Will California Save the Iconic Joshua Tree? Do you still have contact with him? Investigators also found Ghantt's pickup truck, abandoned at the warehouse. By Dustin Rowles | Film | September 30, 2016 |. Two days later, when the FBI found the Loomis Fargo armored van, they discovered almost $3.3 million in cash left in the back of the van; it was later discovered that the thieves had miscalculated the sheer bulk of the small denomination currency, and that they simply left the cash that they could not take with them in the back of the van. All but one of the defendants pleaded guilty. He was angry a lot. Ghantt reported to Chambers that his supply of money was running low, but Chambers sent Ghantt just $8,000. Q: Do you ever think about what your life would be like if you had gotten away with the money? While she made small deposits at first, she became more reckless, eventually making a deposit of thousands of dollars in cash, telling the teller not to worry: Its not drug money.. Did you know that the SAT offers subject exams, too? I got no real complaints, not at this point., The heist became the premise for the movie,Masterminds, released in September 2016. While listening in, they uncovered another more sinister alleged plan to kill Ghantt. Ghantt has never explained where that money went. In February 2009 the Associated Press reported that Chambers had chosen to describe himself as "changed". [1] Tips had led the FBI to begin monitoring Chambers's (and his wife's) activities, but it was not until the FBI recorded a phone call from Ghantt in Mexico that the final connection was made. ``This defendant was second to Steve Chambers in (benefiting) from the crime,' he said. 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. Although the FBI investigation was able to quickly connect Ghantt to Campbell, connecting Ghantt to Chambers was a more difficult task. Because the money in the vault was largely from banks, the crime was technically a bank robbery and thus a federal offense. FBI security footage of David Ghantt in the midst of the Loomis Fargo heist. 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. Her husband, Steve Chambers, whom prosecutors have called the main defendant, began serving an 11-year sentence earlier this year. Chambers also promised to join Ghantt in Mexico as soon as she could, but she admitted to Super Heists she never had any intention of actually making the trip. Defense lawyer Andy Culler sought a seven-year, three-month sentence. Whisler told the judge that the couple had searched for a new house before the theft, and that Michele Chambers bought rubber bands from Wal-Mart to count the money the night of the crime. 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 . [1], Steven Chambers finished serving his sentence in November 2006. A: I like the 47-year-old David Ghantt more than I did the 20-something David Ghantt. 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. Her reaction seems so far away now, all these years and a Hall of Fame career later. But there was just one thing the group hadnt been counting on: the massive weight of that amount 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. U kunt uw keuzes te allen tijde wijzigen door te klikken op de links 'Privacydashboard' op onze sites en in onze apps. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. I wanted to make a drastic change and I went for it, Ghantt remembered later to the Gaston Gazette. If so,check out some of these books on our AP History Exam reading list. 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. I knew it was over then, Ghantt said. David Ghantt (@DavidGhantt) is a man that still holds the record for the second largest bank heist on American Soil. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! (Ghantt works as a heavy machine operator in the construction industry.). 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. Of course, I went on a spending spree. Ghantt, a U.S. Army veteran, was living a relatively "boring" life working as the vault superintendent at a Loomis Fargo armored car warehouse just outside Charlotte, North Carolina making a relatively meager paycheck, when he crossed paths with Kelly Campbell. The pair were both from the United States but had lived in the Peloponnese region of Greece for the past few years. dvelopper et amliorer nos produits et services. Ghantt, Chambers, and Campbell came up with the following plan: Ghantt would remain in the vault after his shift on the night of the heist, Oct. 4, 1997, and let his co-conspirators into the vault. Q: You say your time in federal prison changed you. 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 knew that if we could stay off the radar for about a year, we could basically live a vacation life, Ghantt said. I didnt even have a real home life because I was never there. Get the latest articles and test prep tips! Dont worry, its not drug money.. But even though he worked for a company that regularly moved millions of dollars, David Ghantt himself was underpaid. I felt cornered and one day the joking in the break room about robbing the place suddenly didnt seem so far-fetched.. David Ghantt on stealing 17 million dollars from Loomis Fargo (Crime & Entertainment Full Interview) Crime & Entertainment 3.77K subscribers Subscribe 4.8K views 1 year ago David Ghantt. Ghantt plead guilty to his charges andserved six years in prison, along with21 other defendantswho received chargesrangingfrom money laundering to bank larceny. Chambers, it turned out, became the biggest source of evidence for the FBI. All rights reserved. Als u uw keuzes wilt aanpassen, klik dan op 'Privacyinstellingen beheren'. For Christmas, Steve Chambers gave his wife a $43,000 diamond ring. The police then called the FBI because most of the money handled at the facility belonged to banks, which technically made it a bank robbery a federal offense.