The additions come as KFC recently removed some menu items, including wings, popcorn chicken and cookies, to make room for new additions. But even though he worked for a company that regularly moved millions of dollars, David Ghantt himself was underpaid. Then Michele made a trip to the bank. (I) bought jewelry, bought a van, Campbell recalled of her own spending. Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here: PrepScholar 2013-2018. 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. Als u uw keuzes wilt aanpassen, klik dan op 'Privacyinstellingen beheren'. The missing couple were identified as David Harrison Robinson and his wife Lucretia Robinson. Authorities said they hired a man named Michael McKinney to meet up with Ghantt and kill him, under the guise that he was planning to give Ghantt more of the money he was owed. As Predators' David Poile braces for retirement, his wife reveals their love story. Before he decided to steal $17 million from the bank, Ghantt had worked for years as a relatively taciturn and compliant employee. Everybody thinks being famous and being an actor is stupendous, and the money is fantastic, but they kind of live in afish bowl. ``This defendant was second to Steve Chambers in (benefiting) from the crime,' he said. Loomis Fargo employees could not open the vault the next morning and called the police. At the time it was the second largest cash robbery ever to happen on US soil. 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. 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. Campbell and Chambers made themselves easy to catch, what with their lavish spending. And with that, David Ghantt took off for Mexico. 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. Bubbling under the surface, however, was a deep frustration at the way he was treated. Ghantt @ChristyGhantt Dec 7, 2022 I just entered the @clxgaming Ra PC Giveaway! In 97 me and my wife were just barely scraping by, Ghantt recalled in Mondays episode. Playing upon David's obvious feelings for her, Kelly is the . Based on a true story, the premise itself is fascinating, which makes Masterminds all the more a waste. Wyatt Redd is a freelance writer from Nashville, Tennessee. The problem with the movie, however, is that the talented cast had no idea what the hell they were trying to do. Culler acknowledged that she had overheard her husband and co-defendant Kelly Campbell talk about the plan, ``but she thought it was fantasy world.'. The pair were both from the United States but had lived in the Peloponnese region of Greece for the past few years. 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]. From Oct. 6 through Feb. 20, the couple made 47 deposits totaling $271,500 at a Belmont bank, and at. 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. The Loomis Fargo heist became something of a media lightning rod. 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. And Ghantt hadnt really thought about the physical challenge of moving such a large sum of money. 121 90 1,443 Show this thread David GhanttRetweeted C.A. 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. Ghantt believed the new employee would make a good replacement for his wife, but the feelings were not necessarily reciprocated. More than 2 million dollars is still missing to this day. 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. While making only eight dollars an hour in his role as supervisor, Ghantt decided it was time to do something: I was unhappy with my life. While listening in, they uncovered another more sinister alleged plan to kill Ghantt. [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. Campbell was receptive and brought the idea up to Ghantt. 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. Ghantt has never explained where that money went. An elderly American couple who went missing in Greece in late January this year were discovered dead in Taygetos mountain range. The FBI continues to search for a missing $2 million from the theft. Its 90-minutes of mugging for the camera, but the only people who feel mugged are those that pay to see Masterminds. The true crime behind Asheville-based Galifianakis film One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. AMA In October of 1997, I was a vault supervisor for armored truck company Loomis Fargo, when I made off with $17.3 million. Sarah Hartsfield: Brother of David Bragg killed by Chambers County To find out more about how the thieves got caught and how long they landed behind bars, tune in the Super Heists on CNBC on Monday at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Thirteen friends and family members were also charged with money laundering, as they had helped Ghantt, Chambers, Campbell, and the others deposit money illegally. David Ghantt And The Loomis Fargo Heist: The Outrageous True Story In November 1990, David married Margaret in San Diego, California. We caught up with David Ghantt about life after his $17m heist, hanging out with Zach Galifianakis and the accuracy of Masterminds, a new movie based on. The former star . [citation needed], The defendants were the targets of many barbed jokes in Charlotte and across the country, in part because of their extravagant spending. Its gone! David Ghantt was portrayed by Zackary Hatfield. The real story behind the second largest bank heist in history, which . They would then load as much cash as they could carry into a van. I didnt even know about it and overlooked it, he said. Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. 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 he hatched a plan to rob his employers. David Ghantt (Zach Galifianakis), an employee of Loomis Fargo, robbed his own vault, left the $17.3 million in cash with his co-conspirators, Kelly Campbell (Kristen Wiig) and Steve Chambers (Owen Wilson) and fled the country to Mexico. $17.3 million in cash was robbed from the Charlotte, North Carolina, regional office vault of Loomis, Fargo & Co. on the evening of October 4, 1997. Defense lawyer Andy Culler sought a seven-year, three-month sentence. . You can cancel at any time. Whisler told the judge that the couple had searched for a new house before the theft, and that Michele Chambers bought rubber bands from Wal-Mart to count the money the night of the crime. But of course, then they had to decorate that spectacular new space and so they spent tens of thousands of dollars on things like cigar store Indians, paintings of Elvis, and a bulldog dressed up like George Patton. Chambers and his wife Michele moved out of a trailer and into a luxury mansion in a nice neighborhood. As it turns out, the heist did in fact go as well as you might expect. The True Story of David Ghantt and the Loomis Fargo Heist - PrepScholar An additional tip reached the FBI when Michelle Chambers made a large deposit at a bank. Question: Which do you regret more, stealing the money or getting caught? The Current TikTok Ban Doesnt Go Far Enough. When the cheerleading coach broke the news to Katrina Kohel that she was the only one left on the cheer squad, Kohel was determined to compete anyway. hbspt.cta.load(360031, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05', {}); Have any questions about this article or other topics? The brother of a man killed by a woman now charged with murder in Chambers County said he sees similarities in his brother's case and the case of woman's latest husband's death. Though she agreed to cooperate with the government when she pleaded guilty to bank larceny and money laundering in August 1998, Michele Chambers didn't tell the FBI she still had the ring until December, when she turned it in. Day in and day out, he drives an armored vehicle,. After finding himself in prison he made a concious choice to do things differently. Its a farce that never farces; a comedy without jokes. They asked me how I felt about it and I said, Its my story, but its your movie so have at me. He told me they were in the dirt business, so he didn't have to worry too much about me. Ghantt and his compatriots, it turns out, had underestimated how bulky money is. Three of the 21 defendants in the case haven't been sentenced. [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]. [citation needed], It was later confirmed by the FBI that more than 88% of the stolen cash had been located or otherwise accounted for. David Ghantt Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images While Ghantt spent more than 6 1/2 years in federal prison, he said he usedthat time to"re-invent" himself. Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy a Toyota Sienna minivan in two cash installments. Her husband, Steve Chambers, whom prosecutors have called the main defendant, began serving an 11-year sentence earlier this year. Michelle Chambers received a harsher sentence than Ghantt seven years and eight months because she had violated several bond conditions. David Ghantt (@DavidGhantt) / Twitter FBI security footage of David Ghantt in the midst of the Loomis Fargo heist. Ghantt, who had been with the bank since 1994, was promoted from driver to vault supervisor in 1997, where he earned $360 a week and befriended Kelly Campbell (Wiig), who got Ghantt mixed up in the plans for the heist after she left Loomis. 'When you have money, you just have different problems': The Loomis Do you still have contact with him? I stole $17 million, and Zach Galifianakis played me in a movie. However, the FBI knew immediately who robbed the vault (Ghant was seen on video camera), and it didnt take long for the FBI to loop in Kelly Campbell. David Ghantt discovers the true meaning of adventure far beyond his wildest dreams. I wanted to make a drastic change and I went for it, Ghantt remembered later to the Gaston Gazette. Going to prison helped me grow up as a human being. I knew that if we could stay off the radar for about a year, we could basically live a vacation life, Ghantt said. Even though they drove away with less than they had initially intended, they still had more than $17 million in hand. Thats the big thing. Ask questions; get answers. But thanks in part to the film, the outlandish story of David Ghannt and the Loomis Fargo heist will surely live on for years to come. Ghantts wife was reportedly nothing like the bizarre, robotic fiance character in the film, for instance. 