Some of the friends and family members received parole, while Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. The FBI quickly connected Ghantt to Campbell, who was a former Loomis Fargo employee. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! On the night of October 4, the plan went into action. [citation needed], It was later confirmed by the FBI that more than 88% of the stolen cash had been located or otherwise accounted for. his wife-to-be. Thirteen friends and family members were also charged with money laundering, as they had helped Ghantt, Chambers, Campbell, and the others deposit money illegally. Culler acknowledged that she had overheard her husband and co-defendant Kelly Campbell talk about the plan, ``but she thought it was fantasy world.'. 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. Investigators also found Ghantt's pickup truck, abandoned at the warehouse. (His wife tells him to change that word to "selfish."). ", The much-faster-than-expected economic recovery thats followed the easing of the coronavirus pandemic has produced several encouraging develo. You have permission to edit this article. 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. Afterward, outside the courthouse, her parents said the length was about what she had expected. . One of the best ways to learn more about U.S. history is to make sure youre taking history classes. Federal Judge Graham Mullen sentenced her to between those lengths. Als u niet wilt dat wij en onze partners cookies en persoonsgegevens voor deze aanvullende doeleinden gebruiken, klik dan op 'Alles weigeren'. David Ghantt was a nuisance to Steve Chambers and Kelly Campbell, John Wydra, a retired FBI agent who handled the case, told Super Heists.. A Comprehensive Guide. At the time it was the second largest cash robbery ever to happen on US soil. As it turns out, the heist did in fact go as well as you might expect. It's the little things like that that gnaw on you. VIDEO. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. dvelopper et amliorer nos produits et services. [15], "David Ghantt" redirects here. ``There are many people with those factors who don't resort to crime,' he said. If so,check out some of these books on our AP History Exam reading list. They took a lot of liberty with the story here and there. The Loomis Fargo robbery was one of the largest heists in history, with $2 million in stolen funds still unaccounted for. But because he still owes millions to the IRS, he couldnt be paid. 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. Ghantt believed the new employee would make a good replacement for his wife, but the feelings were not necessarily reciprocated. In February 2009 the Associated Press reported that Chambers had chosen to describe himself as "changed". 5 min read. 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? The FBI (Leslie Jones, Jon Daly) made easy work of the case, however, and everyone involved was eventually arrested and imprisoned. 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. [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. 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. 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. I started just chucking it as fast as I could, he said, adding the sweat was pouring off of me.. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually . According to Campbell, Chambers could help Ghantt execute a massive cash robbery of the vault at Loomis Fargo in one night. 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. 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? 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. Within two days, the investigators found the van with $3 million in cash and the security camera tapes inside. Anonymous tips had the FBI monitoring Chambers calls. Before he decided to steal $17 million from the bank, Ghantt had worked for years as a relatively taciturn and compliant employee. Eventually, Ghantt would return to the United States and the full sum would be split up between the conspirators. Finally, in March 1998, the FBI traced a call from Ghantts phone and he was arrested in Mexico. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. My name is David Scott Ghantt. Even the outtakes during the credits are bad. 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. Q: Do you appreciate your normal life now more than you would if you hadn't spent years in prison? Eventually, Ghantt called in from Mexico, seeking more money, and the FBI officially recognized Chambers as a co-conspirator. Unfortunately, he failed to disable the third camera. 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. A: I hate to think about what I'd be doing if I hadn't gotten caught. But before thehit could be carried out, the FBI swooped in and arrested Ghantt and the others. The FBI investigation was aided by the gang's extravagant spending. 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. Project #ShowUs. The missing couple were identified as David Harrison Robinson and his wife Lucretia Robinson. Separating the Red and Blue. More than 2 million dollars is still missing to this day. Ghantt's spending in Mexico was extravagant at first. 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Defense attorney Jim Griffin laid out his team's side of the case to the jury for more than two hours, arguing . A: Zach and I have a runningtext conversation going, but he's very busy. And it didn't take long to figure out that this was not the place for me. By comparison, Ghantt served seven years in prison and was fined $26,000. U kunt uw keuzes te allen tijde wijzigen door te klikken op de links 'Privacydashboard' op onze sites en in onze apps. You can cancel at any time. I wasnt attracted to him or anything, but he was a nice guy, Campbell said. He left his wedding ring behind and spent his days spending money on luxury hotels and scuba diving. Si vous souhaitez personnaliser vos choix, cliquez sur Grer les paramtres de confidentialit. They would then load as much cash as they could carry into a van. I work construction. Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com, allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. [1], Steven Chambers finished serving his sentence in November 2006. 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. For a time, it was nicknamed "the hillbilly heist" because nearly all of the major players in the case came from small towns around Charlotte. [citation needed], The defendants were the targets of many barbed jokes in Charlotte and across the country, in part because of their extravagant spending. 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. 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. Dont worry, its not drug money.. 