Now one of the most wanted men in America with the FBI hot on his heels, Ghantt must figure out how to get his money, get away from a hit man, and get even. He hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. It all seemed unfair. He allegedly hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later David Scott Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. His eyes widened and he stopped breathing as he realized that something as mundane as a malfunctioning gate might ruin their entire plan. "its a great readsuspenseful, often funny, just the thing for those wondering what it might feel like to have, as these hapless, small-town criminals did, literally too darn much cash lying around. " Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. At that point, Kelly and David had known each other for two years. In 1994, they moved to Gastonia, North Carolina, where they had grown up, and David took a job driving a forklift. Chambers had told Campbell to do whatever she needed to do to get Ghantt to commit the robbery. David said he needed Kelly to drive to Loomis before the theft that night to remove a duffel bag from his parked pickup truck. That way, outsiders couldn't see money being loaded. Some of that money is just gone. Former Loomis employee David Scott Ghantt is accused of stealing the money. I actually loved reading through this post. He has a regular life now, but 25 years ago, Ghantt was the mastermind behind the third-largest bank robbery in U.S. history. They could talk about anything, even topics he couldn't discuss with his wife. David placed their odds of success at 85 percent, a confidence inspired by faith not just in his planning but also in his feelings for Kelly. Later that year, he saw a newspaper ad for a job at Loomis Fargo. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. You can have your whole career and not have a case like that. The participants in the heist also spent lavishly on fancy jewelry, fancy cars and breast enhancement surgeries. Its a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I went down and talked to them, got to meet Zach Galifianakis and the director, Ghantt said. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. Probably very egotistical of me, I thought, Yeah, sure, I can beat them, theyre college smart and thats about it, Ghantt said. There are many robberies registered in the history of America, but the Loomis Fargo Robbery is known to be the second largest robbery in the United States. Theres no way to get it back,, And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. ", Johnson said, "Yeah, that's it. After hanging up on her, David returned to work. However, Chambers had no intention of following those rules, believing the FBI would never connect him to Ghantt. He angrily hung up the phone at Loomis, Fargo & Co., his soon-to-be former employer in Charlotte, North Carolina. What purpose does that serve other than to denigrate that person into abject poverty?. 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. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. He knew it would mean leaving Tammy. The reason David didn't know Steve's last name was so they couldn't identify each other to the police or FBI, should cops or G-men ever enter the picture. Ghantt didnt know the full extent of what was happening back home -- how that lay low plan turned into a flurry of extravagant spending. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. Outside of 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. Thirty years! David and Steve had never met, but Steve had already secured somebody else's birth certificate and social security card for him and given it to Kelly to pass along. Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy aToyota Siennaminivanin two cash installments. He was the only employee unaccounted for the next morning, and videotapes recovered at the Loomis Fargo Charlotte office showed Ghantt removing cubes of cash and loading it into a Loomis Fargo armored van for over an hour. We went on a mission to calculate exactly how much size-wise the money was, $11.3 million in $20 bills, and it weighed over 2,000 pounds, former FBI agent John Wydra said. It was the second-largest. Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. All of the defendants are out of prison -- the longest sentence was 11 years. 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. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. But you cant get blood from a stone,, Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. Soon thereafter, he met Kelly Campbell, a co-worker at Loomis Fargo. The defendants received sentences ranging from probation for several relatives to over 11 years in federal prison for Steve Chambers. Friends of Campbell had also begun spending large amounts of cash. Inside the truck, they found Ghantts ring and surmised this as a sign of Ghantts intention to end his relationship with his wife. "Don't double-cross us," the woman on the phone told David Ghantt. uncanny, eerie, unnatural, preternatural, supernatural, unearthly, other-worldly, unreal, ghostly, mysterious, mystifying, strange, abnormal, unusual. The figures can be astounding. Some of the biggest numbers remaining on the Loomis collection board, as is the case with Campbell, belong to those who played the biggest role in the crime: - David Ghantt, the Loomis employee who loaded all that money 2,800 pounds in all into the back of a company van before escaping to Mexico, has paid just under $50,000 of the $3.81 million he was assessed. Sure enough, she called a few days later, around September 16. of violence, racism, anti-Semitism, or Who all wanted a Rambo movie which explored his time training as a green beret and his time serving in Vietnam as a prequel to first blood WATCH Antebellum 2020 FULL MOVIE. