As the FBI listened in to Chambers calls, they discovered that he was also planning to have Ghantt assassinated, hoping to keep all the money for himself. 4 million images and real time event coverage from coast to coast , ImageCollect is the only celebrity photo site you'll ever need. He left his wedding ring behind and spent his days spending money on luxury hotels and scuba diving. They had initially agreed to control their spending for a year or two, in the belief that the government would vigorously track the spending habits of any and all suspects for at least a year before relenting. EDITORIAL. In August 1997, Campbell informed Ghantt of an old high school friend of hers, Steve Chambers, who could assist Ghantt in executing a massive cash robbery of the Loomis Fargo vault in one night. Harper Beckham and her dad David Beckham dressed in matching black outfits as they headed to a Paris Fashion Week event being thrown by Harper's mom and David's wife Victoria . What ACT target score should you be aiming for? But neither of those things would matter after he met Kelly Campbell. Michelle Chambers received a harsher sentence than Ghantt seven years and eight months because she had violated several bond conditions. Just days after agreeing to the plan, the group set a day to carry out the robbery. 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. In addition to her work for PrepScholar, Hayley is the author of Museum Hack's Guide to History's Fiercest Females. He made his own self miserable. Two of them, Mike and Kim Goodman, are scheduled to be sentenced today. 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 think Zachs a hell of an actor. Chambers had known enough to insist that no one blows through a ton of cash immediately after the robbery, but once he actually had his hands on the money, he couldnt follow his own advice. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Nebraska cheerleader competes by herself at state competition, but crowd doesn't let her feel alone, Police identify victim who died Wednesday in Greensboro's 11th homicide of 2023, William Sturkey: Chapel Hill trustees 'hellbent' on winning campus culture wars, Rob Schofield: North Carolinas chronic public employee shortage wasnt an accident, KFC is bringing back a fan favorite after a nearly 10-year hiatus, Richard Groves: What the 'He Gets Us' media campaign says about the decline of Christianity, Two Things: Victim's family not surprised by no show; hospital wars in Greensboro and money well spent, Mark Elliott and Jeremy Rinker: Budget reductions at UNCG punish it for serving disadvantaged students, Samet: Guilford County wanted more black-owned businesses added to construction project after the bids were opened, Former Page High School teacher arrested on child sex charges, records show, Proposed rules for Airbnb, other short-term rentals advance in Greensboro, 'A bizarre case': Greensboro TikTok star found not guilty in fatal 2019 crash, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist proposes community hospital in Greensboro, Greensboro police officer involved in confrontation on Golden Gate Drive resigns, Jaydon Young's lessons of sacrifice mix with two-hour transfer, Virginia Tech and 2023 tournament. But his partners soon began to get greedy and were spending large amountswith Chambers and his wife, Michelle, even buying an exclusive mansion in cash. I got no real complaints, not at this point., The heist became the premise for the movie,Masterminds, released in September 2016. Across the border in Mexico, Ghantt was also living it up. Chambers, his wife, and several of their accomplices were arrested the next day. Question: Which do you regret more, stealing the money or getting caught? Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Chambers and his wife Michele moved out of a trailer and into a luxury mansion in a nice neighborhood. Then check out another bank robber who inspired a movie, John Wojtowicz. Jared Hess directed Masterminds, and god bless the guy, but if Gentlemen Broncos and Nacho Libre were not proof enough that Napoleon Dynamite was a fluke, Masterminds should seal the deal. David Ghantt on stealing 17 million dollars from Loomis Fargo (Crime & Entertainment Full Interview) Crime & Entertainment 3.77K subscribers Subscribe 4.8K views 1 year ago David Ghantt. Todd Williamson/Getty ImagesDavid Ghantt attends the 2016 after party for the Hollywood premiere of Masterminds, based on the Loomis Fargo heist that he helped carry out. Learning about US history? Chambers wife, Michelle, bought a minivan in cash and began taking frequent trips to the bank to make deposits. Will Mcintyre/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images. 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. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. 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. Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, though he was released on parole after five. A Comprehensive Guide. Federal Judge Graham Mullen sentenced her to between those lengths. Will Mcintyre/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesMichele Chambers 1998 BMW for sale following the prosecutions of the Loomis Fargo heist conspirators. Everybody thinks being famous and being an actor is stupendous, and the money is fantastic, but they kind of live in afish bowl. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. The FBI quickly connected Ghantt to Campbell, who was a former Loomis Fargo employee. ``I'm glad she didn't get nine years,' said Sandra Floyd, her mother. Q: Your troubles were self-inflicted, but you seem happy. We were two paychecks away from being homeless at any given time.. 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. 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. And it didn't take long to figure out that this was not the place for me. David Ghantt was the vault supervisor for Loomis, Fargo & Co. armored cars, which managed the transportation of large sums of cash between banks in North Carolina. The Army veteran and Hunter Huss High graduate was captured in Mexico five months later when one of the others involved in the theft, Steve Chambers, decided he needed to tie up loose ends by having Ghantt killed. [citation needed], The defendants were the targets of many barbed jokes in Charlotte and across the country, in part because of their extravagant spending. Over the years many of his social . For instance, after stealing $17.3 million $11 million of which was in $20 bills the conspirators had to leave behind $3 million in cash because they couldnt fit all of it in their cars. Once the hitman Chambers had hired arrived in Mexico, he found that he couldnt bring himself to kill Ghantt. David Ghantt And The Loomis Fargo Heist: The Outrageous True Story. Campbell and Chambers made themselves easy to catch, what with their lavish spending. Together with his wife, Chambers bought a new luxury home (upgrading from his mobile home), a BMW Z3, and some extravagant furnishings. Back then all I really wanted to do was just, I wanted to change my life. The police then called the FBI because most of the money handled at the facility belonged to banks, which technically made it a bank robbery a federal offense.[5]. Galifianakis seems to be playing a character out of Dumb and Dumber 3: The Dumbening; Kristen Wiig plays what could only be described as her worst SNL character; Owen Wilson plays an Owen Wilson character; and Sudeikis plays a bumbling hitman who cant pull the trigger after he finds out his target shares the same name and birthdate, which is the dumbest twist since the Martha revelation in Batman vs. Superman. But after one visit, she asked a teller "How much can I deposit before you have to report it to the feds?" The Proposed TikTok Ban Goes Too Far. Just the ability to come and go as I please and walk barefooted in the backyard means so much. Because Ghantt was the only employee who wasnt there that morning, he became the obvious suspect. He had stayed in a luxury hotel and paid for expensive food and activities such as scuba diving and parasailing. In 2020, the television show Super Heists portrayed the heist in Episode 3, "Van Full of Dollars". Here's whatGhantt says now about the heist that madethe "Cramer Mountain Hillbillies" famous and changed him forever. By comparison, Ghantt served seven years in prison and was fined $26,000. He made it across the border just as his deception was discovered. 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. But in addition to a wife,. Some of the friends and family members received parole, while Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. Her sentence would've been ``substantially' less if she hadn't kept it, officials said. A: People are very forgiving if you're open and honest right from the start. The thieves had simply abandoned whatever they couldnt carry away. To make a successful getaway, Ghantt had to lift nearly 2,800 pounds of currency. On Oct. 5, 1997, Ghantt carried out the heist during his regular shift after sending another employee home, stealing more than $17 million from the bank vault. So Chambers decided to solve the problem by putting a hit on Ghantt. Chambers had no intention of following those rules, believing the FBI would never connect him to Ghantt. He and his wife,. Ghantts accomplices soon showed up but now they had another problem. Thirteen friends and family members were also charged with money laundering, as they had helped Ghantt, Chambers, Campbell, and the others deposit money illegally. Custom Content. In 97 me and my wife were just barely scraping by, Ghantt recalled in Mondays episode. They left behind the cash they couldnt fit in their cars. Ghantt believed the new employee would make a good replacement for his wife, but the feelings were not necessarily reciprocated. Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here: PrepScholar 2013-2018. Even the outtakes during the credits are bad. If you're trying to make yourself better today, that's all most people care about. I really don't miss that guy. Afterward, outside the courthouse, her parents said the length was about what she had expected. