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. 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. 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. After years of working hard, the realisation hit . One of the best ways to learn more about U.S. history is to make sure youre taking history classes. Dont come to me for a treasure map, Ill put it to you that way., Michael Sainatos writing has appeared in the Guardian, Miami Herald, Baltimore Sun, Denver Post, Buffalo News, the Hill, Alternet, and several other publications . The pair began to daydream about whether they could really pull off the heist. This article will teach you more about the SAT subject tests. She had previously been making frequent small deposits to avert suspicion. By Dustin Rowles | Film | September 30, 2016 |. 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. (I) bought jewelry, bought a van, Campbell recalled of her own spending. Si vous souhaitez personnaliser vos choix, cliquez sur Grer les paramtres de confidentialit. But even though he worked for a company that regularly moved millions of dollars, David Ghantt himself was underpaid. Fed up, exhausted, and seeing a way out, Ghantt agreed. I did get to meet him. Will Mcintyre/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesMichele Chambers 1998 BMW for sale following the prosecutions of the Loomis Fargo heist conspirators. 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. If so,check out some of these books on our AP History Exam reading list. Afterward, outside the courthouse, her parents said the length was about what she had expected. Galifianakis will play the armored car driver, David, who evades authorities, will be searching for his co-conspirators who betrayed him, Kelly (Kristen Wiig) and Steve (Owen Wilson). 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. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually . Kevin McCarthy is No Edward Snowden, But He Should Find the Comparison Flattering, Assessing Nicaraguas Long Haul toward Liberation and Economic Democracy, A National Divorce? 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. He left his wedding ring behind and spent his days spending money on luxury hotels and scuba diving. David Ghantt normally came home between 6 and 8 p.m., and often he was late, his wife said. The Loomis Fargo robbery was one of the largest heists in history, with $2 million in stolen funds still unaccounted for. After meeting up with Chambers, Campbell, and some other co-conspirators, Ghantt hightailed it to Mexico with $50,000 in cash in his car. EDITORIAL. I work construction. 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. 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. Based on a true story, the premise itself is fascinating, which makes Masterminds all the more a waste. While listening in, they uncovered another more sinister alleged plan to kill Ghantt. In addition to his phone calls with Ghantt, Chambers began extravagantly spending the money, even though the co-conspirators had agreed to lay low for a year or two. Q: You came to the North Carolina mountains during Hurricane Irma, but what do you miss about Gastonia? Als u uw keuzes wilt aanpassen, klik dan op 'Privacyinstellingen beheren'. By comparison, Ghantt served seven years in prison and was fined $26,000. Lees ons privacybeleid en cookiebeleid voor meer informatie over hoe we uw persoonsgegevens gebruiken. The missing couple were identified as David Harrison Robinson and his wife Lucretia Robinson. Inside the truck, they found Ghantt's ring and surmised this was a sign of Ghantt's intention to end his relationship with his wife. A: People are very forgiving if you're open and honest right from the start. An additional tip reached the FBI when Michelle Chambers made a large deposit at a bank. But even though he worked for a company that regularly moved millions of dollars, David Ghantt himself was underpaid. So Chambers decided to solve the problem by putting a hit on Ghantt. Its a farce that never farces; a comedy without jokes. But as Ghantt admitted, the film took some liberties with specific details and characters to make the film funnier. On Oct. 4, 1997, former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt finished his shift as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte. Day in and day out, he drives an armored vehicle,. [1], Steven Chambers finished serving his sentence in November 2006. Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy a Toyota Sienna minivan in two cash installments. The former star . He made his own self miserable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LCR9zyGkbo. The FBI (Leslie Jones, Jon Daly) made easy work of the case, however, and everyone involved was eventually arrested and imprisoned. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. A Comprehensive Guide. And so this third camera caught everything that happened next. 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. . Question: Which do you regret more, stealing the money or getting caught? Defense attorney Jim Griffin laid out his team's side of the case to the jury for more than two hours, arguing . 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. Theyre meant to be trailer-park trash, but they come off as character experiments on a bad night at the Groundlings. My name is David Scott Ghantt. The Current TikTok Ban Doesnt Go Far Enough. ABC7 Eyewitness News Watch Now Chambers promised to wire him money in Mexico until the investigation blew over and Ghantt could return to . In fact, David Ghantt was about to commit the heist of a lifetime. 