. But few could have guessed how spectacularly the heist would go wrong after the criminals initially got away with it. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. Then Steve pushed Scott inside, and he began throwing plastic-wrapped bundles of tens, twenties, fifties and hundreds to Eric and Steve, who placed them in three blue 55-gallon barrels. . Because lets be brutally honest: Theyre not wrong, okay? 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.. But what did that mean? They involve Loomis armored car driver David Scott Ghantt. Its everything thats coming north.. 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. Together, they drove in a convoy to an industrial warehouse eight miles away, where Eric Payne, a fourth accomplice was. The barrels were Steves idea, Ghantt says. About 200 keys dangled from it. More agents waited outside to arrest them. Scott Grant and Steve pulled up next to her in a Mazda. Campbell, a mother of two, was in the process of divorcing her. There was, however, one problem with his plan. But agents weren't ready to arrest Kelly and Steve. It's about the 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery also known as the "hillbillly heist" the second largest cash robbery in the history of the United States. Michele received the best gift of the night. Scott was so nervous, he said, that he couldn't help. Industry leading Training and Development. He flip-flopped on the heist idea three or four times. Like David, Kelly was frustrated with her marriage. 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. 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. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP), Police: Officer Who Shot Black Man Retired 'In Bad Standing', 3 Kansas City Officers Who Were Shot Released From Hospital, 1 Killed When Business Jet Encounters Severe Turbulence. 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. Things were spiraling fast. On Feb. 27, agents listened in on a call from David to Kelly and learned David's location in Mexico. I was looking at small sailboats and theyre not cheap, he tells me. The Columbia airport had no available flights. In hindsight, it doesnt surprise me a bit, Ghantt says, a bitter laugh catching in his throat. Hidden in it was a 3 1/2-carat diamond ring that cost $43,000. This story was originally published October 3, 2016, 9:12 PM. He approached a longtime friend, Eric Payne, who lived in a mobile home south of Belmont, N.C. Steve offered him $100,000 to help. He rewarded Robert with $3,000 and vowed never to meet McKinney alone. Ghantt knew Chambers as Steve, but didnt find out that his last name was Chambers until the arrests were made. Were others involved? Yes, Carrie Underwood adopted a dog in Charlotte. But it wasnt. But after a year, they'll cut it down to two agents. After a couple of weeks, Ghantt and the rest of the heist team were ready to strike. "A lot of people out there had it worse than me, but . Nah, it was always about the money, he told the agents. 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. ". Question: You were a consultant? . Ghantt was scheduled to work a shift at the armored car company Oct. 4. There, Scott and Eric paced the floor as Steve tried to calm them down. David, the international fugitive, lived it up, too--for a while. As you probably know, it's loosely based on the Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte back in the late nineties. I mentioned it to Kelly. His wife, Tammy, was as shocked as Loomis officials. Or that it was an inheritance. "He showed me a lot of money," McKinney said. 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. Kelly told the FBI she had done drugs with David but denied knowing about the theft. . At the time, it was the largest cash heist in history. This is the person I counted as my friend. Steve told me to tell [David] whatever was necessary to keep him happy.". At 7:45, David had finished loading. I'd probably change jobs. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist seeing a woodpecker after someone dies lectomano que significa. When Chambers and the two Erics were done loading the stolen millions into barrels, they abandoned the van in the woods. "I've learned that I'm a fortunate man," he said. At 6 that morning, FBI supervisor Rick Shaffer led 12 agents and several Gaston County police officers up a winding road on Cramer Mountain to Steve's home. The initials on the money wrapper belonged to a Loomis employee who hadn't worked there since before the heist. Then another. 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. If you want me to leave, Ill leave. Then, Ghantt went into another room. Man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 years ago now a 'normal guy "But I had to know.". Kelly drove her pickup to a lot across the street from the Loomis building, on Suttle Avenue in Charlotte. Ghantt: My cut was supposed to be about $5 million, but that's not what I ended up with. Though David had no criminal experience, he felt he could offer expert advice: He'd just finished reading a book on the FBI. They found Ghantts truck, and in it were his keys, some personal items and his wedding ring. But first they wanted to know if it was a robbery or a robbery-homicide. Theres no management around. Our Benefits. In early November, Steve lured the real Mike McKinney, an ex-Marine, to North Carolina from his Illinois home. But after she left, she reached back out to Ghantt and brought up what theyd talked about that day in the break room. You can seize property. Actor Owen Wilson plays him in the movie, which includes the real names of all the major players. Tickle Me Kaczynski: How the Inventor of the Ultimate Elmo Toy Became a Unabomber Suspect, A Highly Questionable Cultural History of Richard Geres Ass Gerbil. Jeffrey Guller, who at 81 is by far the oldest of the Loomis defendants, still owes almost $1.1 million on his original court debt of $1.14 million and will remain on the governments books for another four years. Heres what happened on Sunday nights episode. So the last third of the movie is almost entirely fiction. David was living under the name Mike McKinney on a phony ID. That sounds like a lot of money until its compared to the $18,930,201.26 the group was ordered to pay. SEVEN NABBED IN CHARLOTTE HEIST\ - Greensboro News and Record For his part, Ghantt was now officially on his way to Mexico, his future stretched out before him. Field Operations; Corporate; Why Loomis. So he convinced a local hoodlum in Mexico to try to kill Ghantt. They loaded the wine cellar with Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Steve hung a velvet portrait of Elvis Presley in the basement. He couldn't even bear to stick around for the final tally--though when he left he didn't forget to take $6,000, the first cut of his expected $100,000 share. The agents tapped the phone, and it didnt take long to locate Ghantt after that. She also must . He drove to the edge of the Loomis compound, which was surrounded by a chain-link fence. By then Id figured out that Bruno was up to no good, and that Id probably never seen any more of my money. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4,. 