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba. Going to prison helped me grow up as a human being. Wyatt Redd is a freelance writer from Nashville, Tennessee. Vous pouvez modifier vos choix tout moment en cliquant sur le lien Tableau de bord sur la vie prive prsent sur nos sites et dans nos applications. I felt cornered and one day the joking in the break room about robbing the place suddenly didnt seem so far-fetched.. Culler acknowledged that she had overheard her husband and co-defendant Kelly Campbell talk about the plan, ``but she thought it was fantasy world.'. Chambers also promised to join Ghantt in Mexico as soon as she could, but she admitted to Super Heists she never had any intention of actually making the trip. What happens at the end of mastermind? People still laugh when they think of the "velvet Elvis" Chambershad in his Cramer Mountain mansion, or how his former wife showed upat a local bankto deposit wads of cash that she assured the teller was not "drug money.". Ill never pay it off on my paycheck, Ghantt said. Please subscribe to keep reading. And drastic it was. The Loomis Fargo robbery was one of the largest heists in history, with $2 million in stolen funds still unaccounted for. After a Gulf War stint in the Army, David got married in 1992. The two struck up a friendship during work that would continue after Campbell left the company. Loomis Fargo employee David Ghantt and his partners nearly pulled off the perfect crime, but it would be their lavish spending, and an alleged murder plot, that would be their undoing. Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy a Toyota Sienna minivan in two cash installments. He is an uncomplicated man stuck in a monotonous life. Ghantt, now 29, was a tall, decorated Persian Gulf War veteran whom early newspaper reports likened to Huckleberry Finn. Meanwhile, David Ghantt was relaxing on a beach in Cozumel, Mexico. And so this third camera caught everything that happened next. 29 David Ghantt Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images. On March 1, 1988, Mexican police arrested Ghantt at Playa del Carmen. There was also no dramatic showdown between Chambers and Ghantt as the movie suggests. Nine other relatives and friends were also charged with money laundering, as they had co-signed for safe deposit boxes used to store some of the money; prosecutors opted to charge them on the grounds that they should have known the money was obtained illegally. Elizabeth Poile was in 10th . When asked what the dumbest thing was that Ghantt spent money on, he admitted: The 4 pairs of boots I bought in one day [shrug] what can I say they were nice and I was impulse shopping.. Parishioners filled the pews for a memorial mass held for Bishop David O'Connell Wednesday night at the St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Hacienda Heights. Creative Insights. Director Jared Hess Writers Chris Bowman (screenplay) Hubbel Palmer (screenplay) Emily Spivey (screenplay) Stars Zach Galifianakis Kristen Wiig Owen Wilson 20 years ago,on the night ofOctober 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. At the time it was thesecond largest bank heistin U.S. history. He told me they were in the dirt business, so he didn't have to worry too much about me. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers home. I realized a lot of things that were wrong with me as a person. Youre better at planning bank heists than David Ghantt. By now, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, Steve Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell. Day in and day out, he drives an armored vehicle,. But even though he worked for a company that regularly moved millions of dollars, David Ghantt himself was underpaid. This article will teach you more about the SAT subject tests. Ghantt and his compatriots, it turns out, had underestimated how bulky money is. They received sentences and probation ranging from several years to 11 years and three months in federal prison for Steve Chambers, who was also fined more than $3,500,000. Authorities had the receipt and had known it was missing. The scary one is stealing the money. David Ghantt struck up a relationship with fellow Loomis Fargo employee Kelly Campbell, and they continued to maintain contact even after Campbell left the company. On March 12, a Charlotte grand jury indicted the eight co-conspirators for bank larceny and money laundering; the latter offense was included because of how they spent the stolen money. 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. hbspt.cta.load(360031, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05', {}); Have any questions about this article or other topics? 