Agents began picking up signs that David definitely had help: The abandoned Loomis van with $3.3 million in small bills still inside, and phone records showing that somebody beeped him while he stole the money, using David's own cell phone. They paid for all of it in cash. They hatched the idea half-jokingly, over a game of Uno, never dreaming they were about to make Bonnie and Clyde look like bottom feeders. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. It's about the 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery also known as the "hillbillly heist" the second largest cash robbery in the history of the United States. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. He and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. Mexican police, Interpol officers and an FBI agent were watching him. "We're not the type that questions everything people tell us," Floyd said. It had been drilled into my head that if you give me a team of five good people, I can go anywhere, do anything," David explained. But Ghantt, who served as an unpaid consultant to the movie and attended the big Los Angeles premiere earlier in the week, has no such reservations. Cool, I say. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. I knew I was going to be the prime suspect. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. A couple weeks pass, and I call again, Hey, Id like to get some more money. We got this guy named Bruno. As he and Kelly met in a field behind a shooting range to refine the plan, she allowed him to believe she was falling for him. As for his new wife, when the two just started dating, he was nervous about letting her know about his past, but he wanted to be honest. If you want to go ahead and go, I got it. Theres no way to get it back, Butcher told The Charlotte Observer. Not until David was gone did Scott realize he didn't know which key to use. I wanted to make a drastic change and I went for it," Ghantt said. . She laughed for like 45 minutes. From Mexico, David usually spoke with Kelly on the phone once a week, paying with calling cards. Basically, he needed a score to make his problems go away. And I was thinking about just showing up there. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. I wanted to get as far away as I could. Together, they drove in a convoy to an industrial warehouse eight miles away, where Eric Payne, a fourth accomplice was. I would call us friends. 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. Heres what happened on Sunday nights episode. David had grabbed $50,000 cash, but could figure out only how to carry $25,000 with him on the plane. And youre like, Come on parachute. Chambers never held Campbell hostage by locking her in a shed on his property. Hidden in it was a 3 1/2-carat diamond ring that cost $43,000. She could walk under the trees, with the chickens and goats and dogs that live around her mobile home. I was expecting her to kick me out of the house., Years later, after they married and had a child together, they watched a movie based on the whole ordeal. Field Operations; Corporate; Why Loomis. This is where it starts to unravel, Ghantt tells me with a wry laugh. I mean, it was dark, Ghantt explains. Depression had led to smoking a lot of marijuana and taking Prozac, a combination she figures affected her judgment. They didn't know it, but they were leaving $3.3 million behind. He hated the sweet smell of the green ink, and the $8.15-an-hour salary. If you were one of the much-smaller-than-expected group of people who caught Masterminds at the theater this weekend, and are looking for a fact-check of the events depicted on screen, here are some of the highlights of our chat with Diamant. Not Ghantt. Ghantt:It started out as a mental exercise and somewhere between the mental exercise and the actual event, it became serious. Kelly relayed his message to Steve. One night in a small North Carolina town, a down-on-his-luck guard at Loomis Fargo manages to steal $17 millionliterally more than one ton of cash. Come for the Chumbawamba, and stay for the return of the Mack. Ghantt was in fact hiding out in Mexico using McKinneys I.D., which had been sold to Chambers months earlier. The next week, they heard Steve plan to send Mike McKinney to Mexico to kill David Ghantt. Chambers, who still lives in Gaston County and operates a gym, declined to comment. Everything came crashing down on an early March morning in 1998. In the two days after the robbery, agents interviewed more than 100 people, most connected with David. Should David be killed after he gave them the money? He rewarded Robert with $3,000 and vowed never to meet McKinney alone. He told her he wanted more of "his" cash. So yeah, Ghantt continues, I took a bus from there to Atlanta, and then I hopped a cab from the bus station to the airport in Atlanta., Back in North Carolina, his accomplices were working as fast as they could to hide the $17 million. But it was the rural, Southern backgrounds of many of the key players, along with the many botched twists and bungled turns, that led the media to dub it the hillbilly heist.. They cursed. shaka wear graphic tees is candy digital publicly traded ellen lawson wife of ted lawson real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist 25 Feb/23 (No Ratings Yet) By late November, McKinney made a third trip to Mexico, saying he'd help David move to Mexico City. Because surprise! . The plan was to split the money three ways: Chambers, Campbell and Ghantt would each walk away with what Ghantt estimated to be $5 million a piece the kind of money that changes lives forever. Twice a week over the next 12 months, we will take you back to the winter of sheep cloning and the summer of Con Air. I had to go in there and tell her the whole story, and she was real cool about it. Its hilarious. Im on the phone with Kelly [Campbell], and Im like, Hey, I really was expecting a package to arrive. Then FBI agent Wydra watched Steve's wife, Michele, deposit about $8,000 at a Gaston County, N.C., bank. I couldn't understand why I hadn't been more successful," David said. ". CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM 1998 and ACTORS IN MOVIE. Things started to go south the night of the robbery. Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. It wasn't known whether anyone would receive it. He frequently entertained there, buying steaks for his guests. And to me, if it pisses them off, Im all for it.. At 7:45, David had finished loading. Theres no management around. Steve also offered $100,000 to his 26-year-old cousin. Some of that money is just gone. ". Note: No quotes were altered, although in some cases additional quotes were added to the questions as Ghantt expanded on his thoughts. But because David's relationship with his Loomis bosses had been rocky, he says, he doesn't feel sorry about what he did to the company. Question: You were a consultant? From going fishing to riding horses on the beach the whole nine yards. Things were spiraling fast. What concerned her was the chance of getting caught. 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.. The first weekday after the heist, Michele Chambers, co-conspirator Steve's wife, walked into a NationsBank branch with a briefcase containing $5,000. For his part, Ghantt was now officially on his way to Mexico, his future stretched out before him. ". They ditched the Loomis van, then drove the cash-heavy Budget van to Steve's mobile home in Lincoln County, where his wife, Michele, waited with a calculator and rubber bands. shes now Miss USA. . You're an idiot.'". One number is working in Campbells favor. A few of the Loomis restitution cases have already been closed either because the amount was paid in full or because the 20-year clock wound down. He and his wife, Tammy, lived in a mobile home in Kings Mountain, N.C. Money was always tight. ", "I said, 'If you drive a truck, you're always in a financial bind. The agents tapped the phone, and it didnt take long to locate Ghantt after that. The movie was overly silly and, based on a post-screening conversation with former Observer reporter Jeff Diamant who wrote a detailed 279-page book about the occasionally funny but mostly just-plain fascinating crime, titled Heist much of what wound up in the film is fiction. At the end of one session, they wound up kissing outside the pickup. Truth was, David wanted more than help leaving, he wanted company. Loomis employees drive the very core of our business. "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. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. A version of this story originally appeared on CharlotteObserver.com. Then another. Before long, the tales of high living by Chambers and his now former wife, Michelle, led the thieves to be labeled either the "Cramer Mountain Hillbillies" or "The gang that couldn't steal straight." She was the group's only contact with David, and she was smoking marijuana "like other people smoke cigarettes," she said. The whole town I was staying in was 98.9 percent Mexican, except for when the cruise ships were in, Ghantt recalls. But it wasnt. They heard Michele brag about her $43,000 ring. Michele received the best gift of the night. She just called me up on the phone and said, Hey, lets meet one day after work. And then, we were talking and she says, How do you feel about robbing Loomis Fargo? Ghantt tells me. He flew in an ultra-light plane. When he landed in Cancun, his first stop was Walmart. He grabbed the tapes from two VCRs that connected to 16 security cameras. Three weeks after the theft, Steve and Michele moved from their Lincoln County mobile home to a $635,000 house in a gated Cramerton, N.C., neighborhood. Not a documentary. They also left behind a life-changing fortune in small bills $3.3 million in fives and ones that they overlooked and the two videotapes that Ghantt had pulled from the security cameras at the bank. It was an ear-biting, Pierce Brosnan-loving, comet-obsessed world, and were here to relive every minute of it. And so, he told her, Google my name. Dental plans . Kelly, using David's cell phone, kept beeping him. One of them tapped him on the back. In December, agents got the tie-in they were looking for: Kelly Campbell had bought a $30,000 Toyota minivan with cash and registered it to one of Steve Chambers's aliases. 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. Im a very deliberate person. He went deep-sea fishing. They picked me, he says with a rueful tone. Then Steve pushed Scott inside, and he began throwing plastic-wrapped bundles of tens, twenties, fifties and hundreds to Eric and Steve, who placed them in three blue 55-gallon barrels. In hindsight, it doesnt surprise me a bit, Ghantt says, a bitter laugh catching in his throat. Question: Should people go see this movie? David trusted her. Her husband gave her a brown teddy bear. He had even scheduled a follow-up appointment at the dentist. But the idea of all that money pulled at her. "I said, 'I don't want him killed.' It's one of the biggest jokes at the place. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. There used to be a consulate in Cancun. No dry runs, no rehearsals. He wouldn't give me the opportunity to say anything else. Kelly drove David to the airport. In real life: False. 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,. Then another. Charlotte Magazine even ran a feature story about the Loomis Fargo heist with the title, White Trash Crime. The headlines, however, never bothered Ghantt. Without really intending to, Kelly recalls, she turned the conversation to the possibility of a heist. I missed my wife. Steve solicited two others to help move cash during the theft. This story was originally published October 3, 2016, 9:12 PM. 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. "But, I hate to admit it, it doesn't faze me one bit. Husband and wife Steven and Michelle Chambers, whose conspicuous consumption of a luxury home, a BMW convertible, breast implants and a $600 wooden Indian, among other purchases, helped the FBI solve the crime, were assessed $3.81 million and $4.8 million, respectively. He would pay McKinney $250,000, half upfront. ", "Even then . He then began loading $17 million in unmarked bills inside a company van before driving away. But McKinney never stopped trying to kill Ghantt although, initally, McKinney thought Chambers had paid for the hit over a drug deal gone bad, Diamant said. All the while, Ghantt prepared himself for the task at hand. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. But former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt can. "I was unhappy with my life. The mystery 1-4-3 caller had been Kelly, though agents didn't know it yet. 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. Hed be in contact. He told Steve he hadn't been able to find David. I'll never pay it off on my paycheck." He para-sailed, power-skied and scuba-dived. 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. 