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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. 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. Chambers promised to wire him money in Mexico until the investigation blew over and Ghantt could return to . ", After successfully tracing Ghantt's phone call, FBI agents coordinated with Mexican police to arrest Ghantt on March 1, 1998, at Playa del Carmen, a city near Cancun. She had previously been making frequent small deposits to avert suspicion. Michelle Chambers received a harsher sentence than Ghantt seven years and eight months because she had violated several bond conditions. Parishioners filled the pews for a memorial mass held for Bishop David O'Connell Wednesday night at the St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Hacienda Heights. A lot of people ask me, Oh, do you have any regrets? No, not really. But Ghantt has been open about what he did and how he believes it changed him for the better. Its kind of out of sight, out of mind, she said of the reasoning. But after one visit, she asked a teller "How much can I deposit before you have to report it to the feds?" Chambers had no intention of following those rules, believing the FBI would never connect him to Ghantt. I stole $17 million, and Zach Galifianakis played me in a movie. Investigators also found Ghantt's pickup truck, abandoned at the warehouse. And Ghantt hadnt really thought about the physical challenge of moving such a large sum of money. What ACT target score should you be aiming for? David Ghantt spent 11 years in the military and now works as a film consultant on the side. 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).. "Wells Fargo and Loomis forming armored car company", Last edited on 21 February 2023, at 16:45, Learn how and when to remove this template message, painting of Elvis Presley on black velvet, "FindACase | United States of America v. Steven Eugene Chambers", "The Unperfect Crime | New Dominion Pictures", "Sunday Evening/Late Night September 9, 2001", "Loomis Fargo heist: Q&A with guy who stole $17 million", "MASTERMINDS - Movie Production NotesCinemaReview.com", Ghantt and other gang members arrested in March 1998, Steven Chambers released from prison; announces he is a "retired criminal", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=October_1997_Loomis_Fargo_robbery&oldid=1140756292, Overcoming the mindset that led to the part David Ghantt played in the Loomis robbery and how he started on a new path was the subject of the book, Within days of the robbery, the case was depicted on the television criminal reporting show, An expanded two-hour special episode of the crime documentary series. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! He had stayed in a luxury hotel and paid for expensive food and activities such as scuba diving and parasailing. At the time it was the second largest cash robbery ever to happen on US soil. SAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination BoardTM. Custom Content. And it didn't take long to figure out that this was not the place for me. While Ghantt waited for the heat from the robbery to die down, Chambers would send Ghantt small amounts of money. 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. A: When I first got in, I thought, "What in my life has led me to this?" I did get to meet him. Defense attorney Jim Griffin laid out his team's side of the case to the jury for more than two hours, arguing . By Dustin Rowles | Film | September 30, 2016 |. That usually takes the shine right off of it, when you start explaining that. He continued, Youd be wearing a lot of khaki brown and eating crappy food., Since the films release and its recent Netflix debut, Scott Ghent cited that the most common question he receives is about the missing $2 million never recovered by the FBI; Ive had people actually ask me that question. David Ghantt : [voice-over] Steve was a petty thief, mostly known for stealing tiny wheelchairs from pediatric hospitals. When he was done, the man drove off to a nearby printing press, where the money was distributed into private vehicles amongst a handful of people. If I hadnt of done that, Id probably still be in North Carolina and I would not have got to meet a lot of the interesting people that Ive got to meet. . David Ghantt was portrayed by Zackary Hatfield. While listening in, they uncovered another more sinister alleged plan to kill Ghantt. Vous pouvez modifier vos choix tout moment en cliquant sur le lien Tableau de bord sur la vie prive prsent sur nos sites et dans nos applications. On similar grounds, four other people were ultimately also charged with money laundering. It's the little things like that that gnaw on you. By now, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, Steve Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell. Too bad it was so poorly planned. Unfortunately, he failed to disable the third camera. Pocketing $50,000 for himself, that man, named David Ghantt, hopped into a car of his own and headed towards Mexico. Q: North Carolina native Zach Galifianakis portrayed you in "Masterminds." For instance, after stealing $17.3 million $11 million of which was in $20 bills the conspirators had to leave behind $3 million in cash because they couldnt fit all of it in their cars. A: When you're locked up, you live in an 8-by-10 box and you share that with two other people. his wife-to-be. 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). Because the money in the vault was largely from banks, the crime was technically a bank robbery and thus a federal offense. