Im actually going to do this? Counts asked. In total, 24 people were convicted and all but one of the accused pleaded guilty. Despite working for a company that regularly relocates millions of dollars, David Ghantt himself was underpaid. He was doing what the rest of us were doing making bad decisions. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. 69-year-old suffers stroke in his home; Realtor showing house leaves him there. In August 1997, Campbell told Ghantt about an old high school friend of hers, Steve Chambers. I can take it.". If we work together, we can all have plenty of pie.. In his hurry, Ghantt had simply overlooked the third security camera. The pair began to daydream about whether they could really pull off the heist. Kelly Campbell was another Loomis Fargo employee, and she and David Ghantt quickly established a relationship. It's based on the true story of David Ghantt (Galifianikas), a vault supervisor at the Charlotte Loomis Fargo depository in Uptown Charlotte that was involved in the second largest cash robbery in history, making off with $17.4 million ($25 million today). No hard feelings. This company employed 8,500 people and provided armored transportation, cash handling services, and automatic teller machine maintenance. Its available to stream on Netflix, and the description on the site starts with the phrase Four dim-witted Southerners, which should tip you off that this retelling deserves a few grains of salt. SPORTS. 04/10/2017 9:02. . The main players had time to conspicuously spend some of their money and, in the case of David Scott Ghantt, the Loomis Fargo employee who removed the money from the vault, flee to Mexico. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Friends of Campbell had also begun spending large amounts of cash. 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. They didnt stop there, they then proceeded to buy luxury cars, big-screen TVs and other extravagant items. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily . Question: You were a consultant? Bank heists are ideally supposed to have meticulous planning right? David Ghantt, el "cerebro" del golpe. Ghantt made his way to Mexico, where he hid for several months. The plot revolves around Ghantt who teamed up with his former loomis co-worker Kelly Campbell. David Ghantt struck up a friendship with Kelly Campbell, a coworker who saw eye to eye with him. The money weighed as much as a compact car and he did it all by himself. The office in Charlotte would be the victim of Ghantt in the year of the opening. Also charged with money laundering were innocent relatives and friends who had co-signed safe deposit boxes. David gets Steve to confess to planning the heist. After this, he began loading $17 million in unmarked bills inside a company van before driving away. Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later David Scott Ghantt. FBI agents got to him first. 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. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. 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. David ist einer der Mnner, die fr Banken Unsummen an Dollars von A nach B fahren. David Ghantt worked as a vault supervisor for the armoured cash vehicles at the Charlotte, North Carolina branch of Loomis, Fargo & Co. Ironically even though he worked for a company that moved millions of dollars every day, he was relatively underpaid. At the time . This caused them just to leave the cash they could not take with them in the back of the van. Chaque jour, c'est la mme routine : au volant de son camion blind, il transporte des millions de dollars qui ne lui appartiennent pas. But neither of those things would matter after he met Kelly Campbell. One fact at a time! David Ghantt, a Gulf War veteran, . Then, he proceeded to load 2,800 pounds of cash into a van. CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM 1998 and ACTORS IN MOVIE. All Rights Reserved. He talks about how he informs employers about his criminal . ENTERTAINMENT. Let me see! This former Kings Mountain resident finished his shift as a vault supervisor for the branch in Charlotte. 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. David Ghantt, Kelly Campbell, and their friends stole an astonishing $17.3 million. Later, DePriest would learn through Diamants reporting for his book that Ghantt was terrified of being followed in Mexico, always looking over his shoulder and sitting near the exit in restaurants. 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. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. He is an uncomplicated man stuck in a monotonous life. And that's OK with Ghantt, who's just a few weeks shy of his 47th birthday, out of federal prison for more than a decade, married with a 9-year-old daughter and happy. This story was originally published October 1, 2017, 6:44 PM. The van used to move the money was later located a few miles from the warehouse. 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. Le seul rayon de soleil dans son existence banale, c'est sa jolie collgue, Kelly Campbell. Authorities also are looking for evidence in connection with a possible conspiracy to kill Ghantt, Perry said. All rights reserved. By Sue Anne Pressley. Guillermo dos Santos Coelho. To be brutally honest, it was that morning, Ghantt replied. Where things stand in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. . Note: No quotes were altered, although in some cases additional quotes were added to the questions as Ghantt expanded on his thoughts. They both made jokes about their work and how they would rather rob the place than continue with their underpaid job. Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. 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. 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. The 2016 movie Masterminds, starring N.C. native Zach Galifianakis, loosely interprets the facts of the heist in a goofy action comedy. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily by millions of dollars-worth of temptation. After the Loomis Fargo heist, when the arrests were made, Ghantt and seven others pleaded guilty in federal court to the charges. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist (No Ratings Yet) . I started just chucking it as fast as I could, he said, adding the sweat was pouring off of me.. 