Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. The others sat in their cars across the street and watched him struggle to open the heavy gate. 1-4-3 is 'I love you.' So yeah, Im kind of proud of it.. Starting Pay Rate: $15.50 per hour Shift: Monday - Friday from 1:00pm to 9:00pm Job Description As a Coin Processor, you work with your team to maintain inventory in our cash vaults for our Loomis customers. At the time of the real robbery, Chambers was facing criminal charges hed written 30K worth of bad checks and was facing jail time for it. Then another. He didnt even really question me. David quickly realized he was the intended victim. The agents tapped the phone, and it didnt take long to locate Ghantt after that. Ghantt was never in Chamberss presence until he actually handed off the money to him. Careers. They were the butt of a national joke. The theft at the time the second-largest cash robbery in U.S. history has been the brunt of mocking movies and books, mostly on how the thieves, who had little money to begin with, could not control their spending habits once they did. "I said, 'I don't want him killed.' He placed stacks of currency on a cart and wheeled it to the van about 15 feet away, inside the building. You have to remember that it's Hollywood and they'll take what was a minor event and they'll blow it up and make it as funny as they can.". . She could walk under the trees, with the chickens and goats and dogs that live around her mobile home. In real life: False. Updated: 11:31 AM EDT October 4, 2022 CHARLOTTE, N.C. Tuesday is the 25th anniversary of the infamous Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte, where a bank worker, with the help of two accomplices,. So it was weird when during the middle of the week, there were these very clean-cut, very Midwestern looking, obviously American guys in the town. He was also a former FBI informant who had tipped the bureau off to a planned robbery of a Loomis Fargo armored truck that never came to fruition. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. About 20 ago, Campbell sent him a letter of apology, but he never responded. Zaron Burnett is an investigative journalist and longform features writer based in Los Angeles. The FBI, in fact, obtained the evidence they needed to bring down the major players, including Chambers, after catching them talking about the murder plot on the telephone via wiretap. Turns out, most of the thieves and their accomplices have been about as effective coming up with their court-ordered restitution as they were hiding their original crimes. By March, Steve Chambers decided he needed to do something more drastic about Ghantt, making plans to send a hitman to Mexico to silence him for good. It had been drilled into my head that if you give me a team of five good people, I can go anywhere, do anything," David explained. David said he realized then, for the first time, he might not see the millions he thought he had coming to him. The Columbia airport had no available flights. If you were one of the much-smaller-than-expected group of people who caught Masterminds at the theater this weekend, and are looking for a fact-check of the events depicted on screen, here are some of the highlights of our chat with Diamant. He grabbed the tapes from two VCRs that connected to 16 security cameras. You see, there's a reason Loomis Fargo used armored cars to move large amounts of cash. Steve led the planning. 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. At first, I just blended in with the tourists and picked up a few translation books, Ghantt explains. ". "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 and his wife, Tammy, lived in a mobile home in Kings Mountain, N.C. Money was always tight. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. They picked me, he says with a rueful tone. Looking for Kelly Loomis? I told the lead investigator I was glad to see him.. You've violated that trust. Ghantt:Since I still owe the federal government money I can't get paid. "I'd been told all my life, money will not make you happy," Kelly said. As you probably know, it's loosely based on the Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte back in the late nineties. Three weeks later, the couple purchased, in cash, a $635,000 stone mansion. That day, FBI agents also would arrest Scott Grant and Eric Payne, who had spent his share of the money on a motorcycle and breast implants for his wife and two sisters. On March 1, David Ghantt left his hotel to do some laundry. Thats nearly $11 million less than former Kings Mountain resident David Ghantt (played by Galifianakis in the film) helped steal from the vault where he worked in Charlotte back in October 1997. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. Kelly said she had reason to believe Steve might be able to pull off a heist. One night in a small North Carolina town, a down-on-his-luck guard at Loomis Fargo manages to steal $17 millionliterally more than one ton of cash. 