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. Generally, the events of the film are fairly close to reality when they follow the broad details of the case. The pair were both from the United States but had lived in the Peloponnese region of Greece for the past few years. You've decided to give up on a part of your life. The Election, U.S. Foreign Policy, And Harold Pinter's 2005 Nobel Lecture, Nate Parker on Rape Allegations: 'I Don't Feel Guilty'. You take a movie like Oceans Eleven, the whole concept of that movie is so farfetched, its not even funny. Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or www.Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. 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. I started just chucking it as fast as I could, he said, adding the sweat was pouring off of me.. I didnt even have a real home life because I was never there. Hes a great person. The chief running joke in Masterminds is the Prince Valiant 'do gamely sported by Galifianakis as David Ghantt, . ', He explained the glorification and glamour often associated with bank heists and bank robberies in Hollywood films is far from reality. [1], This robbery was the second-largest cash robbery on U.S. soil at the time, as only seven months earlier, on March 29, 1997 in Jacksonville, Florida, Philip Noel Johnson stole $18.8 million from the Loomis Fargo armored vehicle he was driving.[2]. Si vous souhaitez personnaliser vos choix, cliquez sur Grer les paramtres de confidentialit. Biography Comedy Crime A guard at an armored car company in the Southern U.S. organizes one of the biggest bank heists in American history. Chambers promised to wire him money in Mexico until the investigation blew over and Ghantt could return to . In February 2009 the Associated Press reported that Chambers had chosen to describe himself as "changed". The judge said he doubted she would be able to pay the $4.8 million restitution, but said federal law required him to impose it. Michele Chambers declined to make a statement at the hearing. so make sure youre taking the right ones for you. According to Campbell, Chambers could help Ghantt execute a massive cash robbery of the vault at Loomis Fargo in one night. After loading the massive cache of loot into the armored truck, Ghantt set the time lock on the vault, which locked the door for days unless the employees drilled through the lock. I figured it had to be me. By then, the FBI had become greatly concerned for Ghantt's personal safety; they had learned that Chambers had plotted to have Ghantt killed in a murder for hire scheme using a "hit man" named Michael McKinney. Chambers would then occasionally wire Ghantt money and see to his basic financial needs; when "the heat was off," Ghantt was to re-enter the U.S. and the money would be split up among all of the co-conspirators. Chambers and his wife also made some cash payments on a few cars. U kunt uw keuzes te allen tijde wijzigen door te klikken op de links 'Privacydashboard' op onze sites en in onze apps. An elderly American couple who went missing in Greece in late January this year were discovered dead in Taygetos mountain range. Its heavy. His wife, they said, got breast implants and used cash to purchase a 1998 BMW Z3 sports car. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! However, the fact that a man who formerly lived in a mobile home was lavishly spending money on a luxury home ($635,000 in cash), expensive cars, and a ring ($42,000 in cash) eventually made it easy to connect the dots. And with that, David Ghantt took off for Mexico. The move bought him a little extra time to make his escape. Ask below and we'll reply! Finally, in March 1998, the FBI traced a call from Ghantts phone and he was arrested in Mexico. Guided by federal sentencing rules, prosecutors had requested a sentence of nine years for Michele Chambers. The Current TikTok Ban Doesnt Go Far Enough. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. I work construction. For Christmas, Steve Chambers gave his wife a $43,000 diamond ring. He was also married. Answer: The painful one is getting caught. While Ghantt waited for the heat from the robbery to die down, Chambers would send Ghantt small amounts of money. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. A: I like the 47-year-old David Ghantt more than I did the 20-something David Ghantt. 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. When Seymour Hersh Strained to Keep Up With CounterPunch, Nichole Stephens, Administrative Assistant. Fed up, exhausted, and seeing a way out, Ghantt agreed. Before he decided to steal $17 million from the bank, Ghantt had worked for years as a relatively taciturn and compliant employee. C hristopher David Ghantt Phone Numbers (704) 678-8911. Ghantt plead guilty to his charges andserved six years in prison, along with21 other defendantswho received chargesrangingfrom money laundering to bank larceny. SAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination BoardTM. Q: Do you appreciate your normal life now more than you would if you hadn't spent years in prison? Pour en savoir plus sur la faon dont nous utilisons vos donnes personnelles, veuillez consulter notre politique relative la vie prive et notre politique en matire de cookies. He and his