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. When things calmed down, Ghantt was to re-enter the U.S., and the money was split up among all co-conspirators. He had sent home early a newly hired employee and then proceeded with the loading of the funds. Then Campbell turned his attention to her boyfriend. Your daily dose of History. The robbery was committed by Loomis vault supervisor David Scott Ghantt, his married girlfriend Kelly Campbell (a former Loomis co-worker), Steven Eugene Chambers (a one-time FBI informant), his wife Michelle . 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 $17 million in untraceable bills in 1997. She's a great speaker and a great writer. More than 2 million dollars are still missing to this day. The phone calls began to get more intense when Steve and Eric got suspicious of a man who was running hismouth about them and the vault job over in Charlotte. 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. In real-life, Ghantt, then 27, used his access to swipe $17 million, later fleeing to Mexico with $25,000 of it stashed into the legs of pantyhose that he wore as a money belt; while he waited . 0:00. Inside $3.3 million was located along with the two stolen surveillance tapes, apparently left due to the robber and his accomplices being sloppy, or in a hurry. 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. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. That 3-carat ring came back to haunt Michele Chambers at Tuesday's hearing. Steve had hired a bodyguard named Mike McKinney. He was eventually approached to be a consultant for the 2016 movie Masterminds, which is based on the Loomis Fargo heist. 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 groups demise. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later David Scott Ghantt speaks with Channel 9's Glenn Counts 25 years after the robbery. Additionally, all the stolen cash was recovered or accounted for, except for $2 million. The FBI investigation was able to connect Ghantt to Campbell quickly. The irony is that before the Loomis Fargo heist they had all agreed to keep their spending to a minimum. Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads, Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect, Elizabeth Holmes has second child, seeks to delay prison, Where things stand in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily by millions of dollars-worth of temptation. 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. Flying bug found at Walmart turns out to be rare Jurassic-era insect Their plan was fairly straightforward: Ghantt was to remain in the vault after his shift on the night of the heist, October 4, 1997. They swept the surrounding counties, locating Kelly Campbell and Eric Payne in their homes. FINANCE. Did you get paid? On Oct. 4, 1997, former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt finished his shift as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte. Ghantt:It baffles me to this day. Steve Chambers would keep the rest. Kelly Campbell is scheduled to be sentenced in October. Gaston County residents remember how that worked out. Ghantt:I've burned that bridge years ago. He has been open about the heist and his life and had no qualms about it. Former Cramerton Police Chief David Young soon got wind of the Chambers excessive spending spree and reached out to the FBI. Fact check: Is there much truth to the new Masterminds movie? They located Steve and Shelley Chambers in their newly-purchased home at the top of a hill. Even with several vehicles, they underestimated how much space they would need and they had to leave $3 million behind. 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. So they went to Mexico and arrested Ghantt in order to protect him. That time in prison was actually good for me. While Ghantt fled to Mexico, the others went no farther than Cramer Mountain. Question: Are you happy that Wilkesboro-nativeZach Galifianakis plays you in the movie? 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. David Ghantt: [after the loaded gun in the back of his trousers goes off] Oh, that burns! He worked close-by to where the van and over $3 million dollars had been ditched, and was friends with Steve Chambers. David Scott Ghantt, 28, was arrested Sunday on an island off the Mexican coast, near the resort city of Cozumel, FBI spokesman William Perry said today. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. The Gaston Gazette interviewed Ghantt, whos now in his late 40s and living as a free man in Florida. Top McCarthy aide, House Oversight chair each met with Ashli Babbitt's mother WSOC TV facebook feed(Opens a new window), Part 1: When you have money, you just have different problems: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later, ALSO READ: Trio charged following takeover-style bank robbery in South End, sources say, ALSO READ: Police: Suspect arrested in Rock Hill following bank robbery in northwest Charlotte, ALSO READ: Business owner says more than $100K in checks stolen, then forged and deposited, 13-year-old girl killed in crash involving tractor-trailer on I-485 in west Charlotte, police say, Tattooed arm of missing man found inside shark caught by fishermen, Shanquella Robinson case needing high-level diplomatic intervention, attorney says, Wells Fargo to close Charlotte-area branch, two others in NC in consolidation move, Murdaugh Trial, Day 27: Jury visits crime scene before closings at trial, WSOC - TV Public File Contact / Program Director, WAXN - TV Public File Contact / Program Director. $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. The feds say these six were involved with David Scott Ghantt, and were sharing the loot from Ghantt's $17 million armored-car-company heist in . But before the hit could be carried out, the FBI swooped in and arrested Ghantt and the others. Here you'll find all collections you've created before. They were the butt of a national joke. : The $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft. More calls between the two men, and also between Steve and Kelly Campbell, made it clear that the group was starting to turn on David Ghantt. Its easy to get somebody to do something if you know that they are that infatuated with you.. "I've moved on with my life," he said Tuesday. He and his wife, Michelle, moved from their mobile home in Lincoln County to a luxury house in the wealthy Cramer Mountain section of Cramerton. David! Kelly Campbell, a former firm employee, pleaded guilty to bank larceny, money laundering, and murder conspiracy charges earlier this year. Question: Do you ever think you could have been killed? Federal Judge Graham Mullen sentenced her to between those lengths. This had led the FBI to begin monitoring Chambers' and his wife's activities. FBI video shows agents searching the Cramer Mountain home and finding stacks of cash. First, they tapped the Chambers phone, and began listening in on February 11th, 1998. Day 27 live updates: Murdaugh family weapons killed victims, SC prosecutor says in closing, Woman who caused death of Charlotte athlete takes plea deal + NC police depts. 