He loves his motorcycle and enjoys going fishing and, while hes sorry for the past, hes not ashamed to talk about it. . 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. But he tried to keep his face averted, so David wouldn't be able to ID him. To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. "I said, 'That's all they gave me,' " McKinney recalled. I made a joke once that was the hardest Id ever worked for Wells Fargo -- yeah, its a lot of work, Ghantt said. He wouldn't give me the opportunity to say anything else. He and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. It just happened to fall on my desk.. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt,. Steve and Michelle Chambers, who had lived in a mobile home, bought a mansion in Cramer Mountain. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. When neighbors asked where they got their money, Steve said hed played in the NFL. I think if you remember some of her early photographic opportunities, shall we put it that way, she was sort of laughing, not seeming to take it seriously.. 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. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. With the help of Aldo, a Mexican waiter he had befriended, David found a beach apartment in Cancun. He gave the rest to Kelly. He placed stacks of currency on a cart and wheeled it to the van about 15 feet away, inside the building. Scott didn't want to, but then he remembered the hundred-grand payday. So the pieces were falling into place for investigators. Was the temptation too much? I was burned out and just didn't know it. I did a little research into crime statistics and the local cops. But being the vault supervisor at Loomis Fargo had one perk -- exposure to tons of cash. To protect themselves, David and Steve didn't meet or talk. He quickly found out when you have money, you just have different problems, Wydra said. They didn't know it, but they were leaving $3.3 million behind. Its attracted workers like Ghantt. Jim Gronquist was Campbells defense attorney. One of them tapped him on the back. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. Sun, sand and beaches are all part of why Jacksonville is a popular destination. 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. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. He hated his job, with its 12-hour shifts. The old man me would never survive that, Id have a heart attack.. . 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. Working together, they got the gate open, then drove in a caravan to the Reynolds & Reynolds parking lot. Masterminds is a 2016 American crime comedy film based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery in North Carolina. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily . It has a certain feel, a smell and weight to it. 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. By Dustin Rowles | Film | September 30, 2016 |. He grabbed the tapes from two VCRs that connected to 16 security cameras. Kelly, using David's cell phone, kept beeping him. 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. I hit the local library the thing that we used to do before Google, Ghantt says with a small laugh. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. You're an idiot.'". Come for the Chumbawamba, and stay for the return of the Mack. In a word, "Teamwork. They didnt expect it.. There was, however, one problem with his plan. "I've learned that I'm a fortunate man," he said. AP CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Kelly Campbell, the woman who helped plan the $17 million robbery of armored-car company Loomis, Fargo was sentenced yesterday to nearly six years in prison and ordered. When October 1997 began, Steve and Michelle Chambers lived in a double-wide trailer. You can have your whole career and not have a case like that. We got to the end of the day, and he was acting like he wanted to linger. Money'll turn your head, I don't care who you are. On his second trip, Steve gave McKinney David's hotel address. He said at first, they were very proud of what they had been able to do. The FBI says Chambers hired a hitman to tie up the ultimate loose end -- Ghantt. Ghantt had struck up a relationship with a fellow Loomis Fargo employee, Kelly Campbell; they continued to maintain contact even after Campbell left the company. I thought, Okay, if I get out of that bubble because the cops depend on that, even the feds my chances to get away go way up.. Sweat soaked David's uniform. By now, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, Steve Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell. his keys and wedding ring. The cart held about $2 million, and the thief made multiple trips. Kelly had no problem fanning the flames of their old flirtation. 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,. And it turned Steve into he thought he was Don Corleone all of a sudden.. Twelve hours later, at 6 that evening, Eric Payne drove a rented Budget van to his workplace, a graphics company on Performance Road in western Mecklenburg County called Reynolds & Reynolds, which was closed for the night and had a secluded parking lot where they intended to transfer the cash. When did you conclude Yeah, Im actually going to do this? Counts asked. He'd stay up all night, boosted by coffee, waiting for the sunrise over the ocean. "For the first year, they're all over you. Time passed, and Campbell eventually quit her job at Loomis Fargo. The FBI continues to search for a missing $2 million from the theft. Then another. The gang made numerous mistakes. I told them, Take it, box it up, and youll be able to ship it to me in Mexico. Back in the 1990s, you couldve probably boxed up a hot pink elephant and shipped it to Mexico; no one wouldve ever noticed. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. 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. Michele tells me you're in a financial bind. The first weekday after the heist, Michele Chambers, co-conspirator Steve's wife, walked into a NationsBank branch with a briefcase containing $5,000. Kelly drove her pickup to a lot across the street from the Loomis building, on Suttle Avenue in Charlotte. Chambers and Campbell were waiting for him in the Loomis Fargo parking lot, both in separate vehicles. Still, she wasn't happy. The next day, he was sitting next to FBI agent Mark Rozzi on a US Airways flight to Charlotte. Ghantt said he believes in redemption, and that his mistake 25 years ago brought him all the things that are important in his life today. On March 1, David Ghantt left his hotel to do some laundry. In the dark, Scott inserted one key into the back door slot. The FBI heard about the plot and agents knew they could no longer wait. FBI video shows agents searching the Cramer Mountain home and finding stacks of cash. Money. Ghantt, meanwhile, was losing his patience and starting to make threats. David didn't even know Steve's name. Well they were in some sense celebrities, Gronquist said. Ghantt didnt know the full extent of what was happening back home -- how that lay low plan turned into a flurry of extravagant spending. He comes to my door, and hes got a brown paper bag in his hand. All but one took plea deals, including Ghantt, who was sentenced to seven years in prison. His name was Corey. Called Masterminds, the 2016 film stars Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson. Im a very deliberate person. Three weeks later, the couple purchased, in cash, a $635,000 stone mansion. "He showed me a lot of money," McKinney said. David trusted her. Where I was going was right there near the Cayman Islands. Hes well thought-out. So yeah, Im kind of proud of it.. 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. David Ghantt was just an average Joe with an average low-wage job. 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.. He allegedly hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. Or does it sit in an offshore account, waiting for a prison sentence to end? Kelly had resisted this suggestion before the heist: She and David were friends. He went deep-sea fishing. At first, David Ghantt said, "I didn't take her seriously. "We kept going, '1-4-3, 1-4-3,' " recalled Vic O'Korn, assistant special agent in charge of Charlotte's FBI office. Scott Grant and Steve pulled up next to her in a Mazda. Basically, he needed a score to make his problems go away. The last time he called me, he said, Hey Ghantt, I just saw a big Loomis Fargo truck. We spoke with the inside man, David Ghantt, to get the real story. "I" has one letter. They stocked a wine cellar. Then he was driving in the darkness with a van full of cash. Some days, the robbery seems like a memory from a different life, a choice made by a different man. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. "So he stays behind and moving over two thousand pounds. The next day, Kelly drove back to Steve's mobile home to watch the news with Steve and Michele. I did every touristy thing you could possibly do while I was down there. In addition to their extravagant spending, Michelle Chambers made the mistake of loudly asking a bank teller how much cash she could deposit in her account without it being reported to the feds, and then said, its not drug money.. That first day in prison was scary, Ghantt said. Ghantt spent a solid hour moving what ended up being 2,700 pounds of cash more than an actual ton into an unmarked company van. 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. I learned something that was valuable at the time: Most criminals never leave a 250, maybe 300-mile circle from their home base. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP), Baltimore to Pay $6M in Latest Police Misconduct Settlement, Australia Family Hurt in Helicopter Crash Suing Vegas Firm, Massachusetts Governor Unveils Proposed $55.5B State Budget. He has a regular life now, but 25 years ago, Ghantt was the mastermind behind the third-largest bank robbery in U.S. history. They set the date, Oct. 4, a Saturday when David knew he could be alone in the building after his shift. "She just called me up on the phone and said, 'Hey, let's meet one day after work.' 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. When we worked together [for Loomis], we'd joke about it. 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. Loomis (formerly Loomis, Fargo & Co.) is a cash handling company. Loomis Fargo Defendants Owe as Much as They Stole in 1997, 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. Kelly Campbell arrested 11) Finally, the FBI successfully tracked down Ghantt and arrested him at Playa del Carmen. "That would be living on the run, and I didn't want my kids to live that way. But the idea of all that money pulled at her. I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs.. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. This robbery is the largest cash robbery on U.S. soil. At 6-1 and 220 pounds, Steve was stocky and imposing, a fast talker with a brown goatee. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. Hes going to start bringing you money. Alright. And I said, Hey, man, I got this. They assumed that whoever was involved would keep the cash in a safe place, like a safe deposit box. Ghantt had fled to Mexico with $50,000 in cash, leaving the rest of the money with Steve Chambers. When he landed in Cancun, his first stop was Walmart. . Together, they drove in a convoy to an industrial warehouse eight miles away, where Eric Payne, a fourth accomplice was. . The participants in the heist also spent lavishly on fancy jewelry, fancy cars and breast enhancement surgeries. All rights reserved. So Im like, Can you get a move on with my money? After a couple of weeks passed, I get a phone call from Kelly: Okay, Brunos coming to you, blah, blah, blah. So I get a phone call from this guy, and I tell him where to meet me. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. On the radio, the "John Boy and Billy" show played the song "Take the Money and Run. Theres no management around. They paid for all of it in cash. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) The Associated Press, BY MICHAEL GORDON, The Charlotte Observer. I studied up on the FBI. That was pretty awesome., It felt like a dream vacation until he started running out of money. There, Scott and Eric paced the floor as Steve tried to calm them down. Campbell, a former Loomis employee and one of the original masterminds of the caper, has paid off less than $21,000 of the $4,701,694.18 she was docked. Steve and Michele invited everyone back for a Christmas party, where they gave Michele's stepfather a special gift--the pickup truck he'd always wanted. They soon realized David had stolen more money than would fit in their 55-gallon barrels. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. She was a wife and mother with two children. This is where it starts to unravel, Ghantt tells me with a wry laugh. When McKinney arrived in North Carolina, the plan had changed. This time, David told McKinney the truth. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. I just had to call you., Today, Ghantt cant look back on the whole ordeal without some degree of pride. In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. "Think of how many women would have stood by. Michelle, meanwhile, purchased new breasts for herself, along with a $43,000 diamond ring and a new convertible BMW Z3. ", "Even then . The use of this site is restricted to authorized personnel only. Now, at 7:45 p.m., with all the money finally inside the van, his aching muscles could take a breather. 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. Steve tried keys on a side door. Agents noticed it two months later when it flowed to them through official channels, along with hundreds of similar reports involving other people. 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. Jim Gronquist, Campbells defense attorney during the Loomis case, says the financial penalties levied against his client and her co-defendants are grossly excessive and unjust, particularly since most of the stolen Loomis money was actually recovered. I knew that the news wouldnt break until later that morning. 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. Many of the lesser players in the conspiracy have been the most effective in paying their debts. You can garnish wages. The figures can be astounding. Username. It was the first Saturday in October. Or as he tells me, How many people in the United States havent thought about robbing a bank? Her case closes in 2025. David, now 30, says he's sorry he abandoned his wife--who he says still loves him--and his family. Probably very egotistical of me, I thought, Yeah, sure, I can beat them, theyre college smart and thats about it, Ghantt said. "You" has three. Her husband gave her a brown teddy bear. On Feb. 27, agents listened in on a call from David to Kelly and learned David's location in Mexico. While the agents initiated their investigation, the Chambers spent money as quickly as they could. Then, on a mid-September day, as he reviewed a credit card bill, David did some math. So that was kind of like this once-in-a-lifetime thing, Wydra said. ". In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. Michelle Chambers paid off only $27,000. First, they loaded the cash into blue 55-gallon barrels, and then they moved the barrels into a rental van. And if that gives people out there a little bit of hope, then Ive served my purpose on this earth.. Were others involved? On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. Given his position at the bank, hed be the one to pull off the robbery, and he intended to be ready. 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. They cursed. The towns booming construction industry attracts workers from around the country. Theres no way to get it back, Butcher told The Charlotte Observer. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. They put up mauve wallpaper. To say nothing of their art purchases like the aforementioned velvet Elvis portrait and a painting of a bulldog dressed as General George S. Patton.
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