Money'll turn your head, I don't care who you are. shes now Miss USA. I couldn't understand why I hadn't been more successful," David said. It didnt take the local police long to put the pieces together. 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. 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. This is where it starts to unravel, Ghantt tells me with a wry laugh. But I thought this is me being hard-headed Im going to ride this thing to the ground. And so thats what I did.. I flew from Atlanta to New Orleans. Steve told me to tell [David] whatever was necessary to keep him happy.". Going south, nobody really looks at what youre shipping. A week later, another informant told the FBI that Eric Payne had quit his job at a printing company soon after the heist and was spending money he probably hadn't earned legally. Her case closes in 2025. Each week, Michele deposited thousands of dollars in cash. She also must . No dry runs, no rehearsals. He had a favorite restaurant, Zandunga, which had a mariachi band each night and a view of the Caribbean. "It probably should bother me," he said. I don't want to be mean, but that's probably the dumbest thing they could do. By . "We're not the type that questions everything people tell us," Floyd said. One of them tapped him on the back. But he tried to keep his face averted, so David wouldn't be able to ID him. Note: No quotes were altered, although in some cases additional quotes were added to the questions as Ghantt expanded on his thoughts. All the while, Ghantt prepared himself for the task at hand. You can garnish wages. Ghantt: My cut was supposed to be about $5 million, but that's not what I ended up with. 2500 City West Blvd., Suite 2300 Houston, TX 77042. Too many questions remained: Where was the cash? I knew that the news wouldnt break until later that morning. Then he was driving in the darkness with a van full of cash. Truth was, David wanted more than help leaving, he wanted company. It wasnt a big hit, but Ghantt, who was played by Galifianakis, gives it a rave review. "You" has three. David, the international fugitive, lived it up, too--for a while. That was great. In real life: False. ". It wouldn't work, Kelly told him. 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. The robbery of some $17 million quickly became one of the wildest bank heists of the last quarter century. The name she gave the pup is apropos. I did every touristy thing you could possibly do while I was down there. In the meantime, the FBI was closing in looking to bust a total of 21 suspected accomplices. In real life: False. Truth be told, Ghantt had something of a crush on Campbell, and so, he told her exactly how hed pull off such a heist. He learned to parachute. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. Though David had no criminal experience, he felt he could offer expert advice: He'd just finished reading a book on the FBI. No regrets. Back then, it was one of the hotspots for hiding money. Ghantt planned to live off the interest for the rest of his life. He gave the rest to Kelly. Im on the phone with Kelly [Campbell], and Im like, Hey, I really was expecting a package to arrive. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. So much so that one suspicious neighbor called the FBI. On March 1, David Ghantt left his hotel to do some laundry. 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. This meant a bump in pay, up to $8.15 an hour. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. David complained it wasn't enough. "I was unhappy with my life. They planned to kill a man named David Ghantt, the guy who had made their extravagant new lifestyle a reality. Loomis Fargo Defendants Owe as Much as They Stole in 1997, 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. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. What made her abandon an ordinary existence to commit this spectacular, doomed crime? Why did this Charlotte engineer leave her job? and "I love money!" He told him McKinney was in Mexico to kill somebody. That October, the Chamberses' bank accounts ballooned. Before long, the FBI had wiretaps on the ringleader, Steve Chambers, and then they waited for the right time to make their arrests. In Florida, a Loomis Fargo employee had pulled a gun on his coworkers and gotten away with $18 million, a move that FBI agents theorize Ghantt, Campbell and other employees all sat around talking about - and what they would do with that amount of money - for a while. Agents noticed it two months later when it flowed to them through official channels, along with hundreds of similar reports involving other people. Key benefit components include: Health insurance plans. But in November, money ran low. They set the date, Oct. 4, a Saturday when David knew he could be alone in the building after his shift. Kelly had recently left a job driving an armored-car for Loomis, Fargo & Co. "He's the one who brought it up first," said Kelly, a year after her arrest. The figures can be astounding. About 5:30 the next morning, McKinney knocked on David's door and dropped $8,500 on the bed. 