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. I really don't miss that guy. If so,check out some of these books on our AP History Exam reading list. ``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. Jimmy Carter is a Liberal Saint Now, Was a War Criminal Then. You've decided to give up on a part of your life. AI Chatbots are Even Scarier Than You Think, DeSantiss Educational Policies Come Right Out of the Fascist Playbook, Erase the Memory to Erase a People? A comedy film called Masterminds, based on the Loomis Fargo heist and starring Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson, and Jason Sudeikis, was released in 2016. Its 90-minutes of mugging for the camera, but the only people who feel mugged are those that pay to see Masterminds. The plan went off with few problems, but after Ghantt was safely in Mexico, his partners were left storing large amounts of cash. 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. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. Q: You came to the North Carolina mountains during Hurricane Irma, but what do you miss about Gastonia? Ghantt plead guilty to his charges andserved six years in prison, along with21 other defendantswho received chargesrangingfrom money laundering to bank larceny. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually . 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. It was an open-and-shut case and all authorities had to do now was to find the culprit and identify Ghantts accomplices. Generally, the events of the film are fairly close to reality when they follow the broad details of the case. If you're trying to make yourself better today, that's all most people care about. Her reaction seems so far away now, all these years and a Hall of Fame career later. To its credit, Masterminds does nail down the broad strokes of the real story, although there were a couple of noteworthy details the film left out. The FBI investigation was aided by the gang's extravagant spending. 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. 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. The judge said he would recommend that Michele Chambers be given mental health treatment in prison. Before he decided to steal $17 million from the bank, Ghantt had worked for years as a relatively taciturn and compliant employee. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Masterminds - Zach Galifianakis 'David Ghantt' [On-Set Interview]SUBSCRIBE HERE: http://goo.gl/SrrTlTSUBSCRIBE MOVIE TRAILERS: http://goo.gl/8WxGeDA night gu. Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Then check out another bank robber who inspired a movie, John Wojtowicz. Guess what? The Loomis Fargo heist became something of a media lightning rod. Eventually, Ghantt would return to the United States and the full sum would be split up between the conspirators. The additions come as KFC recently removed some menu items, including wings, popcorn chicken and cookies, to make room for new additions. More than 2 million dollars is still missing to this day. Theyre meant to be trailer-park trash, but they come off as character experiments on a bad night at the Groundlings. The defense has finished its closing argument in the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh. With the plan in place, Ghantt sent a newly employed co-worker home early (reportedly at 6 p.m) who had been assigned to train with him. According to Campbell, Chambers could help Ghantt execute a massive cash robbery of the vault at Loomis Fargo in one night. 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 former star . 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. Now, here we are, two years later. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. The pair began to daydream about whether they could really pull off the heist. This article will teach you more about the SAT subject testsasync src='https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js' and help you decide whether you should take them. ``There are many people with those factors who don't resort to crime,' he said. Instead, the two started hanging out on the beach together and became friends. Before he decided to steal $17 million from the bank, Ghantt had worked for years as a relatively taciturn and compliant employee. Ghantt sent home a new employee and quickly loaded the money into the back of a bank van. Guided by federal sentencing rules, prosecutors had requested a sentence of nine years for Michele Chambers. Most high schools offer a variety of history classes, so make sure youre taking the right ones for you. Two of them, Mike and Kim Goodman, are scheduled to be sentenced today. Q: How do you tell prospective employers you once stole $17 million? That suspicion was immediately confirmed by a quick glance at the security camera footage that showed Ghantt doing a little dance after loading all the cash into the van. 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. 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. When I interviewed for this job about three years ago, I told (my boss) that I had some dirt in my background, and if he went digging for it, he would find it. David Ghantt discovers the true meaning of adventure far beyond his wildest dreams. . So with the assistance of a co-worker and possible love interest as well as a small-time criminal, David Ghantt pulled off the then-second-largest cash heist in U.S. history. Campbellwho was married herselfrepresented something new and exciting. 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. so make sure youre taking the right ones for you. The next day, Steve and Michelle Chambers, Kelly Campbell, and four others were arrested.