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. More than half of the amount came from the seizure of a luxury home purchased by husband-and-wife defendants during their post-heist spending spree. At the Halloween party, though, Kelly gave in to Steve, and agreed it had to be done. . Michelle Chambers paid off only $27,000. Michelle, meanwhile, purchased new breasts for herself, along with a $43,000 diamond ring and a new convertible BMW Z3. David had grabbed $50,000 cash, but could figure out only how to carry $25,000 with him on the plane. Michelle Chambers received seven years and eight months, while Steve Chambers was handed an 11-year sentence. About the same time, Kelly and McKinney received phone calls from agents who told them to open their doors. Meanwhile, back in North Carolina, Ghantts wife woke up to find her husband missing. The Chambers, however, didnt fit in with the other members of the gated community. They found Ghantts truck, and in it were his keys, some personal items and his wedding ring. Scott Grant and Steve pulled up next to her in a Mazda. He flew in an ultra-light plane. "I thought he was goofing around.". At the time, it was the largest cash heist in history. The bigger the amount, however, the bigger the damages to victims that likely will never be repaid: Amy Paynes collection account was closed in 2020 with her having paid $53,000 of the $274,000 she owed. Kelly was no criminal. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. As he and Kelly met in a field behind a shooting range to refine the plan, she allowed him to believe she was falling for him. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. I was just going to get the money into the van. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. There was a little voice in my head that said, 'Don't do it. kellis@gastongazette.com 0:04 0:57 On Oct. 4, 1997, former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt finished his shift as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte. Kelly was lying. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. The number of people involved had ballooned after Steve started asking friends and family to help him launder the stolen cash. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. Hed be in contact. There were times when I drank really heavily.". I just want people to go to the movies and have a good laugh, even if it's at my expense. Ghantt would go on to spend six and a half years in federal prison. When we worked together [for Loomis], we'd joke about it. About 200 keys dangled from it. In the two days after the robbery, agents interviewed more than 100 people, most connected with David. Kelly had recently left a job driving an armored-car for Loomis, Fargo & Co. "He's the one who brought it up first," said Kelly, a year after her arrest. And after two years, you're just a file." The cart held about $2 million, and the thief made multiple trips. Ghantt and one other employee were the last to leave. That time in prison was actually good for me. Im on the phone with Kelly [Campbell], and Im like, Hey, I really was expecting a package to arrive. I wish them all a happy life and that's about it. They ditched the Loomis van, then drove the cash-heavy Budget van to Steve's mobile home in Lincoln County, where his wife, Michele, waited with a calculator and rubber bands. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. When he finished, the van was filled with $17 million. and "I'm rich!". Ghantt knew Chambers as Steve, but didnt find out that his last name was Chambers until the arrests were made. 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. They sweated, though the night was cool. She never really worried about the moral end of it--she was focused only on getting what she wanted out of life, what so many others seemed to have in this booming part of the South. He figured Tammy wouldn't go for it, and though his marriage had been troubled, he wasn't certain he wanted to leave her. On Monday, October 6th, the FBI agents who were investigating the robbery located the Loomis Fargo van abandoned in the woods. A version of this story originally appeared on CharlotteObserver.com. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done.. On Feb. 27, agents listened in on a call from David to Kelly and learned David's location in Mexico. Now two NC men face prison. Where I was going was right there near the Cayman Islands. . Get to me. Its that kind of excitement.. Because surprise! Ghantt was scheduled to work a shift at the armored car company Oct. 4. I flew from Atlanta to New Orleans. This is the person I counted as my friend. She was devastated, Diamant said. . While the agents initiated their investigation, the Chambers spent money as quickly as they could. That's the kind of movie they wanted to make. Theres some things I want to do., Ghantt planned on traveling from Mexico to the Cayman Islands, bypassing customs along the way. Loomis Armored Shreveport, LA, 1124 Forum Dr, Shreveport, LA, USA Shreveport, LA, USA Req #1990. If you want to go ahead and go, I got it. They loaded the wine cellar with Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Steve hung a velvet portrait of Elvis Presley in the basement. The bizarre true story of the criminals behind the second-largest bank heist in American history. At one point, the hoodlum shows up and Ghantt is wearing a Jerome Bettis Pittsburgh Steelers jersey; the hoodlums favorite team is the Steelers, and he caves and tells Ghantt that McKinney wants him dead. They agreed that after the heist, David would immediately move to Mexico, alone, but Kelly would soon join him there, with her two children. Its a yes: Clover teen shakes off nerves to earn American Idol golden ticket, Mail carrier cant believe his eyes after seeing NC lottery win. 