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. Called Masterminds, the 2016 film stars Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson. He drove to the edge of the Loomis compound, which was surrounded by a chain-link fence. His mobile home was nicely furnished, on eight acres with a stream in the back. Exciting. An officer rang the doorbell. Scott was so nervous, he said, that he couldn't help. Gaston County residents remember how that worked out. Where I was going was right there near the Cayman Islands. Ghantt:It's kid-friendly, it's family-friendly (the movie is rated PG-13). Few who were living in the area at the time can forget the "Velvet Elvis" painting Chambers had hanging in his mansion or the tales of cosmetic surgery, BMW convertibles and other signs of excess. "I'm glad I've grown out of that.". Time passed, and Campbell eventually quit her job at Loomis Fargo. Now worried about both the FBI and McKinney, he spent even more time alone in his room. The bash had a Cinderella theme, with a three-tiered cake that looked like a castle. They didn't know it, but they were leaving $3.3 million behind. "I was dumb," Ghantt said Wednesday, the eve before the movie hits screens nationwide. They picked me, he says with a rueful tone. It was his goodbye. Kelly, using David's cell phone, kept beeping him. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done.. Chambers went from a mobile home in Lincoln County to a mansion in Cramerton. All rights reserved. Chambers did hire McKinney to kill Ghantt, but initially McKinney was making personal cash deliveries to Ghantt in Mexico on behalf of Chambers. About the same time, Kelly and McKinney received phone calls from agents who told them to open their doors. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. It was unclear whether anyone will get that money, authorities said. 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. You might as well take it all, Ghantt tells me. Loomis employees drive the very core of our business. They entered their dogs in fights and watched them die. The phone rang: Kelly had a problem. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. To say nothing of their art purchases like the aforementioned velvet Elvis portrait and a painting of a bulldog dressed as General George S. Patton. When he walked onto the plane, he was wearing big, tall cowboy boots, where hed stuffed a majority of the smuggled cash. The FBI's final challenge is finding the remaining $2 million. More than 20 people ended up in the FBI's dragnet. One number is working in Campbells favor. There had been no signs. The others sat in their cars across the street and watched him struggle to open the heavy gate. Hes well thought-out. Question: Any contact with Steve Chambers or any of the others involved with the heist? He figured Tammy wouldn't go for it, and though his marriage had been troubled, he wasn't certain he wanted to leave her. He and his wife, Tammy, lived in a mobile home in Kings Mountain, N.C. Money was always tight. You see, there's a reason Loomis Fargo used armored cars to move large amounts of cash. 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. When Chambers and the two Erics were done loading the stolen millions into barrels, they abandoned the van in the woods. I was just going to get the money into the van. CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Kelly Campbell, the woman who helped plan the $17 million robbery of armored-car company Loomis, Fargo was sentenced yesterday to nearly six years in prison and ordered to pay back more than $4 million. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. Not Ghantt. Copyright 2022 TheAssociated Press. There were times when I drank really heavily.". He couldn't even bear to stick around for the final tally--though when he left he didn't forget to take $6,000, the first cut of his expected $100,000 share. . On Feb. 27, agents listened in on a call from David to Kelly and learned David's location in Mexico. Steve told her to send David to Atlanta on a bus and drive back to the trailer. 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. So he got in a cab and went to a mall. I just want people to go to the movies and have a good laugh, even if it's at my expense. I would call us friends. Is he telling the truth? So he and some friends decided at the end of his Oct. 4 shift he would load a company van with more than 2,000 pounds of cash and just drive away. He went deep-sea fishing. "Love" has four. Ghantt was missing and no one, not even his wife, knew where he was. He recalled that another agent, Phil King, said, "Hey, there was an article in the [Charlotte] Observer about beeper codes. That's the kind of movie they wanted to make. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. Then, I started loading the van., Money, when bound in bulk and stacked in canvas bags, is heavier than you might expect. On his way out, he grabbed the surveillance video, hoping to cover his tracks. Michele received the best gift of the night. At first, I just blended in with the tourists and picked up a few translation books, Ghantt explains. She also assured the teller her cash wasn't drug money. David, now 30, says he's sorry he abandoned his wife--who he says still loves him--and his family. 