Its said the current owner now has it in storage in Phoenix, Arizona. When you have money, you just have different problems: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. David and the trainee left the warehouse. I made a joke once that was the hardest Id ever worked for Wells Fargo -- yeah, its a lot of work, Ghantt said. Jeff Diamant was a reporter for the Charlotte Observer when the heist took place. He ejected the two VCR tapes that he knew had recorded him stealing the money, took them, and prepared to leave. White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money, she said. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). My knee-jerk reaction was to be angry, and then the sarcastic ass side of me started laughing about it, Ghantt said. NASCAR. Who all wanted a Rambo movie which explored his time training as a green beret and his time serving in Vietnam as a prequel to first blood WATCH Antebellum 2020 FULL MOVIE. He could even be famous, perhaps joining the ranks of legendary master thieves. 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. Change). The reason David didn't know Steve's last name was so they couldn't identify each other to the police or FBI, should cops or G-men ever enter the picture. Heist! Meanwhile, Ghantt's gang spent wildly and paid their family members and friends to hide money. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. It was the second-largest. The principals here are David Ghantt, a driver for Loomis, Fargo and Co.; Kelly Campbell, the woman Ghantt had a crush on, and who convinced him to commit the crime; and Steve and Michele Chambers. Hes a family man with a wife and daughter. The October 4 shift was lasting longer than expected, due to delays involving pickups and deliveries. them. The Star-Ledger, 06/15/2015On October 4, 1997, an amateurish gang robbed Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte, NC of $17 million, the second largest heist in U.S. history. The plan was to maintain a low profile and wait for things to cool off, allowing Ghantt to return to the states and collect his cut. Steve Chambers would keep the rest. "I don't have time to mess with you. Kelly Campbell, who one day visited a Toyota dealership to purchase a minivan with twenty-dollar bills. David didn't appreciate her tone. Also charged with money laundering were innocent relatives and friends who had co-signed safe deposit boxes. But that only tells part of the story. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. But this time on the phone, Kelly wasn't joking. Kelly had approached David with the idea in the summer, knowing he had a crush on her and winning him over with the promise that a shady friend of hers with Mafia ties would help them. Diamant, a journalist who reported on the case at the time, goes into meticulous detail on how the heist was pulled off and its aftermath. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. The 2016 comedy movie, Masterminds is based on the story of the Loomis Fargo Heist. All of the defendants are out of prison -- the longest sentence was 11 years. 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. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. Many of the lesser players in the conspiracy have been the most effective in paying their debts. If we can sit on the money for a year, maybe two, it could work.". The defendants received sentences ranging from probation for several relatives to over 11 years in federal prison for Steve Chambers. The towns booming construction industry attracts workers from around the country. Breakdown by congressional district, States' push to define sex decried as erasing trans people, North Carolina Supreme Court hears felony voting rights case, North Carolina House GOP modifies rules on veto overrides, N. 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Carolina House GOP again modifies rules on veto overrides, Murdoch says some Fox hosts 'endorsed' false election claims, Havelock officials warn public about alligator near Walmart, Cape Carteret buys new utility vehicle to aid in picking up litter, New taxi, shuttle business seeks license to operate in Morehead City, Report: Navy ships face growing maintenance delays, costs, Fisheries division to survey for-hire watermen, National Enquirer, ensnared in catch-and-kill is sold. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done.. This technically made it abank robbery afederal offense. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. We went on a mission to calculate exactly how much size-wise the money was, $11.3 million in $20 bills, and it weighed over 2,000 pounds, former FBI agent John Wydra said. Her case closes in 2025. The $17 million Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte, North Carolina, was the second largest armored car robbery in U.S. history. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The movie was called Masterminds and stars Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson. She had attitude. "About fourteen or fifteen million dollars," he said. As a child, he had preferred reading to playing sports, and he would say, as an adult, that although he couldn't have told you "who was on first," he knew as a kid who the Egyptian god of the dead was. After discussing his job, his marriage, and his everyday struggles, they joked about Loomis and about how easy it would be to steal from the place. Ghantt reported to Chambers that his supply of money was running low, but Chambers sent Ghantt just $8,000. 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. The loot would later be divided among David, Kelly, and Steve. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft . "For the first year after a crime," he told her, "they're all over you, with six to ten agents. How he and his wife had trouble communicating. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. When they hung up, she called his pager and left the code 1-4-3, beeper-speak for "I love you," based on the number of letters in each word. Cool interesting stuff features everything odd, weird, bizzare, strange or unusual. Steve decided to send his cousin, Nathan with money down to Mexico as a ruse, while Mike the bodyguard would follow behind to take care of Ghantt. 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. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. About six months before the Charlotte theft, on March 29, a total of $18.8 million was taken from Loomis, Fargo in Jacksonville, Fla., in what was believed to be the largest heist in U.S.. A parrot tattoo on her right ankle. To visit friends.". 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. As beads of sweat formed under his red hair, he loaded up another cart and repeated the process. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. "I'll need help moving the money, getting a new ID, and leaving the country," he told her. Inside the truck, they found Ghantts ring and surmised this as a sign of Ghantts intention to end his relationship with his wife. As it neared its end, David stealthily left the vault door ajar. In order to receive more evidence, the FBI decided to listen. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. 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. None of the suspects had been in any serious trouble before this. That was taking the long view. It's still the hot topic . They hadn't slept together or even fooled around much, but he was ready to commit. Its attracted workers like Ghantt. More calls between the two men, and also between Steve and Kelly Campbell, made it clear that the group was starting to turn on David Ghantt. Discover the truth behind unexplained ancient mysteries, UFO mysteries, secret locations and paranormal events. Ghantt went to Mexico leaving the money with his cohorts, thinking that he could get his share back when he needed it. The property has changed hands several times since then. 