[5]. In 97 me and my wife were just barely scraping by, Ghantt recalled in Mondays episode. A former co-worker told me, "Everybody has screwed up. Jandice : In any case, we got to talkin' afterwards, and I thought, well, that one's dead, this one's alive. But it was Ghantt, now 47 and living with his wife and daughter in Jacksonville, Florida, who actually took more than 2,000 pounds of cash and just drove away from his job. Chambers and his wife Michele moved out of a trailer and into a luxury mansion in a nice neighborhood. Prosecutors also resisted Culler's efforts to downplay Michele Chambers' role in the theft. David Ghantt was a nuisance to Steve Chambers and Kelly Campbell, John Wydra, a retired FBI agent who handled the case, told Super Heists.. Michelle Chambers received a harsher sentence than Ghantt seven years and eight months because she had violated several bond conditions. Chambers was always considered the "mastermind" behind the theft, but he doesn't talkmuch about his Loomis heist days, not even when actor Owen Wilson portrayed him in the 2016comedy about the heist titled"Masterminds.". 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. After years of working hard, the realisation hit . The FBI knew they needed to make their move. I work construction. Director Jared Hess Writers Chris Bowman (screenplay) Hubbel Palmer (screenplay) Emily Spivey (screenplay) Stars Zach Galifianakis Kristen Wiig Owen Wilson ``I'm glad she didn't get nine years,' said Sandra Floyd, her mother. [3][4] Its Charlotte office would be the victim of David Scott Ghantt and his confederates later that year. Masterminds is an atrociously bad comedy, and absolutely everyone is to blame. 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. 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. Too bad it was so poorly planned. Ten days later, the group was indicted for bank larceny and money laundering. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Then you end up in a eight by ten cube and youre going to share that cube with two other people. Guided by federal sentencing rules, prosecutors had requested a sentence of nine years for Michele Chambers. A Comprehensive Guide. The next day, Steve and Michelle Chambers, Kelly Campbell, and four others were arrested.[6]. Her sentence would've been ``substantially' less if she hadn't kept it, officials said. Als u niet wilt dat wij en onze partners cookies en persoonsgegevens voor deze aanvullende doeleinden gebruiken, klik dan op 'Alles weigeren'. But it was Ghantt, now 47 and living with his wife and daughter in Jacksonville, Florida,who actually took more than 2,000 pounds of cash and just drove away from his job. 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 Chambers, Michael Gobbies, and four other co-conspirators. I did get to meet him. 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. Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, though he was released on parole after five. 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. Working by himself, Ghantt would commit the robbery and then flee for Mexico, leaving the bulk of the cash with Chambers. Here, he amps up the most obnoxious excesses of his entire cast and lets their grating bad-improv skills run amok. Chambers wife, Michelle, bought a minivan in cash and began taking frequent trips to the bank to make deposits. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. Officers responded just after 5 a.m. Wednesday to an area near the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Carolyn Coleman Way and found , "The Wall Street Journal just so happened to have a supportive op-ed ready to publish within hours of the meeting. Where ever it was, it is long gone now. The FBI quickly connected Ghantt to Campbell, who was a former Loomis Fargo employee. Guess what? An additional tip reached the FBI when Michelle Chambers made a large deposit at a bank. Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy a Toyota Sienna minivan in two cash installments. But as Ghantt admitted, the film took some liberties with specific details and characters to make the film funnier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LCR9zyGkbo. But his partners soon began to get greedy and were spending large amountswith Chambers and his wife, Michelle, even buying an exclusive mansion in cash. But because he still owes millions to the IRS, he couldnt be paid. You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or www.Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. You've decided to give up on a part of your life. Galifianakis will play the armored car driver, David, who evades authorities, will be searching for his co-conspirators who betrayed him, Kelly (Kristen Wiig) and Steve (Owen Wilson). afficher des publicits et des contenus personnaliss en fonction de vos profils de centres dintrt; mesurer lefficacit des publicits et contenus personnaliss; et. By comparison, Ghantt served seven years in prison and was fined $26,000. I didnt even know about it and overlooked it, he said. 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. When Ghantt called Chambers to have the latter wire him more money, Chambers sent just a few thousand dollars. Based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery. 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. SAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination BoardTM. If you can see the obvious flaw in this plan, namely that Chambers would have no reason whatsoever to actually wire Ghantt any money, then congratulations. Jared Hess directed Masterminds, and god bless the guy, but if Gentlemen Broncos and Nacho Libre were not proof enough that Napoleon Dynamite was a fluke, Masterminds should seal the deal. 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. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. Theres barely a laugh in the entire film, which looks like it was shot entirely in one take while the actors were still working out their characters. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Whisler said he didn't think those factors should result in a reduced sentence. 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. Creative Insights. 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. 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. A: People are very forgiving if you're open and honest right from the start. This Wednesday marks the 20th anniversary of the notorious Loomis Fargo heist. 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. Some of the friends and family members received parole, while Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. Its a farce that never farces; a comedy without jokes. Wanneer u onze sites en apps gebruikt, gebruiken we, gebruikers authenticeren, veiligheidsmaatregelen toepassen en spam en misbruik voorkomen, en, gepersonaliseerde advertenties en content weergeven op basis van interesseprofielen, de effectiviteit meten van gepersonaliseerde advertenties en content, en, onze producten en services ontwikkelen en verbeteren. To make a successful getaway, Ghantt had to lift nearly 2,800 pounds of currency. Retro CharlotteFBI security footage of David Ghantt in the midst of the Loomis Fargo heist. More than 2 million dollars is still missing to this day. Its heavy. 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. 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. He made it across the border just as his deception was discovered. [7][8], Rocket Science, a 1998 double-disc album by Charlotte-based radio personalities John Boy & Billy, includes a track ("Marvin: The Loomis Caper") mocking the defendants. I learned that I was an a--hole. At the time it was thesecond largest bank heistin U.S. history. Said Ghantt, one day life kinda slapped me in the face. Ghantt sent home a new employee and quickly loaded the money into the back of a bank van. They asked me how I felt about it and I said, Its my story, but its your movie so have at me. 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. He was also married. Meanwhile, David Ghantt was relaxing on a beach in Cozumel, Mexico. And so this third camera caught everything that happened next. How? 20 years ago,on the night ofOctober 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. 43-year-old Margret and her mother both died in 2012 . As a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo, David had access to the vaults and all the cash within. The next day, the Chambers, Campbell, and some other notable parties were arrested in Charlotte. Si vous ne souhaitez pas que nos partenaires et nousmmes utilisions des cookies et vos donnes personnelles pour ces motifs supplmentaires, cliquez sur Refuser tout. hbspt.cta.load(360031, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05', {}); Have any questions about this article or other topics? But even though he worked for a company that regularly moved millions of dollars, David Ghantt himself was underpaid. . Chambers was a small-time crook who suggested to Campbell that they rob Loomis Fargo. 4 million images and real time event coverage from coast to coast , ImageCollect is the only celebrity photo site you'll ever need. Based on a true story, the premise itself is fascinating, which makes Masterminds all the more a waste. The FBI continues to search for a missing $2 million from the theft. All but one of the indicted pleaded guilty. AMA In October of 1997, I was a vault supervisor for armored truck company Loomis Fargo, when I made off with $17.3 million. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. Chambers, his wife, and several of their accomplices were arrested the next day. When Seymour Hersh Strained to Keep Up With CounterPunch, Nichole Stephens, Administrative Assistant. Finally, in March 1998, the FBI traced a call from Ghantts phone and he was arrested in Mexico. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers home. Some people screw up big like you, some people screw up small.". 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. Q: Your troubles were self-inflicted, but you seem happy. A: When I first got in, I thought, "What in my life has led me to this?" 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. The FBI investigation was aided by the gang's extravagant spending. They took a lot of liberty with the story here and there. Hes a great person. Thats the big thing. In August 1997, Campbell informed Ghantt of an old high school friend of hers, Steve Chambers, who could assist Ghantt in executing a massive cash robbery of the Loomis Fargo vault in one night. For the New York State assemblyman, see. If you're trying to make yourself better today, that's all most people care about. A lot of people ask me, Oh, do you have any regrets? No, not really. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). 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. David Ghantt normally came home between 6 and 8 p.m., and often he was late, his wife said. On Oct. 4, 1997, former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt finished his shift as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte. Ghantt, in order to conserve this money, curtailed his spending. Q: You came to the North Carolina mountains during Hurricane Irma, but what do you miss about Gastonia? The problem with the movie, however, is that the talented cast had no idea what the hell they were trying to do. And Ghantt hadnt really thought about the physical challenge of moving such a large sum of money. I stole $17 million, and Zach Galifianakis played me in a movie. That 3-carat ring came back to haunt Michele Chambers at Tuesday's hearing. 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. Authorities say Steve. Chambers and his wife also made some cash payments on a few cars. Meanwhile, Ghantt would take $50,000, as much as could legally be carried across the border without questions, and flee to Mexico.
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