Defense lawyer Andy Culler sought a seven-year, three-month sentence. 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. Q: North Carolina native Zach Galifianakis portrayed you in "Masterminds." He was insecure. The next day, the Chambers, Campbell, and some other notable parties were arrested in Charlotte. By then, the FBI had become greatly concerned for Ghantt's personal safety; they had learned that Chambers had plotted to have Ghantt killed in a murder for hire scheme using a "hit man" named Michael McKinney. Thats the big thing. After meeting up with Chambers, Campbell, and some other co-conspirators, Ghantt hightailed it to Mexico with $50,000 in cash in his car. Chambers wife, Michelle, bought a minivan in cash and began taking frequent trips to the bank to make deposits. Generally, the events of the film are fairly close to reality when they follow the broad details of the case. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. Follow him on twitter: @MSainat1, 20 Years Later: Masterminds of One of the Largest Bank Heists in U.S. History, The CIAs Changing Take on the Climate Emergency, Emancipation, Hollywoods Best Civil War Film Ever. The plan was for Ghantt to commit the robbery and then quickly leave the country for Mexico but to leave the bulk of the cash with Chambers. Based on a true story, the premise itself is fascinating, which makes Masterminds all the more a waste. 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At the time it was thesecond largest bank heistin U.S. history. When asked what the dumbest thing was that Ghantt spent money on, he admitted: The 4 pairs of boots I bought in one day [shrug] what can I say they were nice and I was impulse shopping.. What ACT target score should you be aiming for? While Ghantt spent more than 6 1/2 years in federal prison, he said he usedthat time to"re-invent" himself. Instead, the bandits just started throwing as much money as they could into the van until they couldnt fit anymore. ``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. 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. In fact, David Ghantt was about to commit the heist of a lifetime. The FBI knew they needed to make their move. 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. Then check out another bank robber who inspired a movie, John Wojtowicz. David Scott Ghantt: Vault Supervisor David Scott Ghantt was the vault supervisor at the regional branch of Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte, North Carolina. I did get to meet him. I got to eat my meal perfectly, but every 5 minutes, someone wanted to shoot a selfie with Zach or an autograph from Zach. It was over. Si vous souhaitez personnaliser vos choix, cliquez sur Grer les paramtres de confidentialit. Federal Judge Graham Mullen sentenced her to between those lengths. An elderly American couple who went missing in Greece in late January this year were discovered dead in Taygetos mountain range. David Bragg . 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. 33. 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 there was just one thing the group hadnt been counting on: the massive weight of that amount of cash. Theyre meant to be trailer-park trash, but they come off as character experiments on a bad night at the Groundlings. Jandice : In any case, we got to talkin' afterwards, and I thought, well, that one's dead, this one's alive. Ghantt was joking in the breakroom with fellow Loomis Fargo employee Kelly Campbell. 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. 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. Elizabeth Poile was in 10th . The plan went off with few problems, but after Ghantt was safely in Mexico, his partners were left storing large amounts of cash. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. Fed up, exhausted, and seeing a way out, Ghantt agreed. The couple was married for 22 years before her untimely death in 2012. Michele Chambers declined to make a statement at the hearing. Three of the 21 defendants in the case haven't been sentenced. 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. Until it's gone, you don't appreciate it. But before thehit could be carried out, the FBI swooped in and arrested Ghantt and the others. Ghantt was the vault manager. Finally, in March 1998, the FBI traced a call from Ghantts phone and he was arrested in Mexico. Authorities began to hone in on the group and put a wire tap on Campbell's phones. You can't get barbecue slaw in this hedonistic state (Florida), and there's nowhere to get real ice cream here like Tony's. [15], "David Ghantt" redirects here. ', He explained the glorification and glamour often associated with bank heists and bank robberies in Hollywood films is far from reality. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. 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. Q: Do you ever think about what your life would be like if you had gotten away with the money? Thats going to be your life for quite some time, typically. He made his own self miserable. dvelopper et amliorer nos produits et services. When the rest of the Loomis Fargo employees showed up the next morning and found that they couldnt open the vault, they called the police. If so,check out some of these books on our AP History Exam reading list. Hayley Milliman is a former teacher turned writer who blogs about education, history, and technology. David GhanttRetweeted Iraqveteran8888 @Iraqveteran8888 Dec 9, 2022 Elect me President and I'll fire everyone, free Julian Assange, and pardon Edward Snowden. In February 2009 the Associated Press reported that Chambers had chosen to describe himself as "changed". Ghantt @ChristyGhantt Dec 7, 2022 I just entered the @clxgaming Ra PC Giveaway! They also bought a BMW Z3 with cash and made several large purchases, including a $600 cigar store Indian. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba. Si vous ne souhaitez pas que nos partenaires et nousmmes utilisions des cookies et vos donnes personnelles pour ces motifs supplmentaires, cliquez sur Refuser tout. But after one visit, she asked a teller "How much can I deposit before you have to report it to the feds?" The odds of you actually getting away with something these days is pretty damn slim. [citation needed], The defendants were the targets of many barbed jokes in Charlotte and across the country, in part because of their extravagant spending. 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. Director Jared Hess Writers Chris Bowman (screenplay) Hubbel Palmer (screenplay) Emily Spivey (screenplay) Stars Zach Galifianakis Kristen Wiig Owen Wilson This article will teach you more about the SAT subject tests. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers home. 5 min read. Q: Your troubles were self-inflicted, but you seem happy. He was angry a lot. Chambers, it turned out, became the biggest source of evidence for the FBI. Its easy to get somebody to do something if you know that they are that infatuated with you.. Its about the 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery also known as the hillbillly heist the second largest cash robbery in the history of the United States. She had previously been making frequent small deposits to avert suspicion. Across the border in Mexico, Ghantt was also living it up. 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. hbspt.cta.load(360031, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05', {}); Have any questions about this article or other topics? Back then all I really wanted to do was just, I wanted to change my life. 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. The FBI (Leslie Jones, Jon Daly) made easy work of the case, however, and everyone involved was eventually arrested and imprisoned. Will California Save the Iconic Joshua Tree? David Ghantt was portrayed by Zackary Hatfield. 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. Guess what? Nous, Yahoo, faisons partie de la famille de marques Yahoo. Chambers would hold on to most of the remaining cash and wire it to Ghantt as needed. 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. Chambers was a small-time crook who suggested to Campbell that they rob Loomis Fargo. Now looking back, with the life I have now, Ive got a great family, got a great kid. So Chambers decided to solve the problem by putting a hit on Ghantt. Learning about US history? 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. 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. And so this third camera caught everything that happened next. 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. David Ghantt was a nuisance to Steve Chambers and Kelly Campbell, John Wydra, a retired FBI agent who handled the case, told Super Heists.. Then, keeping with the plan, Ghantt took $50,000 (the maximum that could by law be taken across the border without further authorization) with him and left for Mexico, winding up at the popular Yucatan Peninsula resort-island of Cozumel. An additional tip reached the FBI when Michelle Chambers made a large deposit at a bank. Custom Content. Playing upon David's obvious feelings for her, Kelly is the . Ghantt was. Get the latest articles and test prep tips! Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! 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. 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. I learned that I was an a--hole. Als u niet wilt dat wij en onze partners cookies en persoonsgegevens voor deze aanvullende doeleinden gebruiken, klik dan op 'Alles weigeren'. In 2020, the television show Super Heists portrayed the heist in Episode 3, "Van Full of Dollars". Lindy Hop: The Dance That Defined The Golden Age of Jazz, Inside The Unsolved Disappearance Of Jennifer Kesse, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, David Ghantt attends the 2016 after party for the Hollywood premiere of. My name is David Scott Ghantt. Ghantt reported to Chambers that his supply of money was running low, but Chambers sent Ghantt just $8,000. Ghantt sent home a new employee and quickly loaded the money into the back of a bank van. so make sure youre taking the right ones for you. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. afficher des publicits et des contenus personnaliss en fonction de vos profils de centres dintrt; mesurer lefficacit des publicits et contenus personnaliss; et. Ghantt believed the new employee would make a good replacement for his wife, but the feelings were not necessarily reciprocated. 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. The scary one is stealing the money. A: I'm in dire need for some RO's barbecue and some Tony's Ice Cream. As it turns out, the heist did in fact go as well as you might expect. 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. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. I started just chucking it as fast as I could, he said, adding the sweat was pouring off of me.. And it didn't take long to figure out that this was not the place for me. 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.". C hristopher David Ghantt Phone Numbers (704) 678-8911. ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score, How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League, Is the ACT easier than the SAT? I think Zachs a hell of an actor. At the. Project #ShowUs. When I interviewed for this job about three years ago, I told (my boss) that I had some dirt in my background, and if he went digging for it, he would find it. 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.". 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. You've decided to give up on a part of your life. But as Ghantt admitted, the film took some liberties with specific details and characters to make the film funnier. Ask questions; get answers. From the beginning, the FBIs prime suspect was David Ghantt. A: I like the 47-year-old David Ghantt more than I did the 20-something David Ghantt. mesurer votre utilisation de nos sites et applications. Degrowth or Debunk: Do Degrowth proponents have a strategy? Please subscribe to keep reading. Its 90-minutes of mugging for the camera, but the only people who feel mugged are those that pay to see Masterminds. The FBI quickly connected Ghantt to Campbell, who was a former Loomis Fargo employee. 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, his wife, and several of their accomplices were arrested the next day. After this look at David Ghantt and the Loomis Fargo heist, read about a more successful robbery, the Antwerp diamond heist. As Campbell would later explain, If David got killed, there couldnt be any finger pointing. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. 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. [1] Tips had led the FBI to begin monitoring Chambers's (and his wife's) activities, but it was not until the FBI recorded a phone call from Ghantt in Mexico that the final connection was made. So he hatched a plan to rob his employers. 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. Pocketing $50,000 for himself, that man, named David Ghantt, hopped into a car of his own and headed towards Mexico. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Eventually, Ghantt would return to the United States and the full sum would be split up between the conspirators. Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. A: When you're locked up, you live in an 8-by-10 box and you share that with two other people. 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. He then began loading $17 million in unmarked bills inside a company van before driving away. Working by himself, Ghantt would commit the robbery and then flee for Mexico, leaving the bulk of the cash with Chambers. 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. CREATIVE. We were in Old Fortwhen they were shooting the movie and went out to eat. 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. It's the little things like that that gnaw on you. A movie based on the heist starring Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones and directed by Jared Hess (the guy who made Napoleon Dynamite) is out now on Blu-ray and DVD. David Scott Ghantt was the vault supervisor at the regional branch of Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte, North Carolina. The move bought him a little extra time to make his escape. 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. Anonymous tips had the FBI monitoring Chambers calls. By comparison, Ghantt served seven years in prison and was fined $26,000. At the time it was the second largest cash robbery ever to happen on US soil. Ghantt and his compatriots, it turns out, had underestimated how bulky money is. Culler acknowledged that she had overheard her husband and co-defendant Kelly Campbell talk about the plan, ``but she thought it was fantasy world.'. But even though he worked for a company that regularly moved millions of dollars, David Ghantt himself was underpaid. And, with the help of several others David made off with $17.3 million dollars, 11 million of which was in 20's. The additions come as KFC recently removed some menu items, including wings, popcorn chicken and cookies, to make room for new additions. What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For? 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. Ghantts accomplices soon showed up but now they had another problem. And with that, David Ghantt took off for Mexico. They took a lot of liberty with the story here and there. A Comprehensive Guide. 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. ", The much-faster-than-expected economic recovery thats followed the easing of the coronavirus pandemic has produced several encouraging develo. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. The Loomis Fargo robbery was one of the largest heists in history, with $2 million in stolen funds still unaccounted for. Of course, I went on a spending spree. Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. In total, 24 people were convicted. Chambers had known enough to insist that no one blows through a ton of cash immediately after the robbery, but once he actually had his hands on the money, he couldnt follow his own advice. But in addition to a wife,. 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. He completed his prison sentence in November 2006. Campbell was receptive and brought the idea up to Ghantt. 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. 43-year-old Margret and her mother both died in 2012 . Campbellwho was married herselfrepresented something new and exciting. After loading the massive cache of loot into the armored truck, Ghantt set the time lock on the vault, which locked the door for days unless the employees drilled through the lock.

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