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. Why do we feel its so necessary to treat people like this, to say, OK, well just ruin the rest of your life because you made a bad decision., Punishment should not last a lifetime. I mentioned it to Kelly. So I guess I have no regrets. 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. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. I said, It comes down to picking the right day, and the right time of the month, and all that good stuff. I even told her, It wouldnt be all that difficult. So I was glad it was over. 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. Actor Owen Wilson plays him in the movie, which includes the real names of all the major players. She could visit friends. Eric Payne got out of prison in 2006 for his role in the heist and has since paid $11,357 on his $292,000 debt. They tried to break the van's bulletproof windows. Scott Grant and Steve pulled up next to her in a Mazda. To celebrate Halloween, about seven of Steve's friends, including Eric Payne and Kelly, gathered for a party at Steve's house. Inside the Mazda, Steve told Scott Grant to get out and help David. He appeared happily matched with his high-spirited wife, Michele, and the two children from her first marriage. Its a yes: Clover teen shakes off nerves to earn American Idol golden ticket, Mail carrier cant believe his eyes after seeing NC lottery win. She will never get beyond the debt. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. They loaded the wine cellar with Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Steve hung a velvet portrait of Elvis Presley in the basement. Speaking of his co-defendants, Ghantt says hes not currently in contact with any of them. 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. 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). Scott was so nervous, he said, that he couldn't help. Kelly had no problem fanning the flames of their old flirtation. When neighbors asked where they got their money, Steve said hed played in the NFL. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. Now two NC men face prison. In a word, "Teamwork. 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 he fled to Mexico without telling her. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) The Associated Press, BY MICHAEL GORDON, The Charlotte Observer. It will be some time before she can commune with domestic animals again. In March 1997, after Loomis Fargo & Company has been robbed of $18.8 million in Jacksonville by company security guard Philip Noel Johnson, Steve Eugene Chambers and Kelly Campbell, a former employee of Loomis, decides to rob the company. But I thought this is me being hard-headed Im going to ride this thing to the ground. And so thats what I did.. Ghantt went on to explain that he rarely even looks at his debt statement to the government, but believes the IRS says he still owes them $3.8 million. The money was heavy. Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward after the theft. He played high school football at Mays High School in Atlanta, and college football at Georgia Tech . real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist (No Ratings Yet) . Some of the biggest numbers remaining on the Loomis collection board, as is the case with Campbell, belong to those who played the biggest role in the crime: David Ghantt, the Loomis employee who loaded all that money 2,800 pounds in all into the back of a company van before escaping to Mexico, has paid just under $50,000 of the $3.81 million he was assessed. 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. Michelle Chambers paid off only $27,000. Because lets be brutally honest: Theyre not wrong, okay? . Federal prosecutors would ultimately charge 21 defendants in the case, including the Floyds, who were charged with (and pleaded guilty to) money laundering. "I felt that if I didn't do something, I was going to snap," David said. Ghantt knew Chambers as Steve, but didnt find out that his last name was Chambers until the arrests were made. By March, Steve Chambers decided he needed to do something more drastic about Ghantt, making plans to send a hitman to Mexico to silence him for good. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP), Police: Officer Who Shot Black Man Retired 'In Bad Standing', 3 Kansas City Officers Who Were Shot Released From Hospital, 1 Killed When Business Jet Encounters Severe Turbulence. Why had he ever believed he'd get it? One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. We got to the end of the day, and he was acting like he wanted to linger. You might as well go all the way now.". The authorities didn't know yet how much was missing from the armored-car company, but Steve did. They involve Loomis armored car driver David Scott Ghantt. "I'd been told all my life, money will not make you happy," Kelly said. When McKinney arrived in North Carolina, the plan had changed. "Every time my conscience would start bothering me," Kelly recalled, "I'd smoke another joint and forget about it.". But agents weren't ready to arrest Kelly and Steve. That was pretty awesome., It felt like a dream vacation until he started running out of money. Chambers, now 32, didn't grant an interview for this article, but last year, in response to written questions, he said the biggest lesson he learned was: "Family is more important and valuable than money. I really enjoyed the little scuba diving trip. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. Though David had said earlier he thought there was $15 million in the vault, the sight of that much cash held them spellbound. In real life: Yes and no. Heres your money. Then he turns around and leaves., The problem was, it was nowhere near the amount Ghantt had expected: Im looking at it, and theres maybe $8,000. Michelle Chambers received seven years and eight months, while Steve Chambers was handed an 11-year sentence. He placed stacks of currency on a cart and wheeled it to the van about 15 feet away, inside the building. At the time of the real robbery, Chambers was facing criminal charges hed written 30K worth of bad checks and was facing jail time for it. She could spend time with her children and parents. Steve told me to tell [David] whatever was necessary to keep him happy.". Basic and voluntary life insurance plan. As you probably know, it's loosely based on the Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte back in the late nineties. "That would be living on the run, and I didn't want my kids to live that way. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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