Agents noticed it two months later when it flowed to them through official channels, along with hundreds of similar reports involving other people. Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. "I felt that if I didn't do something, I was going to snap," David said. 'Can I Keep the Velvet Elvis?': The Great Hillbilly Heist of 1997 And that's OK with Ghantt, who's just a few weeks shy of his 47th birthday, out of federal prison for more than a decade, married with a 9-year-old daughter and happy. The mystery 1-4-3 caller had been Kelly, though agents didn't know it yet. 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. Theres less security. Campbell left her job in the summer of 1997, but she would later use Ghantt's feelings for her to her own advantage to get him to agree to carry out the multi-million-dollar heist. He told Steve he hadn't been able to find David. The only person not to plead guilty in the case, former Gastonia attorney Jeff Guller, ended up doing eight years for money laundering. 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. Hes well thought-out. Best States is an interactive platform developed by U.S. News for ranking the 50 U.S. states, alongside news analysis and daily reporting. Together, they drove in a convoy to an industrial warehouse eight miles away, where Eric Payne, a fourth accomplice was. 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. Scott, 26, had a larceny conviction as a teenager, but he'd since cleaned up his act and now had a steady job, a daughter and a girlfriend. Except the person he offered $150,000 to mule $2.5 million down to Ghantt in Mexico turned him down and instead went to the FBI. Charlotte hotel chef who serves with a smile recognized as outstanding ambassador, Eritrean, Ethiopian restaurant owner was a big brother and father to many in Charlotte, Home tours: This wired-up Weddington smart home has a pool big enough for the neighborhood. Ghantt ended up doing more than five years in prison, Chambers did more than 11 years. He didn't want to abandon his parents. By then Id figured out that Bruno was up to no good, and that Id probably never seen any more of my money. The last time he called me, he said, Hey Ghantt, I just saw a big Loomis Fargo truck. Figure in Loomis Heist Gets Prison | AP News He's a very likable person. Yes, happy. The agents tapped the phone, and it didnt take long to locate Ghantt after that. Then, I started loading the van., Money, when bound in bulk and stacked in canvas bags, is heavier than you might expect. "It probably should bother me," he said. By . The barrels were Steves idea, Ghantt says. She was devastated, Diamant said. In real life: Yes and no. He and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. Purchases included a pool table, jewelry (including a $43,000 diamond ring), a minivan, $20,000 worth of cigars, and the 7,000-square-foot home on the side of Cramer Mountain. Explain? One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. In real life: False. At the Halloween party, though, Kelly gave in to Steve, and agreed it had to be done. Now, I kind of know something is fishy., Alone in Mexico with limited cash, Ghantt thought about turning himself in. Steve also offered $100,000 to his 26-year-old cousin. Looking back at the Loomis heist - Gaston Gazette From Mexico, David usually spoke with Kelly on the phone once a week, paying with calling cards. If I hadn't done what I did the, the life I have now with my wife and child, I wouldn't have. 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. . Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward after the theft. Steve now needed a hit man. 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. Loomis Armored Shreveport, LA, 1124 Forum Dr, Shreveport, LA, USA Shreveport, LA, USA Req #1990. . Ghantt:It's a comedy. You're an idiot.'". Field Operations; Corporate; Why Loomis. Although David was in on most of the planning, one discussion between Steve and Kelly was kept a secret. The initials on the money wrapper belonged to a Loomis employee who hadn't worked there since before the heist. David Ghantt And The Loomis Fargo Heist: The Outrageous True Story Where I was going was right there near the Cayman Islands. I'd probably change jobs. . They paid for all of it in cash. This is where it starts to unravel, Ghantt tells me with a wry laugh. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. "I was thinking, 'They aren't paying me enough,' " McKinney recalled. These (Loomis) guys, not so much.. . I knew it was just a matter of time. You've violated that trust. The top-ranked pie in North Carolina doesnt look like pie at all. The bizarre true story of the criminals behind the second-largest bank heist in American history. The number of people involved had ballooned after Steve started asking friends and family to help him launder the stolen cash. Stay informed daily on the latest news and advice on COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report. 1997 Loomis Fargo Robbery - Strange Unexplained Mysteries Instead of lobster, the man who stole $17 million survived on home-cooked pasta and grilled cheese sandwiches. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. I wanted to get as far away as I could. But it didnt really hit me until later., On March 2nd, when the FBI agents walked up to Ghantt in Playa del Carmen and told him he was under arrest, Ghantt was relieved. They cursed. . The money was heavy. Thomas Grant, who served three years in prison for bank larceny, paid off restitution of $70,000; brother Eric Grant paid all of his $26,000; as did David Craig, $40,000; and Dennis and Sandra Floyd; $27,000. I've got a good woman.". It was the first Saturday in October. I hope everyone has moved on. They soon realized David had stolen more money than would fit in their 55-gallon barrels. Him and I still talk every now and then. While the agents initiated their investigation, the Chambers spent money as quickly as they could. David thought about it. And though she had been made night shift supervisor at Allied Security, she still felt she would never make the money she needed. He and his wife, Tammy, lived in a mobile home in Kings Mountain, N.C. Money was always tight. The figures can be astounding. Purchases included a pool table, jewelry (including a $43,000 diamond ring), a minivan, $20,000 worth of cigars, and the 7,000-square-foot home on the side of Cramer. 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. In real life: True. "We had David Ghantt and Kelly Campbell tied together, and we had Steven Chambers and Eric Payne with unexplained wealth, but we didn't have a tie between them," Agent John Wydra said. Health savings account and flexible spending account. Ghantt went on to explain that he left for his flight to Mexico with about $25,000, and that two or three deliveries of extra money was made to him by the man Chambers would pay to kill him. Kelly's company. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. Ghantt worked at Loomis Fargos regional office vault in Charlotte. So yeah, Im kind of proud of it.. Federal prosecutors would ultimately charge 21 defendants in the case, including the Floyds, who were charged with (and pleaded guilty to) money laundering. 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. Key benefit components include: Health insurance plans. The audacity of the act was breathtaking. In real life: False. In a word, "Teamwork. David was sentenced to 7 1/2 years. Why had he ever believed he'd get it? When Chambers and the two Erics were done loading the stolen millions into barrels, they abandoned the van in the woods. You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. Or does it sit in an offshore account, waiting for a prison sentence to end? He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. He longed for the middle-class lifestyle of his childhood, with its private religious-school education and Disney World vacations. David had grabbed $50,000 cash, but could figure out only how to carry $25,000 with him on the plane. As with many recent historic events, this one had been caught on videotape, a fact that a few dozen Charlotte FBI agents would learn in a hastily organized Sunday morning meeting. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. Once in a lifetime, Murdaugh verdict sends a Lowcountry message: No one is above the law | Opinion, Charlotte Waffle House found with live roach, unclean equipment during health inspection. At first, I just blended in with the tourists and picked up a few translation books, Ghantt explains. A version of this story originally appeared on CharlotteObserver.com. Now he offered to pay him to carry cash to David--Steve said he was a friend hiding out after a bad drug deal, McKinney recalled. Steve bought a truck, a Rolex and a motorboat. Chambers did hire McKinney to kill Ghantt, but initially McKinney was making personal cash deliveries to Ghantt in Mexico on behalf of Chambers. 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the year that everything happened 1997. They also purchased tanning beds, a pool table, a Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycle and all kinds of expensive furniture. Steve had another conversation with Kelly about killing David. You have to remember that it's Hollywood and they'll take what was a minor event and they'll blow it up and make it as funny as they can.". Ghantt was missing and no one, not even his wife, knew where he was. When he walked onto the plane, he was wearing big, tall cowboy boots, where hed stuffed a majority of the smuggled cash. I learned something that was valuable at the time: Most criminals never leave a 250, maybe 300-mile circle from their home base. Cool, I say. 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. Soon thereafter, he met Kelly Campbell, a co-worker at Loomis Fargo. Find 145 people named Kelly Loomis along with free Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok profiles on PeekYou - true people search. So the last third of the movie is almost entirely fiction. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. I'll never pay it off on my paycheck." He learned to parachute. "I missed my family. The True Story of David Ghantt and the Loomis Fargo Heist - PrepScholar . Thats where they feel comfortable., This piece of information would become critical to his getaway plan. Things started to go south the night of the robbery. An Ohio police officer who shot and killed a Black man as he lay in bed in his home last summer is no longer on the force, Three Kansas City police officers who were shot while serving a search warrant have been released from the hospital, Officials say one passenger died when a business jet experienced severe turbulence, forcing a landing at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut. But it wasnt. Man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 years ago now a 'normal guy And I said, Hey, man, I got this. 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. FBI agents recall surreal story of heist that inspired - WLOS She laughed for like 45 minutes. Back then, it was one of the hotspots for hiding money. Ghantt planned to live off the interest for the rest of his life. At that same time, Steve was growing sick of the calls to send more money to Ghantt, and was looking for a way to end that issue. Inside the Mazda, Steve told Scott Grant to get out and help David. 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.. Michelle Chambers received seven years and eight months, while Steve Chambers was handed an 11-year sentence. . Kelly drove her pickup to a lot across the street from the Loomis building, on Suttle Avenue in Charlotte. In real life: Mostly true. 27 febrero, 2023 . What concerned her was the chance of getting caught. The FBI was also surveilling Kelly Campbell and followed her to a pay phone that she used to place calls to Mexico. First, they loaded the cash into blue 55-gallon barrels, and then they moved the barrels into a rental van. Careers. I was looking at small sailboats and theyre not cheap, he tells me. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. He'd even bragged that he'd killed people. "She said, 'What would it take to convince you to do it?' Kelly called David at. For his part, Ghantt was now officially on his way to Mexico, his future stretched out before him. Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. There was, however, one problem with his plan. Here's what Floyd recalls: After two games of pool, Steve told him, "You know, we do a lot of gambling. I knew I was going to be the prime suspect. For reasons that remain obscure, Robert spilled the beans to David. Steve told Scott to ignore the remaining stacks, which were mostly ones and fives. Kelly called David at Loomis; he told her he'd be ready for them with the cash at 6:30 or 7 p.m. Alone in the building, David was trying to finish loading cash from the vault into an unmarked white Ford Econoline van belonging to Loomis. Called Masterminds, the 2016 film stars Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson. Chambers went from a mobile home in Lincoln County to a mansion in Cramerton. David said he realized then, for the first time, he might not see the millions he thought he had coming to him. Thatd be the time to do it, Ghantt recalls. Contact Us | Loomis US Starting Pay Rate: $15.50 per hour Shift: Monday - Friday from 1:00pm to 9:00pm Job Description As a Coin Processor, you work with your team to maintain inventory in our cash vaults for our Loomis customers. Chambers, who still lives in Gaston County and operates a gym, declined to comment.
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