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. The thieves had simply abandoned whatever they couldnt carry away. Do you still have contact with him? The FBI knew they needed to make their move. Ghantts wife was reportedly nothing like the bizarre, robotic fiance character in the film, for instance. ``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. 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. How? A: I like the 47-year-old David Ghantt more than I did the 20-something David Ghantt. During the next few months they bought a BMW-Z3 roadster and tens of thousands of dollars in antiques, furniture and decorations. Pocketing $50,000 for himself, that man, named David Ghantt, hopped into a car of his own and headed towards Mexico. . The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points, How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer, Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests. 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. Two of them, Mike and Kim Goodman, are scheduled to be sentenced today. All of the defendants except for one pleaded guilty and accepted their sentences. I was working sometimes 75-80 hours a week at $8.15 an hour. He had stayed in a luxury hotel and paid for expensive food and activities such as scuba diving and parasailing. 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 . He was also married. 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So Chambers decided to solve the problem by putting a hit on Ghantt. The Current TikTok Ban Doesnt Go Far Enough. Day in and day out, he drives an armored vehicle,. At the time it was the second largest cash robbery ever to happen on US soil. Not only was Ghantt the only unaccounted for employee the morning after the heist, there was also footage of Ghantt moving the cash into the back of the Loomis Fargo van. Wij, Yahoo, maken deel uit van de Yahoo-merkenfamilie. The next day, the Chambers, Campbell, and some other notable parties were arrested in Charlotte. Dont come to me for a treasure map, Ill put it to you that way., Michael Sainatos writing has appeared in the Guardian, Miami Herald, Baltimore Sun, Denver Post, Buffalo News, the Hill, Alternet, and several other publications . Philosophically, now looking back I wouldnt be who I am now if I hadnt gone through all that, said David Scott Ghantt in an interview with the Observer. To make a successful getaway, Ghantt had to lift nearly 2,800 pounds of currency. 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. You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or www.Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. However, the FBI knew immediately who robbed the vault (Ghant was seen on video camera), and it didnt take long for the FBI to loop in Kelly Campbell. But even though he worked for a company that regularly moved millions of dollars, David Ghantt himself was underpaid. The FBI continues to search for a missing $2 million from the theft. By Dustin Rowles | Film | September 30, 2016 |. Because the money in the vault was largely from banks, the crime was technically a bank robbery and thus a federal offense. 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. The Loomis Fargo heist became something of a media lightning rod. Just days after agreeing to the plan, the group set a day to carry out the robbery. By now, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, Steve Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell. Its heavy. Campbellwho was married herselfrepresented something new and exciting. 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. Everybody thinks being famous and being an actor is stupendous, and the money is fantastic, but they kind of live in afish bowl. Ghantt was already married when he took part in the heist, to a woman named Tammy - who author Diamant described as "very nice." It is true, however, that she had no idea about the plot and that. But there was just one thing the group hadnt been counting on: the massive weight of that amount of cash. Will California Save the Iconic Joshua Tree? 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. Ask questions; get answers. The couple was married for 22 years before her untimely death in 2012. I was working sometimes 75-80 hrs a week for $8.15 an hour, I didnt even have a real home life because I was never there I was working all the time and unhappy which is understandable considering how old I was at the time. I think Zachs a hell of an actor. ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score, How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League, Is the ACT easier than the SAT? BBC Motion Gallery. 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. Masterminds - Zach Galifianakis 'David Ghantt' [On-Set Interview]SUBSCRIBE HERE: http://goo.gl/SrrTlTSUBSCRIBE MOVIE TRAILERS: http://goo.gl/8WxGeDA night gu. Here's whatGhantt says now about the heist that madethe "Cramer Mountain Hillbillies" famous and changed him forever. 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. Across the border in Mexico, Ghantt was also living it up. David Scott Ghantt Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. But after one visit, she asked a teller "How much can I deposit before you have to report it to the feds?" 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. Naturally, Ghantt started to run out of cash and turned to Chambers, who was annoyed by his requests for more money. 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. Working by himself, Ghantt would commit the robbery and then flee for Mexico, leaving the bulk of the cash with Chambers. He made his own self miserable. The defense has finished its closing argument in the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh. ', He explained the glorification and glamour often associated with bank heists and bank robberies in Hollywood films is far from reality. Explain: The scary part is that as soon as you put that little bit of money in the van, that there's no going back. But even though he worked for a company that regularly moved millions of dollars, David Ghantt himself was underpaid. David Bragg . The College Entrance Examination BoardTM does not endorse, nor is it affiliated in any way with the owner or any content of this site. Where ever it was, it is long gone now. Ghantt, now 29, was a tall, decorated Persian Gulf War veteran whom early newspaper reports likened to Huckleberry Finn. They also bought a BMW Z3 with cash and made several large purchases, including a $600 cigar store Indian. What ACT target score should you be aiming for? 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..
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