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. Zaron Burnett is an investigative journalist and longform features writer based in Los Angeles. Steve had already paid McKinney $50,000 for the use of his ID. . They loaded the wine cellar with Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Steve hung a velvet portrait of Elvis Presley in the basement. We spoke to the FBI agents who investigated the case who say the real-life. Then, on a mid-September day, as he reviewed a credit card bill, David did some math. In real life: Mostly true. In early September 1997, Kelly found herself chatting on the phone with a friend who still worked at Loomis, a 27-year-old man who, despite being married, had made no secret of the fact that he had a crush on her. Now that Kelly believes she has found Jesus, she has become more analytical about her past. Campbell, a mother of two, was in the process of divorcing her. At 6-1 and 220 pounds, Steve was stocky and imposing, a fast talker with a brown goatee. 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. The teller, who hadn't asked, filed a "suspicious activity report." Thatd be the time to do it, Ghantt recalls. When McKinney realized Ghantt was wanted for the Loomis Fargo robbery, he backed off personally because he didnt want to be anywhere near a federal investigation. 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. It was late in 1996. (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. Question: You went to Mexico. I wanted to make a drastic change and I went for it," Ghantt said. David told her he'd need help moving the money, getting a new ID and leaving the country. He rewarded Robert with $3,000 and vowed never to meet McKinney alone. The Chambers, however, didnt fit in with the other members of the gated community. CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM 1998 and ACTORS IN MOVIE. Kelly says she underestimated the value of her life before the heist. Ghantt ultimately agreed to the plan, largely, due to a mountain of credit-card debt and in hopes of changing his life for the better. First, they loaded the cash into blue 55-gallon barrels, and then they moved the barrels into a rental van. I told them, Take it, box it up, and youll be able to ship it to me in Mexico. Back in the 1990s, you couldve probably boxed up a hot pink elephant and shipped it to Mexico; no one wouldve ever noticed. I mean, it was dark, Ghantt explains. The last time he called me, he said, Hey Ghantt, I just saw a big Loomis Fargo truck. 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. "I felt that if I didn't do something, I was going to snap," David said. She was a wife and mother with two children. This time, David told McKinney the truth. The bizarre true story of the criminals behind the second-largest bank heist in American history. The cash was covered with dog food. Tickle Me Kaczynski: How the Inventor of the Ultimate Elmo Toy Became a Unabomber Suspect, A Highly Questionable Cultural History of Richard Geres Ass Gerbil. Things started to go south the night of the robbery. They decorated their 6,000-square-foot stucco house with antiques, paintings and statues, including a six-foot wooden Indian that Michele had bought for $600. Loomis Armored Shreveport, LA, 1124 Forum Dr, Shreveport, LA, USA Shreveport, LA, USA Req #1990. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. 27 febrero, 2023 . Our Benefits. Steve bought a truck, a Rolex and a motorboat. Scott Grant and Steve pulled up next to her in a Mazda. I can take it.". Ghantt was in fact hiding out in Mexico using McKinneys I.D., which had been sold to Chambers months earlier. . David thought about it. . The next week, they heard Steve plan to send Mike McKinney to Mexico to kill David Ghantt. Its hilarious. "I said, 'Yeah, sure.' You might as well go all the way now.". But as soon as he drove off, I went right back in and opened the vault. She could visit friends. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. She will never get beyond the debt. He placed stacks of currency on a cart and wheeled it to the van about 15 feet away, inside the building. She'd heard his stories of other successful schemes, like getting refunds on phony tax returns, or operating a loan shark business. 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. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. "I've learned that I'm a fortunate man," he said. What purpose does that serve other than to denigrate that person into abject poverty?. Theres no management around. She was like, Well, at least you had guts, he says. It was the first Saturday in October. Steve was sentenced to 11 years 3 months in prison. He covers culture, politics, race, and other perplexing mysteries for MEL. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. Ghantt was never in Chamberss presence until he actually handed off the money to him. Thatd probably been the best thing for me to do, really. About 200 keys dangled from it. But former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt can. She could spend time with her children and parents. 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the year that everything happened 1997. Actor Owen Wilson plays him in the movie, which includes the real names of all the major players. Were others involved? 