[6]. Based on a true story, the premise itself is fascinating, which makes Masterminds all the more a waste. As it turns out, the heist did in fact go as well as you might expect. At the time it was the second largest cash robbery ever to happen on US soil. They asked me how I felt about it and I said, Its my story, but its your movie so have at me. With a cast like this, and Emily Spivey (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Up All Night) as part of the writing team, Masterminds shouldnt be nearly as obnoxious and dull as it is, but nothing ever clicks. The thieves had simply abandoned whatever they couldnt carry away. Kevin McCarthy is No Edward Snowden, But He Should Find the Comparison Flattering, Assessing Nicaraguas Long Haul toward Liberation and Economic Democracy, A National Divorce? 2023 www.gastongazette.com. Hes a great person. Masterminds is an atrociously bad comedy, and absolutely everyone is to blame. I'll take the live one. He had never been in trouble with the law. I think Zachs a hell of an actor. David Ghantt attends the after party for the Premiere Of Relativity Media's "Masterminds" on September 26, 2016 in Hollywood, California. I was working sometimes 75-80 hours a week at $8.15 an hour. 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. After finding himself in prison he made a concious choice to do things differently. Back then all I really wanted to do was just, I wanted to change my life. Then Michele made a trip to the bank. When asked what the dumbest thing was that Ghantt spent money on, he admitted: The 4 pairs of boots I bought in one day [shrug] what can I say they were nice and I was impulse shopping.. Chambers was a small-time crook who suggested to Campbell that they rob Loomis Fargo. David Ghantt is more than just a man who was a part of one of the worlds largest heists, he's more than a funny name associated with a comedy movie, he's actually just an every day person who once made a really bad decision. They had initially agreed to control their spending for a year or two, in the belief that the government would vigorously track the spending habits of any and all suspects for at least a year before relenting. So he hatched a plan to rob his employers. A: I hate to think about what I'd be doing if I hadn't gotten caught. After years of working hard, the realisation hit . Dont worry, its not drug money.. David Ghantt : I had a hard time liftin' it up. How? Ask below and we'll reply! FBI security footage of David Ghantt in the midst of the Loomis Fargo heist. Q: Your troubles were self-inflicted, but you seem happy. Once the hitman Chambers had hired arrived in Mexico, he found that he couldnt bring himself to kill Ghantt. Will Mcintyre/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images. #CLXGaming#CLXRa#evokethegods 1 2 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. I felt cornered and one day the joking in the break room about robbing the place suddenly didnt seem so far-fetched.. Her husband, Steve Chambers, whom prosecutors have called the main defendant, began serving an 11-year sentence earlier this year. ", The much-faster-than-expected economic recovery thats followed the easing of the coronavirus pandemic has produced several encouraging develo. 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. But as Ghantt admitted, the film took some liberties with specific details and characters to make the film funnier. A movie based on the heist starring Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones and directed by Jared Hess (the guy who made Napoleon Dynamite) is out now on Blu-ray and DVD. Then, keeping with the plan, Ghantt took $50,000 (the maximum that could by law be taken across the border without further authorization) with him and left for Mexico, winding up at the popular Yucatan Peninsula resort-island of Cozumel. Its easy to get somebody to do something if you know that they are that infatuated with you.. 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. He then began loading $17 million in unmarked bills inside a company van before driving away. 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. They took a lot of liberty with the story here and there. Just the ability to come and go as I please and walk barefooted in the backyard means so much. She wondered how much she could deposit without attracting the attention of the FBI, so she decided to just ask the teller: How much can I deposit before you have to report it to the feds? she asked. Degrowth or Debunk: Do Degrowth proponents have a strategy? While making only eight dollars an hour in his role as supervisor, Ghantt decided it was time to do something: I was unhappy with my life. Ghantt reported to Chambers that his supply of money was running low, but Chambers sent Ghantt just $8,000. 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. [3][4] Its Charlotte office would be the victim of David Scott Ghantt and his confederates later that year. I got to eat my meal perfectly, but every 5 minutes, someone wanted to shoot a selfie with Zach or an autograph from Zach. Within two days, the investigators found the van with $3 million in cash and the security camera tapes inside. The FBI quickly connected Ghantt to Campbell, who was a former Loomis Fargo employee. For Christmas, Steve Chambers gave his wife a $43,000 diamond ring. Chambers promised to wire him money in Mexico until the investigation blew over and Ghantt could return to North Carolina. Together with his wife, Chambers bought a new luxury home (upgrading from his mobile home), a BMW Z3, and some extravagant furnishings. ', He explained the glorification and glamour often associated with bank heists and bank robberies in Hollywood films is far from reality. Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. START or Stop: Do Nuclear Weapons Treaties Matter? Where ever it was, it is long gone now. Ghantt was the vault manager. 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. 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. 