2023 www.gastongazette.com. Campbell and her husband had always been just scraping by, however in the weeks following the robbery, the two seemed to have more money than they've ever had. Most people are going to forgive you. On the fateful day of Oct. 4, 1997, Davit Ghantt decided to proceed with the Loomis Fargo heist. Ghantt took $50,000 for himself and fled to Cozumel, Mexico. It all went down in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the man at the center of that heist, David Scott Ghantt, now lives in Jacksonville. 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 . The Loomis Fargo Bank Robbery was the $17.3 million cash robbery of the Charlotte, North Carolina, regional office vault of Loomis Fargo & Company on the evening of October 4, 1997, by armored car driver and vault supervisor David Scott Ghantt.An FBI criminal investigation (which became international in scope) ultimately resulted in the arrest and conviction of eight people . 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. My knee-jerk reaction was to be angry, and then the sarcastic ass side of me started laughing about it, Ghantt said. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). In all, agents arrested 24 people in the heist. How I held it together is beyond me, Ghantt said. Further stating that it was not drug money. David Ghantt may have walked out of the Loomis Fargo heist with the money in hand but then the problems started piling up. 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. Some received probation for money laundering, many others did hard time. When to set your clocks for daylight saving time, A raw bar, Asian restaurant, ice cream shop and arcade debut at Concord food hall. In that time, I realized most of my problems were because of me. David Scott Ghantt speaks with Channel 9's Glenn Counts 25 years after the robbery. David Ghantt was sentenced to seven years in prison and Steven Chambers was sentenced to 11. Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward after the theft. 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. That's the kind of movie they wanted to make. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. Ghantt stole $17 million from the Loomis vault at work. David Ghantt is now 47 and living with his wife and daughter in Jacksonville, Florida. 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. David Ghantt: Yeah, it feels like it just grazed my biscuits right there betwixt them. Since he was the only employee unaccounted for the following day, they checked the tapes for clues. Ghantt ended up doing more than five years in prison, Chambers did more than 11 years. David Ghantt took $50,000 for himself and fled to Cozumel, Mexico. The man's famil, Growing up in Goldsboro, Greensboro Day senior Jaydon Young averaged 25.9 points per game as a freshman at Wayne Christian. 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 wanted to get as far away as I could. When the FBI recorded a phone call from Ghantt in Mexico, the final connection was made. 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, 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. Afterward, outside the courthouse, her parents said the length was about what she had expected. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Watch Live: Closing arguments underway in double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, Top McCarthy aide, House Oversight chair each met with Ashli Babbitt's mother, Colon cancer rates rising in younger age group, study finds, Garland testifies before Senate panel amid ongoing special counsel probes, Ex-Georgia star Jalen Carter was racing in deadly crash, arrest warrants allege, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students. The bank was robbed on Oct. 4, 1997, by one of their security guards, David Ghantt, and his girlfriend, Kelly Campbell, a former employee at the time. You have permission to edit this article. Steve Chambers would keep the rest. David Ghantt was a nuisance to Steve Chambers and Kelly Campbell, John Wydra, a retired FBI agent who handled the case, told Super Heists.. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily by millions of dollars-worth of temptation. . Today's guest author is David Ghantt. Her husband, Steve Chambers, whom prosecutors have called the main defendant, began serving an 11-year sentence earlier this year. Along with Ghantt and Campbell, there were eight others, including Campbell's former high school friend Steve Chambers and his wife, Michelle. where he earned $360 a week and befriended Kelly Campbell (Wiig), who got Ghantt . The FBI says Chambers hired a hit man to tie up the ultimate loose end -- Ghantt. 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. ``None of these defendants , in this court's opinion, are capable of making substantial restitution, no matter what they do, or no matter what they try,' Mullen said. 25 years later David Ghantt took $50,000 for himself . Campbell, a mother of two, was in the process of divorcing her husband. David Ghantt: Oh, God! Ghantt:It's kid-friendly, it's family-friendly (the movie is rated PG-13). It was over. Their relationship continued after she left the company. One of the FBI's wiretaps caught a conversation between David Ghantt and Kelly Campbell, the one who bought the minivan and shopped for the liposuction.