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. . When neighbors asked where they got their money, Steve said hed played in the NFL. 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. The FBI was also surveilling Kelly Campbell and followed her to a pay phone that she used to place calls to Mexico. Ghantt:I've always known that story had potential to be a comedy or a drama. I'd probably change jobs. In the first days after the arrests, agents recovered or accounted for all but about $2 million of the stolen money. . Military + Veterans. Federal prosecutors would ultimately charge 21 defendants in the case, including the Floyds, who were charged with (and pleaded guilty to) money laundering. On his second trip, Steve gave McKinney David's hotel address. In real life: False. Health savings account and flexible spending account. "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. He flew in an ultra-light plane. Dependent care account. Meanwhile, Steve was keeping a close eye on Kelly. In real life: Yes and no. His collection case closes in two years. He was also a former FBI informant who had tipped the bureau off to a planned robbery of a Loomis Fargo armored truck that never came to fruition. Before David left for the airport, he had handed Scott an eight-inch key ring. That was pretty awesome., It felt like a dream vacation until he started running out of money. 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. He hated his job, with its 12-hour shifts. Not until David was gone did Scott realize he didn't know which key to use. They cursed. "Think of how many women would have stood by. Steve had another conversation with Kelly about killing David. [Kelly] told me, 'Just think about it.' I had a four-hour layover there, and then from New Orleans to Cancun.. Steve and Michele invited everyone back for a Christmas party, where they gave Michele's stepfather a special gift--the pickup truck he'd always wanted. 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. This real-life crime is the core of "Untitled Armored Car Project," which stars Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson and Kristen Wiig. I think I always knew that, but lost my way for a while.". I didnt pick the heist team. Inside were, along with other personal items, his keys and wedding ring. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. Zach always plays that bumbling kind of lunatic, but hes not, Ghantt says. He partied, met women, drank, skied and hung out at the beach. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) _ A woman who helped plan the $17 million robbery of armored car company Loomis, Fargo & Co. was sentenced Tuesday to nearly six years in prison and ordered to pay back more than $4 million. 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. Question: Are you happy that Wilkesboro-nativeZach Galifianakis plays you in the movie? She could walk under the trees, with the chickens and goats and dogs that live around her mobile home. And though she had been made night shift supervisor at Allied Security, she still felt she would never make the money she needed. Michele told her mother she and Steve had been saving gambling winnings for the down payment. 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. On the radio, the "John Boy and Billy" show played the song "Take the Money and Run. 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. David was excited, jabbering about their future together. ", "Even then . ", "I said, 'If you drive a truck, you're always in a financial bind. Stay informed daily on the latest news and advice on COVID-19 from the editors at U.S. News & World Report. Speaking of his co-defendants, Ghantt says hes not currently in contact with any of them. Exhibit A was that Steve had no steady job but plenty of cash. He longed for the middle-class lifestyle of his childhood, with its private religious-school education and Disney World vacations. We got to the end of the day, and he was acting like he wanted to linger. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist (No Ratings Yet) . I learned something that was valuable at the time: Most criminals never leave a 250, maybe 300-mile circle from their home base. 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. 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. . Ghantt ended up doing more than five years in prison, Chambers did more than 11 years. Meanwhile, Michele Chambers was laughing and saying, repeatedly, "Look at all this money!" Until, that is, he decided to hell with it he was going to pull-off the second largest heist in U.S. history. Hes very articulate. "A lot of people out there had it worse than me, but . Our success depends on our team members, and that's why it's important for us to offer an employee benefits program that is not only extremely comprehensive but also one of the best in the industry. 1997 Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycle for sale at auction of items bought after Loomis, Fargo armored car facility heist by Steven Chambers, wife Michele, Kelly Jane Campbell & David Scott Ghanntt (Photo by Will And Deni McIntyre/Getty Images)