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. I was working all the time and unhappy I felt cornered and one day the joking in the break room about robbing the place suddenly didnt seem so far-fetched.. 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. But before thehit could be carried out, the FBI swooped in and arrested Ghantt and the others. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba. (Ghantt works as a heavy machine operator in the construction industry.). That 3-carat ring came back to haunt Michele Chambers at Tuesday's hearing. We were in Old Fortwhen they were shooting the movie and went out to eat. [1], Steven Chambers finished serving his sentence in November 2006. The problem with the movie, however, is that the talented cast had no idea what the hell they were trying to do. He and his wife,. The FBI investigation was aided by the gang's extravagant spending. With a cast like this, and Emily Spivey (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Up All Night) as part of the writing team, Masterminds shouldnt be nearly as obnoxious and dull as it is, but nothing ever clicks. David Ghantt : [voice-over] Steve was a petty thief, mostly known for stealing tiny wheelchairs from pediatric hospitals. As Predators' David Poile braces for retirement, his wife reveals their love story. Eventually, Ghantt called in from Mexico, seeking more money, and the FBI officially recognized Chambers as a co-conspirator. CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM MASTERMIND MOVIE. ``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. 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. Thats the big thing. Before he decided to steal $17 million from the bank, Ghantt had worked for years as a relatively taciturn and compliant employee. BBC Motion Gallery. They left behind the cash they couldnt fit in their cars. After a Gulf War stint in the Army, David got married in 1992. I knew it was over then, Ghantt said. [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. A lot of people ask me, Oh, do you have any regrets? No, not really. Dont worry, its not drug money.. I got no real complaints, not at this point., The heist became the premise for the movie,Masterminds, released in September 2016. Day in and day out, he drives an armored vehicle,. 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. Unfortunately, he failed to disable the third camera. The additions come as KFC recently removed some menu items, including wings, popcorn chicken and cookies, to make room for new additions. You can't get barbecue slaw in this hedonistic state (Florida), and there's nowhere to get real ice cream here like Tony's. Ask below and we'll reply! But there was just one thing the group hadnt been counting on: the massive weight of that amount of cash. After finding himself in prison he made a concious choice to do things differently. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually . While Ghantt spent more than 6 1/2 years in federal prison, he said he usedthat time to"re-invent" himself. Will Mcintyre/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesMichele Chambers 1998 BMW for sale following the prosecutions of the Loomis Fargo heist conspirators. 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. 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.. Ghantt, now 29, was a tall, decorated Persian Gulf War veteran whom early newspaper reports likened to Huckleberry Finn. Steve Chambers and his wife (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) were a little more difficult to connect to the heist. Chambers, his wife, and several of their accomplices were arrested the next day. David Ghantt was a nuisance to Steve Chambers and Kelly Campbell, John Wydra, a retired FBI agent who handled the case, told Super Heists.. Campbell left her job in the summer of 1997, but she would later use Ghantts feelings for her to her own advantage to get him to agree to carry out the multi-million-dollar heist. Chambers, who made an ill-fated decision to buy a home in the gated Cramer Mountain community with his newfound wealth, now runsa gym on Lowell-Bethesda Road. Although the history of the predecessor Wells Fargo & Company dates back to 1852, Loomis Fargo & Company was established in 1997 by the consolidation of Wells Fargo Armored Service and Loomis Armored Inc.; the resulting corporation employed 8,500 people and provided armored transportation, cash handling services, and automatic teller machine maintenance. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! A former co-worker told me, "Everybody has screwed up. He then began loading $17 million in unmarked bills inside a company van before driving away. I really don't miss that guy. As it turns out, the heist did in fact go as well as you might expect. 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]. 33. During the next few months they bought a BMW-Z3 roadster and tens of thousands of dollars in antiques, furniture and decorations. All rights reserved. Follow him on twitter: @MSainat1, 20 Years Later: Masterminds of One of the Largest Bank Heists in U.S. History, The CIAs Changing Take on the Climate Emergency, Emancipation, Hollywoods Best Civil War Film Ever. 