wife, Michelle, moved from their mobile home in Lincoln County to a luxury house in the wealthy Cramer Mountain section of Cramerton. David Ghantt : I had a hard time liftin' it up. Q: You say your time in federal prison changed you. I mean, thats pretty much why I did it. David Scott Ghantt was the vault supervisor at the regional branch of Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte, North Carolina. In October of 1997, I was a vault supervisor for armored truck company Loomis Fargo, when I made off with $17.3 million. The pair began to daydream about whether they could really pull off the heist. [citation needed], It was later confirmed by the FBI that more than 88% of the stolen cash had been located or otherwise accounted for. Si vous ne souhaitez pas que nos partenaires et nousmmes utilisions des cookies et vos donnes personnelles pour ces motifs supplmentaires, cliquez sur Refuser tout. Some people screw up big like you, some people screw up small.". Most high schools offer a variety of history classes, so make sure youre taking the right ones for you. There is nothing of value in this movie. Campbell knew theyd need the help of the warehouses vault supervisor, who just happened to have a crush on her, and she called Ghantt to ask for his help. We were in Old Fortwhen they were shooting the movie and went out to eat. Hes way smarter than youd think he would be because he tends to play Bozos. 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? Retro CharlotteFBI security footage of David Ghantt in the midst of the Loomis Fargo heist. Steven Chambers, left, and David Scott Ghantt leave federal court. Ghantt, in order to conserve this money, curtailed his spending. The FBI knew they needed to make their move. 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 . We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. You have permission to edit this article. Working by himself, Ghantt would commit the robbery and then flee for Mexico, leaving the bulk of the cash with Chambers. Jimmy Carter is a Liberal Saint Now, Was a War Criminal Then. Three of the 21 defendants in the case haven't been sentenced. 1) David Ghantt is underpaid and unhappy. Here, he amps up the most obnoxious excesses of his entire cast and lets their grating bad-improv skills run amok. Project #ShowUs. During the next few months they bought a BMW-Z3 roadster and tens of thousands of dollars in antiques, furniture and decorations. It was over. 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. Now looking back, with the life I have now, Ive got a great family, got a great kid. Said Ghantt, one day life kinda slapped me in the face. A lot of people ask me, Oh, do you have any regrets? No, not really. All rights reserved. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. [1], Steven Chambers finished serving his sentence in November 2006. David Ghantt was the vault supervisor for Loomis, Fargo & Co. armored cars, which managed the transportation of large sums of cash between banks in North Carolina. David Ghantt is more than just a man who was a part of one of the worlds largest heists, he's more than a funny name associated with a comedy movie, he's actually just an every day person who once made a really bad decision. Degrowth or Debunk: Do Degrowth proponents have a strategy? . I wasnt attracted to him or anything, but he was a nice guy, Campbell said. He would eventually be arrested in Mexico in March 1998 after one of his co-conspirators put out a hit on him under the false suspicion he was the only prime suspect authorities were aware of at the time. 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. He completed his prison sentence in November 2006. Q: How do you tell prospective employers you once stole $17 million? My Proof: https://twitter.com/DavidGhantt/status/827476087596789760, My AMA time is up now, but thank you all for your participation in the Ask Me Anything session :-), New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, https://twitter.com/DavidGhantt/status/827476087596789760. Will California Save the Iconic Joshua Tree? Chambers, it turned out, became the biggest source of evidence for the FBI. An FBI criminal investigation ultimately resulted in the arrest and conviction of eight people directly involved in the heist, as well as sixteen others who had indirectly helped them, and the recovery of approximately 88% of the stolen money. If I could get far enough away in a very short amount of time, my odds of getting away with it were pretty high, Ghantt said. In the end, eight co-conspirators were indicted for the Loomis Fargo heist. 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. The odds of you actually getting away with something these days is pretty damn slim. David Ghantt was portrayed by Zackary Hatfield. Playing upon David's obvious feelings for her, Kelly is the . Investigators also found Ghantt's pickup truck, abandoned at the warehouse. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually .
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