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. Hes way smarter than youd think he would be because he tends to play Bozos. They left behind the cash they couldnt fit in their cars. Two of them, Mike and Kim Goodman, are scheduled to be sentenced today. Federal Judge Graham Mullen sentenced her to between those lengths. 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 stole $17 million, and Zach Galifianakis played me in a movie. 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. We were two paychecks away from being homeless at any given time.. More than 2 million dollars is still missing to this day. 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. Nous, Yahoo, faisons partie de la famille de marques Yahoo. The two struck up a friendship during work that would continue after Campbell left the company. It was over. Officers responded just after 5 a.m. Wednesday to an area near the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Carolyn Coleman Way and found , "The Wall Street Journal just so happened to have a supportive op-ed ready to publish within hours of the meeting. The FBI knew they needed to make their move. Ghantt's spending in Mexico was extravagant at first. Chambers was a small-time crook who suggested to Campbell that they rob Loomis Fargo. Chambers and his wife Michele moved out of a trailer and into a luxury mansion in a nice neighborhood. Naturally, Ghantt started to run out of cash and turned to Chambers, who was annoyed by his requests for more money. 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. Once Ghantt loaded the large haul from the vaultwhich could have been close to $20 millioninto a truck, he planned to drive to a second location, then head straight to the airport and fly to Mexico. 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. 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. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers home. Ghantt was already married when he took part in the heist, to a woman named Tammy - who author Diamant described as "very nice." It is true, however, that she had no idea about the plot and that. Ask below and we'll reply! Bubbling under the surface, however, was a deep frustration at the way he was treated. U kunt uw keuzes te allen tijde wijzigen door te klikken op de links 'Privacydashboard' op onze sites en in onze apps. 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. 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. You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or www.Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. They asked me how I felt about it and I said, Its my story, but its your movie so have at me. 5 min read. Q: Do you ever think about what your life would be like if you had gotten away with the 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. He then began loading $17 million in unmarked bills inside a company van before driving away. It's the little things like that that gnaw on you. Kate. Across the border in Mexico, Ghantt was also living it up. Within two days, the investigators found the van with $3 million in cash and the security camera tapes inside. 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. Hes a great person. He was like OK, yeah, we can do that, she recalled. Q: Do you appreciate your normal life now more than you would if you hadn't spent years in prison? CREATIVE. 29 David Ghantt Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images. He was released in 2006. 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. Before he decided to steal $17 million from the bank, Ghantt had worked for years as a relatively taciturn and compliant employee. Because Ghantt was the only employee who wasnt there that morning, he became the obvious suspect. ``I'm glad she didn't get nine years,' said Sandra Floyd, her mother. 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 defense has finished its closing argument in the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh. 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. Because the money in the vault was largely from banks, the crime was technically a bank robbery and thus a federal offense. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. After this look at David Ghantt and the Loomis Fargo heist, read about a more successful robbery, the Antwerp diamond heist. David Ghantt, a Gulf War veteran, had never been in trouble with the law. The next day, Steve and Michelle Chambers, Kelly Campbell, and four others were arrested.[6]. 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. Wyatt Redd is a freelance writer from Nashville, Tennessee. Working by himself, Ghantt would commit the robbery and then flee for Mexico, leaving the bulk of the cash with Chambers. As a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo, David had access to the vaults and all the cash within. You have permission to edit this article. But last Oct. 4, when he still hadn't gotten home by 2:30 a.m., she called his parents in. All of the defendants except for one pleaded guilty and accepted their sentences. Together with his wife, Chambers bought a new luxury home (upgrading from his mobile home), a BMW Z3, and some extravagant furnishings. Degrowth or Debunk: Do Degrowth proponents have a strategy? Zach Galifianakis played David Scott Ghantt, with other roles played byOwen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Leslie Jones, Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon. But there was just one thing the group hadnt been counting on: the massive weight of that amount of cash. David GhanttRetweeted Iraqveteran8888 @Iraqveteran8888 Dec 9, 2022 Elect me President and I'll fire everyone, free Julian Assange, and pardon Edward Snowden. It wasa painful process, but I learned to be happy with me and with what I've got. Ghantt reported to Chambers that his supply of money was running low, but Chambers sent Ghantt just $8,000. This article will teach you more about the SAT subject testsasync src='https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js' and help you decide whether you should take them. 