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. Hes way smarter than youd think he would be because he tends to play Bozos. They kept several furnishings from the previous owners, including a painting of Elvis Presley on black velvet. Q: Your troubles were self-inflicted, but you seem happy. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Its kind of out of sight, out of mind, she said of the reasoning. She had previously been making frequent small deposits to avert suspicion. Outside the building, Ghantt met up with Campbell, Chambers, and others who were involved in the plot, and drove off to a printing business called Reynolds & Reynolds in northwest Charlotte. But neither of those things would matter after he met Kelly Campbell. 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. The College Entrance Examination BoardTM does not endorse, nor is it affiliated in any way with the owner or any content of this site. Then check out another bank robber who inspired a movie, John Wojtowicz. I knew that if we could stay off the radar for about a year, we could basically live a vacation life, Ghantt said. . During the hearing, Culler recounted his client's difficult personal life: her parents' divorce when she was 2 or 3 years old; a teenage stay in a Baptist Children's home; a teenage pregnancy; and various medical conditions. An elderly American couple who went missing in Greece in late January this year were discovered dead in Taygetos mountain range. The next day, Steve and Michelle Chambers, Kelly Campbell, and four others were arrested.[6]. Question: Which do you regret more, stealing the money or getting caught? 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. The only defendant to not plead guilty, Chambers's attorney Jeff Guller, was found guilty of money laundering and sentenced to eight years in prison. A: When you're locked up, you live in an 8-by-10 box and you share that with two other people. 2023 www.gastongazette.com. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! He completed his prison sentence in November 2006. 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. 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. 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. 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. [citation needed], The defendants were the targets of many barbed jokes in Charlotte and across the country, in part because of their extravagant spending. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. And, with the help of several others David made off with $17.3 million dollars, 11 million of which was in 20's. [15], "David Ghantt" redirects here. And it didn't take long to figure out that this was not the place for me. Masterminds - Zach Galifianakis 'David Ghantt' [On-Set Interview]SUBSCRIBE HERE: http://goo.gl/SrrTlTSUBSCRIBE MOVIE TRAILERS: http://goo.gl/8WxGeDA night gu. David Ghantt discovers the true meaning of adventure far beyond his wildest dreams. In October of 1997, I was a vault supervisor for armored truck company Loomis Fargo, when I made off with $17.3 million. Its 90-minutes of mugging for the camera, but the only people who feel mugged are those that pay to see Masterminds. Project #ShowUs. Once the hitman Chambers had hired arrived in Mexico, he found that he couldnt bring himself to kill Ghantt. Having only brought $50,000 in cash, however, Ghantt soon found himself short on funds. Once the heat was off, Ghantt would return and they would split the haul evenly. Investigators considered Ghantt to be the prime suspect almost from the beginning. For Christmas, Steve Chambers gave his wife a $43,000 diamond ring. He had never been in trouble with the law. 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. The defense has finished its closing argument in the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh. By Dustin Rowles | Film | September 30, 2016 |. 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Her husband, Steve Chambers, whom prosecutors have called the main defendant, began serving an 11-year sentence earlier this year. 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. Her sentence would've been ``substantially' less if she hadn't kept it, officials said. Its 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 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. 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 . If so,check out some of these books on our AP History Exam reading list. In the end, eight co-conspirators were indicted for the Loomis Fargo heist. By comparison, Ghantt served seven years in prison and was fined $26,000. As Campbell would later explain, If David got killed, there couldnt be any finger pointing. It wasa painful process, but I learned to be happy with me and with what I've got. According to Campbell, Chambers could help Ghantt execute a massive cash robbery of the vault at Loomis Fargo in one night. Ghantt and his compatriots, it turns out, had underestimated how bulky money is. He told me they were in the dirt business, so he didn't have to worry too much about me. Meanwhile, David Ghantt was relaxing on a beach in Cozumel, Mexico. A: I'm in dire need for some RO's barbecue and some Tony's Ice Cream. Victoria Beckham's family were on hand as she debuted her latest collection at Paris Fashion Week on March 3, including her and husband David Beckham's oldest child, Brooklyn Beckham . The pair were both from the United States but had lived in the Peloponnese region of Greece for the past few years. Said Ghantt, one day life kinda slapped me in the face. Campbellwho was married herselfrepresented something new and exciting. He then proceeded to load about $17.3 million in cash (approximately $11 million of which was in $20 bills) into the back of a company van. Als u uw keuzes wilt aanpassen, klik dan op 'Privacyinstellingen beheren'. He was like OK, yeah, we can do that, she recalled. The chief running joke in Masterminds is the Prince Valiant 'do gamely sported by Galifianakis as David Ghantt, . Because the money in the vault was largely from banks, the crime was technically a bank robbery and thus a federal offense. Theres barely a laugh in the entire film, which looks like it was shot entirely in one take while the actors were still working out their characters. On the evening of October 4, 1997, one man loaded $17.3 million in cash from the vaults of Loomis, Fargo & Co. into the back of a van. his wife-to-be. Across the border in Mexico, Ghantt was also living it up. The Proposed TikTok Ban Goes Too Far. [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]. David Ghantt normally came home between 6 and 8 p.m., and often he was late, his wife said. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. After meeting up with Chambers, Campbell, and some other co-conspirators, Ghantt hightailed it to Mexico with $50,000 in cash in his car. . Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy a Toyota Sienna minivan in two cash installments. Based on a true story, the premise itself is fascinating, which makes Masterminds all the more a waste. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. Ghantt plead guilty to his charges andserved six years in prison, along with21 other defendantswho received chargesrangingfrom money laundering to bank larceny. Some of the friends and family members received parole, while Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. Based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery. On Oct. 4, Ghantt sent home the employee he was training and disabled two security cameras near the vault in preparation for the heist. The FBI quickly connected Ghantt to Campbell, who was a former Loomis Fargo employee. dvelopper et amliorer nos produits et services. Ghantt reported to Chambers that his supply of money was running low, but Chambers sent Ghantt just $8,000. Its a farce that never farces; a comedy without jokes. Here, he amps up the most obnoxious excesses of his entire cast and lets their grating bad-improv skills run amok. Former Cramerton Police Chief David Young soon got wind of the Chambers excessive spending spree and reached out to the FBI. The next day, the Chambers, Campbell, and some other notable parties were arrested in Charlotte. On March 1, 1988, Mexican police arrested Ghantt at Playa del Carmen. Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com, allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. It was over. ", The much-faster-than-expected economic recovery thats followed the easing of the coronavirus pandemic has produced several encouraging develo. A Comprehensive Guide. At the time it was thesecond largest bank heistin U.S. history. No rift here! 4 million images and real time event coverage from coast to coast , ImageCollect is the only celebrity photo site you'll ever need. The connection to Chambers took more time. Did you know that the SAT offers subject exams, too? Custom Content. The odds of you actually getting away with something these days is pretty damn slim. 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: You came to the North Carolina mountains during Hurricane Irma, but what do you miss about Gastonia? [7][8], Rocket Science, a 1998 double-disc album by Charlotte-based radio personalities John Boy & Billy, includes a track ("Marvin: The Loomis Caper") mocking the defendants. The Election, U.S. Foreign Policy, And Harold Pinter's 2005 Nobel Lecture, Nate Parker on Rape Allegations: 'I Don't Feel Guilty'. Of course, I went on a spending spree. Where ever it was, it is long gone now. 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. Both were involved in the second-largest cash heist in U.S. history, in which a group of people stole $17 million from the. ``I wish she'd gotten less. 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. The couple was married for 22 years before her untimely death in 2012. David Scott Ghantt was the vault supervisor at the regional branch of Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte, North Carolina. 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. On Oct. 4, 1997, former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt finished his shift as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte. 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 .
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