We were in Old Fortwhen they were shooting the movie and went out to eat. Kate. ``I'm glad she didn't get nine years,' said Sandra Floyd, her mother. 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. The Current TikTok Ban Doesnt Go Far Enough. Elizabeth Poile was in 10th . The FBI (Leslie Jones, Jon Daly) made easy work of the case, however, and everyone involved was eventually arrested and imprisoned. 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. Masterminds is an atrociously bad comedy, and absolutely everyone is to blame. 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. Answer: The painful one is getting caught. 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. Now looking back, with the life I have now, Ive got a great family, got a great kid. Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. Chambers, his wife, and several of their accomplices were arrested the next day. All rights reserved. He left his wedding ring behind and spent his days spending money on luxury hotels and scuba diving. ABC7 Eyewitness News Watch Now But before thehit could be carried out, the FBI swooped in and arrested Ghantt and the others. All of the defendants except for one pleaded guilty and accepted their sentences. 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. And, with the help of several others David made off with $17.3 million dollars, 11 million of which was in 20's. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. David Ghantt discovers the true meaning of adventure far beyond his wildest dreams. Ghantt and his compatriots, it turns out, had underestimated how bulky money is. Chambers had no intention of following those rules, believing the FBI would never connect him to Ghantt. Based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery. . AI Chatbots are Even Scarier Than You Think, DeSantiss Educational Policies Come Right Out of the Fascist Playbook, Erase the Memory to Erase a People? Because the money in the vault was largely from banks, the crime was technically a bank robbery and thus a federal offense. [citation needed], It was later confirmed by the FBI that more than 88% of the stolen cash had been located or otherwise accounted for. In 97 me and my wife were just barely scraping by, Ghantt recalled in Mondays episode. The FBI investigation was aided by the gang's extravagant spending. 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. [1], Steven Chambers finished serving his sentence in November 2006. They would then load as much cash as they could carry into a van. 5 min read. so make sure youre taking the right ones for you. [15], "David Ghantt" redirects here. 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. Guess what? What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For? 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. Back then all I really wanted to do was just, I wanted to change my life. As a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo, David had access to the vaults and all the cash within. afficher des publicits et des contenus personnaliss en fonction de vos profils de centres dintrt; mesurer lefficacit des publicits et contenus personnaliss; et. As it turns out, the heist did in fact go as well as you might expect. Over the years many of his social . Michele Chambers 1998 BMW for sale following the prosecutions of the Loomis Fargo heist conspirators. At the time it was the second largest cash robbery ever to happen on US soil. Instead, the two started hanging out on the beach together and became friends. 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. In the meantime, however, Chambers not only refused to wire money to Ghantt in Mexico, but ultimately hired a hitman (Jason Sudeikis) to take him out. AMA In October of 1997, I was a vault supervisor for armored truck company Loomis Fargo, when I made off with $17.3 million. After years of working hard, the realisation hit . A: Zach and I have a runningtext conversation going, but he's very busy. Authorities had the receipt and had known it was missing. 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 realized a lot of things that were wrong with me as a person. He then began loading $17 million in unmarked bills inside a company van before driving away. David Ghantt, a Gulf War veteran, had never been in trouble with the law. On similar grounds, four other people were ultimately also charged with money laundering. Als u niet wilt dat wij en onze partners cookies en persoonsgegevens voor deze aanvullende doeleinden gebruiken, klik dan op 'Alles weigeren'. Will California Save the Iconic Joshua Tree? The problem with the movie, however, is that the talented cast had no idea what the hell they were trying to do. 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. Thirteen friends and family members were also charged with money laundering, as they had helped Ghantt, Chambers, Campbell, and the others deposit money illegally. 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. 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. At the time it was thesecond largest bank heistin U.S. history. 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. dvelopper et amliorer nos produits et services. Q: North Carolina native Zach Galifianakis portrayed you in "Masterminds." How? ", After successfully tracing Ghantt's phone call, FBI agents coordinated with Mexican police to arrest Ghantt on March 1, 1998, at Playa del Carmen, a city near Cancun. Guided by federal sentencing rules, prosecutors had requested a sentence of nine years for Michele Chambers. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. Investigators also found Ghantt's pickup truck, abandoned at the warehouse. An elderly American couple who went missing in Greece in late January this year were discovered dead in Taygetos mountain range. On Oct. 4, 1997, former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt finished his shift as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte. The two struck up a friendship during work that would continue after Campbell left the company. I stole $17 million, and Zach Galifianakis played me in a movie. his wife-to-be. I learned that I was an a--hole. 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. 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. Here, he amps up the most obnoxious excesses of his entire cast and lets their grating bad-improv skills run amok. Bubbling under the surface, however, was a deep frustration at the way he was treated. A: When I first got in, I thought, "What in my life has led me to this?" Hes way smarter than youd think he would be because he tends to play Bozos. Ghantt was. 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. He was like OK, yeah, we can do that, she recalled. 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. Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com, allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. Naturally, Ghantt started to run out of cash and turned to Chambers, who was annoyed by his requests for more money. The FBI continues to search for a missing $2 million from the theft. David Ghantt normally came home between 6 and 8 p.m., and often he was late, his wife said. 