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. And then I realized that a lot of people knew who I was and they had followed the case.. Also charged with money laundering were innocent relatives and friends who had co-signed safe deposit boxes. In Campbells case, Gronquist says his client was buried in court-ordered debt despite the fact that she took responsibility for what she had done and cooperated with prosecutors and the FBI. So they went to Mexico and arrested Ghantt in order to protect him. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth., White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money,, Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with., She will never get beyond the debt. As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to edit or After discussing his job, his marriage, and his everyday struggles, they joked about Loomis and about how easy it would be to steal from the place. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. Later, they also arrested Nathans older brother. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. It's still the hot topic . personal/abusive/condescending attacks on other users or goading In August 1997, Campbell informed Ghantt about an old high school friend of hers named Steve Chambers, who could assist Ghantt to execute a massive cash robbery of the Loomis Fargo vault in one night. More than half of the amount came from the seizure of a luxury home purchased by husband-and-wife defendants during their post-heist spending spree. He quickly found out when you have money, you just have different problems, Wydra said. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Copyright The Nashua Telegraph | https://www.nashuatelegraph.com | 110 Main St, Ste 1, Nashua, NH 03060 | 603-882-2741, Loomis Fargo defendants owe as much as they stole in 1997, Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. Their most important conversation occurred one afternoon in August 1997 after Kelly paged him at work. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done. The bigger the amount, however, the bigger the damages to victims that likely will never be repaid: Amy Paynes collection account was closed in 2020 with her having paid $53,000 of the $274,000 she owed. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. The robbery was committed by David Scott Ghantt who was the vault supervisor and accomplices Kelly Campbell, Steve Chambers, Michelle Chambers, Michael Gobies, and other four members. None of the suspects had been in any serious trouble before this. In March 1997, after Loomis Fargo & Company has been robbed of $18.8 million in Jacksonville by company security guard Philip Noel Johnson, Steve Eugene Chambers and Kelly Campbell, a former employee of Loomis, decides to rob the company. Not all of them, but some of them are going to forgive you, theyre going to overlook it., he said. 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. These (Loomis) guys, not so much.. The next day, before Mike was able to leave the country, the FBI arrested him in his hotel room. He also stole both existing sets of vault keys and hurried into the manager's office, where three TV security screens and two VCRs were visible. David was supposed to be showing him the ropes of the job, which included cash pickups and deliveries. What it does is put a ball and chain on that person for the rest of their lives, they are walking around and they are basically an indentured servant, Gronquist said. The unsolved crime mystery of Marilyn Sheppard. How many people have walked the red carpet at a movie premiere in a case that was yours?. They knew Steve Chambers had worked as an informant in the past, and were nervous he would smell out an undercover. He even had to watch what he bought at the grocery store. He would then have the bulk of his share sent south of the border. He had since served time in prison for the crime and told our sister station WSOC-TV Channel 9s Glenn Counts he learned a valuable lesson while behind bars. The site features a collection of unexplained, strange and odd mysteries. In the first couple of weeks, they had heard both Steve and Shelley bragging about their new-found fortune, and spending remarkable amounts of money. In Campbells case, Gronquist says his client was buried in court-ordered debt despite the fact that she took responsibility for what she had done and cooperated with prosecutors and the FBI. He played high school football at Mays High School in Atlanta, and college football at Georgia Tech . Its in the ether. Breakdown by congressional district, States' push to define sex decried as erasing trans people, North Carolina Supreme Court hears felony voting rights case, North Carolina House GOP modifies rules on veto overrides, N. 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Carolina House GOP again modifies rules on veto overrides, Murdoch says some Fox hosts 'endorsed' false election claims, Havelock officials warn public about alligator near Walmart, Cape Carteret buys new utility vehicle to aid in picking up litter, New taxi, shuttle business seeks license to operate in Morehead City, Report: Navy ships face growing maintenance delays, costs, Fisheries division to survey for-hire watermen, National Enquirer, ensnared in catch-and-kill is sold. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. The FBI heard about the plot and agents knew they could no longer wait. Investigators considered Ghantt to be the prime suspect almost from the beginning. Once they were in custody, the overwhelming task of clearing out possessions possibly purchased with the stolen money began. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. The case had gotten national publicity and was the subject of numerous articles, documentaries and even a movie. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. And after two years, the case is just a file. This technically made it abank robbery afederal offense. "For the first year after a crime," he told her, "they're all over you, with six to ten agents. The figures can be astounding. He is a graduate of Yale and has worked for the Connecticut Post, the Associated Press, and the Palm Beach Post. Of course, this would all be a radical departure for him, and thoughts of his wife and parents did give him pause. For example, Steve Chambers and his wife were living in a trailer and upgraded to what would today be a multi-million-dollar mansion at Cramer Mountain. He and his wife, Michele, moved from theirmobile homeinLincoln Countyto a luxury house in the wealthy Cramer Mountain section ofCramerton. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. The phone calls began to get more intense when Steve and Eric got suspicious of a man who was running hismouth about them and the vault job over in Charlotte. But that only tells part of the story. Though much of the cash was already stacked on pushcarts in the vault, other stacks were on shelves or the floor, and they were heavy. "I've got a friend," she said, "who can hook you up with a new ID.". He was a hard worker, smart enough, and had graduated from high school. He also took various measures to change his appearance, such asshaving, after a patron at a restaurant pointed out to him that he looked like the man who robbed a bank of $20 million.. Tips had led the FBI to begin monitoring Chambers (and his wifes) activities, but it was not until the FBIrecorded a phone callfrom Ghantt in Mexico that the final connection was made. As a child, he had preferred reading to playing sports, and he would say, as an adult, that although he couldn't have told you "who was on first," he knew as a kid who the Egyptian god of the dead was. They also found several stacks of money with Loomis bands still attached throughout all the homes searched. Although the FBI investigation was able to quickly connect Ghantt to Campbell, connecting Ghantt to Chambers was a more difficult task. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. Many of the lesser players in the conspiracy have been the most effective in paying their debts. David and Kelly had driven to Rock Hill, South Carolina, and used the documents to obtain a fake ID that David would also rely on after the theft. Some of the biggest numbers remaining on the Loomis collection board, as is the case with Campbell, belong to those who played the biggest role in the crime: David Ghantt, the Loomis employee who loaded all that money 2,800 pounds in all into the back of a company van before escaping to Mexico, has paid just under $50,000 of the $3.81 million he was assessed. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. "I'm busy," he said. The plan was for Ghantt to commit the actual robbery and then quickly leave the country forMexico but to leave the bulk of the cash with Chambers. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. This website uses cookies and some data tracking to improve your experience and serve adverts, We assume you're ok with this, you can opt-out if you wish. "I was unhappy with my life. Updated: 11:31 AM EDT October 4, 2022 CHARLOTTE, N.C. Tuesday is the 25th anniversary of the infamous Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte, where a bank worker, with the help of two accomplices,. They swept the surrounding counties, locating Kelly Campbell and Eric Payne in their homes. Javascript is not enabled in your browser. She was five-foot-seven, had dirty-blond hair, and had worked with him for about a year at Loomis Fargo, until she left for another job in 1996. Many of the lesser players in the conspiracy have been the most effective in paying their debts. It all went down in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the man at the center of that heist, David Scott Ghantt, now lives in Jacksonville. The plan was to exit through the building's electronic back gate, which consisted of horizontal metal plates that opened at the touch of a button. Unexplained Mysteries and Strange Things,Cool Interesting stuff has been online since early 2011. Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter. Chambers had no intention of wiring any money to Ghantt and intended to have him killed to keep him from implicating the others. She had previously been making frequent small deposits to avert suspicion. While Ghantt waited for the heat from the robbery to die down, Chambers would send Ghantt small amounts of money. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done.'