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. Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. . Its kind of like that. Ghantt:I hate to say it, but I had six years of sitting in a box to think about my life. Or as he tells me, How many people in the United States havent thought about robbing a bank? Together, they drove in a convoy to an industrial warehouse eight miles away, where Eric Payne, a fourth accomplice was. The initials on the money wrapper belonged to a Loomis employee who hadn't worked there since before the heist. All I needed was a change of pace.". She came from a blue-collar background, a high school dropout who had grown tired of working in a mill and gotten an equivalency diploma. In real life: Yes and no. The authorities didn't know yet how much was missing from the armored-car company, but Steve did. A report by the General Accounting Office found that as of budget year 2016, $110 billion in restitution ordered by the federal courts was outstanding and that more than 90% of the amount had been classified as uncollectible.. Chambers went from a mobile home in Lincoln County to a mansion in Cramerton. Scott Grant said he hesitated, but agreed if no guns would be involved. Hes very articulate. So I guess I have no regrets. He was an old friend from East Gaston High School, tough and sure of himself. CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM 1998 and ACTORS IN MOVIE. There it was, "The Heist." You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. Gaston County residents remember how that worked out. Ghantt was in fact hiding out in Mexico using McKinneys I.D., which had been sold to Chambers months earlier. David kissed his sleeping wife on the cheek on the morning of Oct. 4. They heard Michele brag about her $43,000 ring. 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. It's one of the biggest jokes at the place. The whole town I was staying in was 98.9 percent Mexican, except for when the cruise ships were in, Ghantt recalls. Field Operations; Corporate; Why Loomis. Before long, the tales of high living by Chambers and his now former wife, Michelle, led the thieves to be labeled either the "Cramer Mountain Hillbillies" or "The gang that couldn't steal straight." An officer rang the doorbell. 27 febrero, 2023 . You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. Kelly says she underestimated the value of her life before the heist. He partied, met women, drank, skied and hung out at the beach. On October 5, 1997, FBI agents gathered at the Loomis, Fargo & Co. warehouse in Charlotte, North Carolina, to watch a security videotape of a man loading stacks of cash into a pushcart and wheeling them from the vault. Ghantt pulled out $50,000 from the back of the unmarked Loomis Fargo van. Question: Should people go see this movie? He would pay McKinney $250,000, half upfront. I'll never pay it off on my paycheck." She just called me up on the phone and said, Hey, lets meet one day after work. And then, we were talking and she says, How do you feel about robbing Loomis Fargo? Ghantt tells me. 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. Agents began picking up signs that David definitely had help: The abandoned Loomis van with $3.3 million in small bills still inside, and phone records showing that somebody beeped him while he stole the money, using David's own cell phone. Its really just a matter of timing, more than anything. And she says, How much do you think wed get out of there? I said, Ten to 15 million. But I didnt really know.. Ghantt says he operates a bulldozer for a small company. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. In a word, "Teamwork. Was that really what it was about? . Not Ghantt. Although David was in on most of the planning, one discussion between Steve and Kelly was kept a secret. You can garnish wages. He recalled that another agent, Phil King, said, "Hey, there was an article in the [Charlotte] Observer about beeper codes. The cash was covered with dog food. Question: You went to Mexico. "He said, 'Yeah, right,' and turned his head. Ghantt ultimately agreed to the plan, largely, due to a mountain of credit-card debt and in hopes of changing his life for the better. Thats one of my personality flaws. When Chambers and the two Erics were done loading the stolen millions into barrels, they abandoned the van in the woods. And robbing a truck was dangerous. But what did that mean? Not a documentary. The phone rang: Kelly had a problem. He had stolen $17 million from Loomis Fargo. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. Cool, I say. I didnt pick the heist team. When Ghantt was on the plane home from Mexico with the FBI, he admitted to the agents that while Campbell had been integral to why hed done it and that he did indeed have a crush on her it was never his true motivation. In real life: False. Loomis has received $978,983.79, according to Sally Butcher, an assistant clerk in the federal courts of the Western District of North Carolina who specializes in criminal debt. Given his position at the bank, hed be the one to pull off the robbery, and he intended to be ready. There had been no signs. Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. Thomas Grant, who served three years in prison for bank larceny, paid off restitution of $70,000; brother Eric Grant paid all of his $26,000; as did David Craig, $40,000; and Dennis and Sandra Floyd; $27,000. Posted on . When McKinney realized Ghantt was wanted for the Loomis Fargo robbery, he backed off personally because he didnt want to be anywhere near a federal investigation. Called Masterminds, the 2016 film stars Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson. It wasnt a big hit, but Ghantt, who was played by Galifianakis, gives it a rave review. How Bridgerton restarted buzz about her ancestry. Chambers never held Campbell hostage by locking her in a shed on his property. But I thought this is me being hard-headed Im going to ride this thing to the ground. And so thats what I did.. Scott didn't want to, but then he remembered the hundred-grand payday. He kept looking over his shoulder. Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward for his arrest and conviction. What purpose does that serve other than to denigrate that person into abject poverty?. She asked about the limit for a cash deposit before "paperwork" was required. They didn't know it, but they were leaving $3.3 million behind. Ghantt:I've burned that bridge years ago. "I felt that if I didn't do something, I was going to snap," David said. He drove to the edge of the Loomis compound, which was surrounded by a chain-link fence. They discussed it further, and Campbell asked him when they should do it. They hatched the idea half-jokingly, over a game of Uno, never dreaming they were about to make Bonnie and Clyde look like bottom feeders. And I knew that by that time, Id be in Cancun no matter what. . In Campbells case, Gronquist says his client was buried in court-ordered debt despite the fact that she took responsibility for what she had done and cooperated with prosecutors and the FBI. He covers culture, politics, race, and other perplexing mysteries for MEL. The barrels were Steves idea, Ghantt says. "You" has three. Ghantt:It baffles me to this day. Soon thereafter, he met Kelly Campbell, a co-worker at Loomis Fargo. She was a wife and mother with two children. "I was dumb," Ghantt said Wednesday, the eve before the movie hits screens nationwide. There, Scott and Eric paced the floor as Steve tried to calm them down. In real life: False. Some family members hid money in bank deposit boxes, other friends were asked to mule cash to the Cayman Islands. Steve had another conversation with Kelly about killing David. I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs.. He longed for the middle-class lifestyle of his childhood, with its private religious-school education and Disney World vacations. Before David left for the airport, he had handed Scott an eight-inch key ring. Until, that is, he decided to hell with it he was going to pull-off the second largest heist in U.S. history. The teller, who hadn't asked, filed a "suspicious activity report." Then, on a mid-September day, as he reviewed a credit card bill, David did some math. Yes, Carrie Underwood adopted a dog in Charlotte. In Florida, a Loomis Fargo employee had pulled a gun on his coworkers and gotten away with $18 million, a move that FBI agents theorize Ghantt, Campbell and other employees all sat around talking about - and what they would do with that amount of money - for a while. Besides her prison sentence . "It probably should bother me," he said. Things went from bad to worse when, in November, Michelle strolled into a bank with a briefcase filled with 200 grand and asked the manager, How much can I deposit without the bank reporting the transaction? When she showed the bank manager that she really had the money to invest, the cash was still bound in Loomis Fargo wrappers. Two more defendants in the $17 million Loomis Fargo & Co. robbery last year have agreed to plead guilty, and a third person entered a formal plea in court. They planned to kill a man named David Ghantt, the guy who had made their extravagant new lifestyle a reality. Eventually, Steve made Kelly believe they could steal from Loomis and get away with it, she said. No hard feelings. Soon thereafter, he met Kelly Campbell, a co-worker at Loomis Fargo. Chambers and Campbell were waiting for him in the Loomis Fargo parking lot, both in separate vehicles. So much so that one suspicious neighbor called the FBI. She didn't plan to move to Mexico. "For the first year, they're all over you. He went deep-sea fishing. 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 worked at Loomis Fargos regional office vault in Charlotte. In December, agents got the tie-in they were looking for: Kelly Campbell had bought a $30,000 Toyota minivan with cash and registered it to one of Steve Chambers's aliases.
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