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. As Campbell would later explain, If David got killed, there couldnt be any finger pointing. This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 16:45. He is an uncomplicated man stuck in a monotonous life. ', He explained the glorification and glamour often associated with bank heists and bank robberies in Hollywood films is far from reality. Thats the big thing. He had stayed in a luxury hotel and paid for expensive food and activities such as scuba diving and parasailing. Across the border in Mexico, Ghantt was also living it up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LCR9zyGkbo. 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A: I'm in dire need for some RO's barbecue and some Tony's Ice Cream. Q: Do you appreciate your normal life now more than you would if you hadn't spent years in prison? 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.. After this look at David Ghantt and the Loomis Fargo heist, read about a more successful robbery, the Antwerp diamond heist. The pair began to daydream about whether they could really pull off the heist. Q: Your troubles were self-inflicted, but you seem happy. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. 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 . Lees ons privacybeleid en cookiebeleid voor meer informatie over hoe we uw persoonsgegevens gebruiken. 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. 43-year-old Margret and her mother both died in 2012 . 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 next day, Steve and Michelle Chambers, Kelly Campbell, and four others were arrested.[6]. The move bought him a little extra time to make his escape. 2023 www.gastongazette.com. Until it's gone, you don't appreciate it. David Scott Ghantt: Vault Supervisor David Scott Ghantt was the vault supervisor at the regional branch of Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte, North Carolina. It's the little things like that that gnaw on you. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Q: You say your time in federal prison changed you. The pair were both from the United States but had lived in the Peloponnese region of Greece for the past few years. 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. They took a lot of liberty with the story here and there. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers home. Too bad it was so poorly planned. He also took various measures to change his appearance, such as shaving, after a patron at a restaurant pointed out to him that he "looked like the man who robbed a bank of $20 million. Then you end up in a eight by ten cube and youre going to share that cube with two other people. Creative Insights. Not only was Ghantt the only unaccounted for employee the morning after the heist, there was also footage of Ghantt moving the cash into the back of the Loomis Fargo van. 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. Wyatt Redd is a freelance writer from Nashville, Tennessee. 4 million images and real time event coverage from coast to coast , ImageCollect is the only celebrity photo site you'll ever need. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Whisler said he didn't think those factors should result in a reduced sentence. Its 90-minutes of mugging for the camera, but the only people who feel mugged are those that pay to see Masterminds. 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? His wife, they said, got breast implants and used cash to purchase a 1998 BMW Z3 sports car. If so,check out some of these books on our AP History Exam reading list. Steven Chambers, left, and David Scott Ghantt leave federal court. 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. They left behind the cash they couldnt fit in their cars. On March 1, 1988, Mexican police arrested Ghantt at Playa del Carmen. And so this third camera caught everything that happened next. When Ghantt called Chambers to have the latter wire him more money, Chambers sent just a few thousand dollars. Degrowth or Debunk: Do Degrowth proponents have a strategy? 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. 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. David Ghantt was portrayed by Zackary Hatfield. 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. While she made small deposits at first, she became more reckless, eventually making a deposit of thousands of dollars in cash, telling the teller not to worry: Its not drug money.. He was also married. Even the outtakes during the credits are bad. From the beginning, the FBIs prime suspect was David Ghantt. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. All of the cash from the Loomis Fargo heist was recovered or accounted for, except for $2 million. She wondered how much she could deposit without attracting the attention of the FBI, so she decided to just ask the teller: How much can I deposit before you have to report it to the feds? she asked. I knew it was over then, Ghantt said. ", The much-faster-than-expected economic recovery thats followed the easing of the coronavirus pandemic has produced several encouraging develo. Then check out another bank robber who inspired a movie, John Wojtowicz. Playing upon David's obvious feelings for her, Kelly is the . 33. Ghantt and seven others eventually pleaded guilty in federal court to charges directly related to one of the largest cash heists in history while more than a dozen other family members, friends and associates of those involved in the theft were found guilty of related charges, including money laundering. 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. David Bowie 's widow recently took to Instagram to post selfies, while promoting both her makeup brand and fashion line. You take a movie like Oceans Eleven, the whole concept of that movie is so farfetched, its not even funny. The additions come as KFC recently removed some menu items, including wings, popcorn chicken and cookies, to make room for new additions. 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. The Election, U.S. Foreign Policy, And Harold Pinter's 2005 Nobel Lecture, Nate Parker on Rape Allegations: 'I Don't Feel Guilty'. Most high schools offer a variety of history classes, so make sure youre taking the right ones for you. ``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. Im like, You need to understand that, that money has been missing for 20 years. 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. In November 1990, David married Margaret in San Diego, California. Director Jared Hess Writers Chris Bowman (screenplay) Hubbel Palmer (screenplay) Emily Spivey (screenplay) Stars Zach Galifianakis Kristen Wiig Owen Wilson 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. Campbellwho was married herselfrepresented something new and exciting. The painful part is that when you get caught, that the part of your brain that was trying to talk to you when you first started the robbery was right, and that's like a dump truck running over you. U kunt uw keuzes te allen tijde wijzigen door te klikken op de links 'Privacydashboard' op onze sites en in onze apps.