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. The Proposed TikTok Ban Goes Too Far. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Then check out another bank robber who inspired a movie, John Wojtowicz. Eventually, Ghantt would return to the United States and the full sum would be split up between the conspirators. I wasnt attracted to him or anything, but he was a nice guy, Campbell said. And with that, David Ghantt took off for Mexico. We were in Old Fortwhen they were shooting the movie and went out to eat. I was working sometimes 75-80 hrs a week for $8.15 an hour, I didnt even have a real home life because I was never there I was working all the time and unhappy which is understandable considering how old I was at the time. 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. Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. Loomis Fargo employees could not open the vault the next morning and called the police. Until it's gone, you don't appreciate it. They kept several furnishings from the previous owners, including a painting of Elvis Presley on black velvet. His wife, they said, got breast implants and used cash to purchase a 1998 BMW Z3 sports car. David Ghantt worked as a vault supervisor for the armoured cash vehicles at the Charlotte, North Carolina branch of Loomis, Fargo & Co. Ironically even though he worked for a company that moved millions of dollars every day, he was relatively underpaid. 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. Of course, the FBI was already aware of Chambers and his free-spending ways, and the murder plot helped federal agents find Ghantt south of the border. 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. 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. Her sentence would've been ``substantially' less if she hadn't kept it, officials said. 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. Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here: PrepScholar 2013-2018. But after one visit, she asked a teller "How much can I deposit before you have to report it to the feds?" 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. Michele Chambers 1998 BMW for sale following the prosecutions of the Loomis Fargo heist conspirators. According to Campbell, Chambers could help Ghantt execute a massive cash robbery of the vault at Loomis Fargo in one night. Said Ghantt, one day life kinda slapped me in the face. Will California Save the Iconic Joshua Tree? 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. For Christmas, Steve Chambers gave his wife a $43,000 diamond ring. [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. Authorities had the receipt and had known it was missing. mesurer votre utilisation de nos sites et applications. Also charged were several innocent relatives that the robbers had enlisted to help get safety deposit boxes in various banks. Learning about US history? The pair were both from the United States but had lived in the Peloponnese region of Greece for the past few years. The problem with the movie, however, is that the talented cast had no idea what the hell they were trying to do. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. 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. Having only brought $50,000 in cash, however, Ghantt soon found himself short on funds. In 97 me and my wife were just barely scraping by, Ghantt recalled in Mondays episode. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Whisler said he didn't think those factors should result in a reduced sentence. He told me they were in the dirt business, so he didn't have to worry too much about me. At the time it was thesecond largest bank heistin U.S. history. 2023 www.gastongazette.com. 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. The True Story of David Ghantt and the Loomis Fargo Heist, Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Score, check out some of these books on our AP History Exam reading list. 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. While Ghantt spent more than 6 1/2 years in federal prison, he said he usedthat time to"re-invent" himself. 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. ``This defendant was second to Steve Chambers in (benefiting) from the crime,' he said. I got no real complaints, not at this point., The heist became the premise for the movie,Masterminds, released in September 2016. Steven Chambers, left, and David Scott Ghantt leave federal court. What ACT target score should you be aiming for? You can't get barbecue slaw in this hedonistic state (Florida), and there's nowhere to get real ice cream here like Tony's. Prosecutors also resisted Culler's efforts to downplay Michele Chambers' role in the theft. Ghantt, Chambers, and Campbell came up with the following plan: Ghantt would remain in the vault after his shift on the night of the heist, Oct. 4, 1997, and let his co-conspirators into the vault. That usually takes the shine right off of it, when you start explaining that. He continued, Youd be wearing a lot of khaki brown and eating crappy food., Since the films release and its recent Netflix debut, Scott Ghent cited that the most common question he receives is about the missing $2 million never recovered by the FBI; Ive had people actually ask me that question. Ghantt and his compatriots, it turns out, had underestimated how bulky money is. He completed his prison sentence in November 2006. So he hatched a plan to rob his employers.
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