. shaka wear graphic tees is candy digital publicly traded ellen lawson wife of ted lawson real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist 25 Feb/23 (No Ratings Yet) The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. Agents raided safe deposit boxes, where they recovered more than $11 million. To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. Its like, me and you sat down, I have access to pie, you like pie, all I want is my share of the pie. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. true story that has captivated American audiences on the news and now on the big screen in the major motion picture, Masterminds. Well she was a pretty happy-go-lucky person, he said. Ghantt studied how to rob his employer and advised the others not to spend the money lavishly. In total, 24 people were convicted and all but one of the accused pleaded guilty. After marrying Tammy in 1992, he worked fueling airplanes at the airport in Hilton Head, South Carolina. She will never get beyond the debt. He could even be famous, perhaps joining the ranks of legendary master thieves. Of course the problem was, the money belonged to someone else. He put on his best pair of jeans, a button-down shirt, and his nicest cowboy boots. Worlds Biggest Heists London Hatton Garden 200m Diamond Robbery, Easter 2015. Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. Ghantt said he believes in redemption, and that his mistake 25 years ago brought him all the things that are important in his life today. To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. Authorities were notified of the robbery in the morning, when employees couldnt open the vault. A third surveillance tape was carelessly left behind, and the company was able to identify the man who robbed the vault as David Ghantt. In all, agents arrested 24 people in the heist. (LogOut/ Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. You can seize property. On the evening ofOctober 4, 1997, the Loomis Fargo & Co branch in Charlotte, North Carolina was in the process of being plundered. 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. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. The strange story of Mary Reeser Spontaneous Human Combustion. A few of the Loomis restitution cases have already been closed either because the amount was paid in full or because the 20-year clock wound down. Jim Gronquist was Campbells defense attorney. The theft at the time the second-largest cash robbery in U.S. history has been the brunt of mocking movies and books, mostly on how the thieves, who had little money to begin with, could not control their spending habits once they did. Growing up, David's family went to Disney World, sent him to religious school, and shopped at places he couldn't afford as a self-supporting adult. Now, at 7:45 p.m., with all the money finally inside the van, his aching muscles could take a breather. The theft at the time the second-largest cash robbery in U.S. history has been the brunt of mocking movies and books, mostly on how the thieves, who had little money to begin with, could not control their spending habits once they did. EDITORIAL: Computer Science misses the need for digital literacy, N. Carolina legislators announce Medicaid expansion deal, EDITORIAL: Fighting political forces that sever family ties, Special-use to get overhaul: Commissioners, planners take a look, Cape Carteret seeking new police chief one month after hiring New Bern resident for post, How many in North Carolina are awaiting student loan debt relief? Pink, Mr. Blue, Mr. Orange, Mr. Blonde. He and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. Spunk. That movie, Masterminds, was filmed in 2014. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Sunny. Enabling JavaScript in your browser will allow you to experience all the features of our site. High around 65F. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. These (Loomis) guys, not so much.. 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. 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. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) During one overnight shift, a bumbling conspiracy of thieves just west of Charlotte stole more than $17 million from Loomis Fargo. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. There was no reason to leave anything, he felt. 2023 Cox Media Group. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. When I put that cash in the back of the car, by the time I got to the office the whole car smelled like that. The bizarre true story of the criminals behind the second-largest bank heist in American history. Another name the FBI had become very interested in is Eric Payne. He added that he would be able to send the trainee home at about 6:00 p.m. and would then need about an hour to load the money from carts, shelves, and the floor into a Loomis company van. It should have been easy, but for some reason the gate didn't open for him. Thomas Grant, who served three years in prison for bank larceny, paid off restitution of $70,000; brother Eric Grant paid all of his $26,000; as did David Craig, $40,000; and Dennis and Sandra Floyd; $27,000. Tuesday marked 25 years since a group of buddies pulled off the third-largest money grab in U.S. history -- the Loomis Fargo heist. be blocked or permanently banned without warning. David told Kelly they would have to control themselves and not spend the money too quickly, because the FBI could electronically trace a suspect's recent spending activity through bank papers, credit card records, and land transactions.

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