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. In the end, the FBI was able to capture the original gang in five months, snaring 21 individuals for their participation in the crime. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Is this really about the needs of the poor? Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. All but one of the 24 defendants pleaded guilty, and the one who didnt take the deal was convicted. '. 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. 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. At 2:20 p.m., the phone rang; it was Kelly again. The Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later We went on a mission to calculate exactly how much size-wise the money was, $11.3 million in $20 bills, and it weighed over 2,000 pounds, former FBI agent John Wydra said. Many of the lesser players in the conspiracy have been the most effective in paying their debts. I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs.. They had met in December 1995 on one of her first days at Loomis. How did they get away with stealing more than $17 million? It just happened to fall on my desk.. personal/abusive/condescending attacks on other users or goading Ghantt met up with the other members of the plot and offloaded the cash. Later that year, he saw a newspaper ad for a job at Loomis Fargo. So they went to Mexico and arrested Ghantt in order to protect him. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. Just after the last employees left that day, surveillance footage shows a man enter the vault, and begin to load more than 2,740 pounds in cash into a nearby van, totaling around over $17 million. When some friends stole a stop sign from a busy intersection, David made them put it back. Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. Their only intimate physical contact had been kissing on a mid-September night when they had driven her pickup truck to a field behind a shooting range in Gaston County to discuss their plans and the theft's chance of success. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. Some of that money is just gone. It was 2:00 p.m. on October 4, 1997, and tension was building between two planners of what would rank high among the largest heists in United States history. 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. They involve Loomis armored car driver David Scott Ghantt. In this outrageously entertaining book, Jeff Diamant, the Charlotte Observer's lead reporter on the case, offers the definitive inside account of this astonishing. 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. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. In all, agents arrested 24 people in the heist. Ghantt took $50,000 for himself and fled to Cozumel, Mexico. OWLS director fired in wake of new board taking over, New rules will require flood history disclosure in real estate, North Carolina recreational spring flounder season canceled for 2023, Supreme Court seems ready to sink student loan forgiveness, Beach commission gets update on search for new sources of sand for beach nourishment. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. He realized his bosses would know he had worked that day and that he was missing, but maybe without a video they would think he'd been held at gunpoint and taken hostage, or even better, that he'd been killed. Ghantt was working as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte in 1997, earning about $8 an hour and tired of his humdrum life. The figures can be astounding. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. Javascript is not enabled in your browser. VERDICT The first edition of this work was published in 2002. Inside $3.3 million was located along with the two stolen surveillance tapes, apparently left due to the robber and his accomplices being sloppy, or in a hurry. "its a great readsuspenseful, often funny, just the thing for those wondering what it might feel like to have, as these hapless, small-town criminals did, literally too darn much cash lying around. " Worlds Biggest Heists London Hatton Garden 200m Diamond Robbery, Easter 2015. Heist! Driving away, he said he felt a mix of fear, confidence and excitement that he outsmarted the FBI. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. That first day in prison was scary, Ghantt said. Im married, I got one girl, shes 15 going on 30. They kept several furnishings from the previous owners, including avelvet Elvis. The trainee didn't yet know how the place worked, a fact David planned to use to his advantage. They succeeded in removing $17 million from the safe. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. Another time, the day after a Christmas in the late 1980s, David and some friends planted all the discarded Christmas trees from the area in one neighbor's front yard. They knew Steve Chambers had worked as an informant in the past, and were nervous he would smell out an undercover. Growing up, David had been a nice kid, a decent student who was at worst a minor troublemaker and prankster. A more immediate need was securing help to move the stolen money to safety the night of the crime. In total, 24 people were convicted and all but one of the accused pleaded guilty. It was David who was hours away from committing the most daring act of his life, and she was going off about Steve being a serious guy? 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.. From there, the money was moved from the armored car to private vehicles. How many people have walked the red carpet at a movie premiere in a case that was yours?. While David Ghantt trusted Steve Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. (LogOut/ Outside of the building, Ghantt met up with Campbell, Chambers, and others who were involved in the plot, and drove off to a printing business called Reynolds & Reynolds in northwest Charlotte. David was thin six-foot-one, one hundred sixty-five pounds and heaving the stacks onto the cart, pushing the cart toward the vault door, and then emptying its contents into the van was exhausting. This website uses cookies and some data tracking to improve your experience and serve adverts, We assume you're ok with this, you can opt-out if you wish. A couple by the names of Steve and Shelley Chambers also became people of interest in the investigation due to their extreme sudden increase in spending. Of course the problem was, the money belonged to someone else. 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. He allegedly hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. A customs inspector, asking routine questions of bus passengers, focused her attention on him when his answers reminded her of Tommy Flanagan, the pathological-liar character played by Jon Lovitz on Saturday Night Live. A former FBI agent who helped crack the case sat down with Channel 9 Reporter Glenn Counts to talk about the clues that led to solving the crime, and how the group got caught. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. Curiously, Payne had recently paid of his Visa in one payment and had been driving around new and rented vehicles for the past weeks. Libraries without that edition should consider purchasing this entertaining and lightly edited version, which reads like a fast-paced novel.
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