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. 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. Als u niet wilt dat wij en onze partners cookies en persoonsgegevens voor deze aanvullende doeleinden gebruiken, klik dan op 'Alles weigeren'. Guided by federal sentencing rules, prosecutors had requested a sentence of nine years for Michele Chambers. CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM MASTERMIND MOVIE. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually . It was nearly the perfect crime, but while Ghantt fled to Mexico to lay low, his partners lavish spendingand their own alleged plans for murderwould ultimately be the groups demise. 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. Ghantt was joking in the breakroom with fellow Loomis Fargo employee Kelly Campbell. By Dustin Rowles | Film | September 30, 2016 |. 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. Two days after the heist, the FBI found the missing van with $3.3 million of cash left in it. Ghantt added, I really enjoyed the movie. David Ghantt And The Ridiculous Loomis Fargo Heist 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. I felt cornered and one day the joking in the break room about robbing the place suddenly didnt seem so far-fetched.. 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. In spite of Chambers assurance that the money was, you know, totally not illegally acquired, the teller remained suspicious, especially because the stacks of cash still had Loomis Fargo wrappers on them. In 2020, the television show Super Heists portrayed the heist in Episode 3, "Van Full of Dollars". 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. David Ghantt | World Record Holder and Mastermind I learned that I was an a--hole. All of the cash from the Loomis Fargo heist was recovered or accounted for, except for $2 million. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. If you can see the obvious flaw in this plan, namely that Chambers would have no reason whatsoever to actually wire Ghantt any money, then congratulations. Some of the friends and family members received parole, while Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. I knew that if I did something like that, I would take a huge amount of money, Ghantt said of the brash robbery on an upcoming episode of, To find out more about how the thieves got caught and how long they landed behind bars, tune in the. Anonymous tips had the FBI monitoring Chambers calls. Creative Insights. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers home. Two days later, when the FBI found the Loomis Fargo armored van, they discovered almost $3.3 million in cash left in the back of the van; it was later discovered that the thieves had miscalculated the sheer bulk of the small denomination currency, and that they simply left the cash that they could not take with them in the back of the van. 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. Until it's gone, you don't appreciate it. Then check out another bank robber who inspired a movie, John Wojtowicz. LRM Exclusive Interview: David Ghantt, Real Life Thief Who Inspired Q: You say your time in federal prison changed you. The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points, How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer. This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 16:45. Harper Beckham Attends Paris Fashion Week & Looks So Grown Up 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 $17 million in untraceable bills in 1997. Will Mcintyre/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images. As Campbell would later explain, If David got killed, there couldnt be any finger pointing. 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. Zach Galifianakis played David Scott Ghantt, with other roles played byOwen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Leslie Jones, Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon. After his release, Ghantt took a job as a construction worker and was eventually brought on as a consultant for the 2016 movie Masterminds, based on the Loomis Fargo Heist. 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. Its heavy. Ghantt reported to Chambers that his supply of money was running low, but Chambers sent Ghantt just $8,000. David Ghantt on stealing 17 million dollars from Loomis Fargo (Crime Lees ons privacybeleid en cookiebeleid voor meer informatie over hoe we uw persoonsgegevens gebruiken. If you're trying to make yourself better today, that's all most people care about. 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. David GhanttRetweeted Iraqveteran8888 @Iraqveteran8888 Dec 9, 2022 Elect me President and I'll fire everyone, free Julian Assange, and pardon Edward Snowden. They also bought a BMW Z3 with cash and made several large purchases, including a $600 cigar store Indian. He made his own self miserable. But there was just one thing the group hadnt been counting on: the massive weight of that amount of cash. CREATIVE. 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. Former Cramerton Police Chief David Young soon got wind of the Chambers excessive spending spree and reached out to the FBI. U kunt uw keuzes te allen tijde wijzigen door te klikken op de links 'Privacydashboard' op onze sites en in onze apps. All rights reserved. 