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. The True Story of David Ghantt and the Loomis Fargo Heist, Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Score, check out some of these books on our AP History Exam reading list. All of the cash from the Loomis Fargo heist was recovered or accounted for, except for $2 million. Some people screw up big like you, some people screw up small.". The two struck up a friendship during work that would continue after Campbell left the company. Chambers, his wife, and several of their accomplices were arrested the next day. The Current TikTok Ban Doesnt Go Far Enough. Please subscribe to keep reading. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! In 2020, the television show Super Heists portrayed the heist in Episode 3, "Van Full of Dollars". As Predators' David Poile braces for retirement, his wife reveals their love story. I mean, thats pretty much why I did it. In addition to his phone calls with Ghantt, Chambers began extravagantly spending the money, even though the co-conspirators had agreed to lay low for a year or two. Chambers and his wife also made some cash payments on a few cars. They called the police, who brought in the FBI, classifying the heist as a bank robbery. Then you end up in a eight by ten cube and youre going to share that cube with two other people. 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. Chambers would then occasionally wire Ghantt money and see to his basic financial needs; when "the heat was off," Ghantt was to re-enter the U.S. and the money would be split up among all of the co-conspirators. Collections. 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. Ghantt has never explained where that money went. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. The connection to Chambers took more time. On Oct. 4, 1997, former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt finished his shift as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte. To find out more about how the thieves got caught and how long they landed behind bars, tune in the Super Heists on CNBC on Monday at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Ghantt and seven others eventually pleaded guilty in federal court to charges directly related to one of the largest cash heists in history while more than a dozen other family members, friends and associates of those involved in the theft were found guilty of related charges, including money laundering. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba. 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. 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. 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. He left his wedding ring behind and spent his days spending money on luxury hotels and scuba diving. Two days after the heist, the FBI found the missing van with $3.3 million of cash left in it. I realized a lot of things that were wrong with me as a person. But before thehit could be carried out, the FBI swooped in and arrested Ghantt and the others. U kunt uw keuzes te allen tijde wijzigen door te klikken op de links 'Privacydashboard' op onze sites en in onze apps. 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. Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, though he was released on parole after five. A Comprehensive Guide. 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. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. He told me they were in the dirt business, so he didn't have to worry too much about me. Three of the 21 defendants in the case haven't been sentenced. Creative Insights. But last Oct. 4, when he still hadn't gotten home by 2:30 a.m., she called his parents in. 5 min read. Here, he amps up the most obnoxious excesses of his entire cast and lets their grating bad-improv skills run amok. An FBI criminal investigation ultimately resulted in the arrest and conviction of eight people directly involved in the heist, as well as sixteen others who had indirectly helped them, and the recovery of approximately 88% of the stolen money. He was released in 2006. Pour en savoir plus sur la faon dont nous utilisons vos donnes personnelles, veuillez consulter notre politique relative la vie prive et notre politique en matire de cookies. From there, the money was moved from the company vehicle to private vehicles. Youre better at planning bank heists than David Ghantt. 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. There was also no dramatic showdown between Chambers and Ghantt as the movie suggests. From Oct. 6 through Feb. 20, the couple made 47 deposits totaling $271,500 at a Belmont bank, and at. By comparison, Ghantt served seven years in prison and was fined $26,000. Kelly Campbell is scheduled to be sentenced in October. Question: Which do you regret more, stealing the money or getting caught? (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). [citation needed], The defendants were the targets of many barbed jokes in Charlotte and across the country, in part because of their extravagant spending. 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. Masterminds which opens nationwide today (though youd be hard pressed to know that given the decided lack of promotion) is proof again that all the talent in the world cannot salvage a bad script, and not even a good screenwriter can make up for terrible performances. 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. ``I'm glad she didn't get nine years,' said Sandra Floyd, her mother. Ghantts wife was reportedly nothing like the bizarre, robotic fiance character in the film, for instance. I wanted to make a drastic change and I went for it, Ghantt remembered later to the Gaston Gazette. They would then load as much cash as they could carry into a van. They kept several furnishings from the previous owners, including a painting of Elvis Presley on black velvet. ABC7 Eyewitness News Watch Now The FBI knew they needed to make their move.