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. . Stay informed daily on the latest news and advice on COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report. 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. Kelly was lying. The cart held about $2 million, and the thief made multiple trips. Her case closes in 2025. ". I knew I was going to be the prime suspect. Three weeks later, the couple purchased, in cash, a $635,000 stone mansion. She tried to apologize for the murder plot. That was pretty awesome., It felt like a dream vacation until he started running out of money. October was "a blast," he said. Soon thereafter, he met Kelly Campbell, a co-worker at Loomis Fargo. In the first days after the arrests, agents recovered or accounted for all but about $2 million of the stolen money. Ghantt and one other employee were the last to leave. Loomis Fargo Defendants Owe as Much as They Stole in 1997 Ghantt:Since I still owe the federal government money I can't get paid. Truth be told, Ghantt had something of a crush on Campbell, and so, he told her exactly how hed pull off such a heist. Health savings account and flexible spending account. Basically, he needed a score to make his problems go away. 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. The bash had a Cinderella theme, with a three-tiered cake that looked like a castle. The pager entry was 1-4-3. Meanwhile, outside Reynolds & Reynolds, Steve, Scott and Eric needed to move 2,748 pounds of cash, quickly, from the Loomis van into the Budget van. He hated his job, with its 12-hour shifts. Then FBI agent Wydra watched Steve's wife, Michele, deposit about $8,000 at a Gaston County, N.C., bank. Michelle Chambers paid off only $27,000. Once I start something, Im going to the end., As for how he felt in the moment, he says, Imagine me and you went on an airplane. Meanwhile, Michele Chambers was laughing and saying, repeatedly, "Look at all this money!" Steve told Scott to ignore the remaining stacks, which were mostly ones and fives. Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. 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. Ghantt was never in Chamberss presence until he actually handed off the money to him. Mexican police, Interpol officers and an FBI agent were watching him. No regrets. Then another. I said, Probably, the best time would be on the weekend; theres fewer people there. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. David quickly realized he was the intended victim. Michele told her mother she and Steve had been saving gambling winnings for the down payment. That October, the Chamberses' bank accounts ballooned. . Contact Us | Loomis US Ghantt:It baffles me to this day. Just under $14 million sat in an outbuilding behind his home, inside blue steel barrels. They were the butt of a national joke. David didn't even know Steve's name. I was expecting her to kick me out of the house., Years later, after they married and had a child together, they watched a movie based on the whole ordeal. There was in fact a basically similar conversation involving Chambers and Campbell that took place during a barbecue the Campbells were hosting. "I missed my family. Figure in Loomis Heist Gets Prison | AP News Kelly was no criminal. Eric watched. In mid-November, McKinney carried $10,000 to Cancun but wound up spending most of it on himself. I knew that the news wouldnt break until later that morning. Sandra Floyd, Michele Chambers's mother, remembers the first time she saw the house. Speaking of his co-defendants, Ghantt says hes not currently in contact with any of them. Steve had already paid McKinney $50,000 for the use of his ID. In real life: False. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. Cool, I say. In the following months, Steve persisted, even floating the notion of placing phony hand grenades on a Loomis truck to scare away the drivers, Kelly said. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist - phnxathletica.com I had a four-hour layover there, and then from New Orleans to Cancun.. "I felt that if I didn't do something, I was going to snap," David said. White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money, she said. It's one of the biggest jokes at the place. Why fans love it. Kelly says she underestimated the value of her life before the heist. Ghantt says he operates a bulldozer for a small company. Ghantt simply got ready for work one morning knowing it would be his last day on the job. . 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. Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. Its hilarious. Its in the ether. Steve solicited two others to help move cash during the theft. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. shaka wear graphic tees is candy digital publicly traded ellen lawson wife of ted lawson real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist 25 Feb/23 (No Ratings Yet) The platform is designed to engage citizens and government leaders in a discussion about what needs improvement across the country. His new life in Mexico had begun. The plan called for David to leave the vault door ajar, then maneuver a few minutes alone at the end of his shift, long enough to loot the cash, then pass it to Kelly and Steve. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. I was burned out and just didn't know it. She was a wife and mother with two children. Even still, he was 27, married and struggling to provide for his family. Basic and voluntary life insurance plan. Ghantt:I've burned that bridge years ago. Question: Do you ever think you could have been killed? I had to go in there and tell her the whole story, and she was real cool about it. What made her do it? Inside were, along with other personal items, his keys and wedding ring. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. Despite a mega-watt cast featuring Zach Galifianakis and a handful of some of Saturday Night Lives biggest current and former stars, Masterminds, the comedy about Loomis Fargo robbery completely tanked at the box office in its opening weekend, bowing in sixth place with just $6.6 million. One day, the two employees were in the break room and got to talking about the news of the day a massive bank heist that just occurred in Florida by someone at their company. 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. For reasons that remain obscure, Robert spilled the beans to David. He placed stacks of currency on a cart and wheeled it to the van about 15 feet away, inside the building. Our success depends on our team members, and that's why it's important for us to offer an employee benefits program that is not only extremely comprehensive but also one of the best in the industry. To that end, Campbell brought in her childhood friend Steve Chambers, who was characterized in the local press as a small-time drug dealer and a local fence for stolen goods, to lead the team. There was a little voice in my head that said, 'Don't do it. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. Ghantt was working a late shift, and just after 6:30 p.m., his coworkers were packing up and heading for home. They planned to kill a man named David Ghantt, the guy who had made their extravagant new lifestyle a reality. 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.
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