'Masterminds' Review - The Hollywood Reporter 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.". We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. David Bowie 's widow recently took to Instagram to post selfies, while promoting both her makeup brand and fashion line. 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. 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 . Steve Chambers and his wife (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) were a little more difficult to connect to the heist. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Then you end up in a eight by ten cube and youre going to share that cube with two other people. Now looking back, with the life I have now, Ive got a great family, got a great kid. Within two days, the investigators found the van with $3 million in cash and the security camera tapes inside. In February 2009 the Associated Press reported that Chambers had chosen to describe himself as "changed". After meeting up with Chambers, Campbell, and some other co-conspirators, Ghantt hightailed it to Mexico with $50,000 in cash in his car. Ghantt plead guilty to his charges andserved six years in prison, along with21 other defendantswho received chargesrangingfrom money laundering to bank larceny. Here, he amps up the most obnoxious excesses of his entire cast and lets their grating bad-improv skills run amok. David Ghantt was a nuisance to Steve Chambers and Kelly Campbell, John Wydra, a retired FBI agent who handled the case, told Super Heists.. Also charged were several innocent relatives that the robbers had enlisted to help get safety deposit boxes in various banks. (Ghantt works as a heavy machine operator in the construction industry.). When Seymour Hersh Strained to Keep Up With CounterPunch, Nichole Stephens, Administrative Assistant. BBC Motion Gallery. Q: Do you ever think about what your life would be like if you had gotten away with the money? You've decided to give up on a part of your life. The chief running joke in Masterminds is the Prince Valiant 'do gamely sported by Galifianakis as David Ghantt, . Learning about US history? What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For? 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. Masterminds | On-set visit with Zach Galifianakis '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. what is david ghantt doing now 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. 2023 www.gastongazette.com. With the plan in place, Ghantt sent a newly employed co-worker home early (reportedly at 6 p.m) who had been assigned to train with him. Michele Chambers 1998 BMW for sale following the prosecutions of the Loomis Fargo heist conspirators. The thieves had simply abandoned whatever they couldnt carry away. They got to work planning the straightforward heist that would rely on Ghantts existing access to the vault, fewer staff at the warehouse on the weekends, and the ability to use one of the companys armored trucks to make the successful getaway. Investigators also found Ghantt's pickup truck, abandoned at the warehouse. That 3-carat ring came back to haunt Michele Chambers at Tuesday's hearing. Even the outtakes during the credits are bad. In the end, eight co-conspirators were indicted for the Loomis Fargo heist. As he later recalled about his life before the 1997 heist that changed his life forever: Prior to, I would have never even considered it but one day life kinda slapped me in the face. Some people screw up big like you, some people screw up small.". When Ghantt called Chambers to have the latter wire him more money, Chambers sent just a few thousand dollars. Chambers was always considered the "mastermind" behind the theft, but he doesn't talkmuch about his Loomis heist days, not even when actor Owen Wilson portrayed him in the 2016comedy about the heist titled"Masterminds.". On the night of October 4, the plan went into action. Authorities began to hone in on the group and put a wire tap on Campbell's phones. Most high schools offer a variety of history classes, so make sure youre taking the right ones for you. You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or www.Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba. 1) David Ghantt is underpaid and unhappy. Authorities had the receipt and had known it was missing. In addition to her work for PrepScholar, Hayley is the author of Museum Hack's Guide to History's Fiercest Females. Naturally, Ghantt started to run out of cash and turned to Chambers, who was annoyed by his requests for more money. 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. I knew that if I did something like that, I would take a huge amount of money, Ghantt said of the brash robbery on an upcoming episode of CNBCs Super Heists, airing Monday at 10 p.m. Ghantt, a U.S. Army veteran, was living a relatively boring life working as the vault superintendent at a Loomis Fargo armored car warehouse just outside Charlotte, North Carolina making a relatively meager paycheck, when he crossed paths with Kelly Campbell.