loomis fargo heist kelly campbell

Investigators considered Ghantt to be the prime suspect almost from the beginning. "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. " This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. It wasn't how much you stole that mattered most; it was that you had stolen in the first place. Ghantt had struck up a relationship with a fellow Loomis Fargo employee, Kelly Campbell; they continued to maintain contact even after Campbell left the company. "Are you serious?" Spunk. There was no reason to leave anything, he felt. Over the next two weeks, David thought about it. 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. "Don't back out on us. Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward for his arrest and conviction. More than 2 million dollars are still missing to this day. Inside $3.3 million was located along with the two stolen surveillance tapes, apparently left due to the robber and his accomplices being sloppy, or in a hurry. In the movie: Campbell invites Ghantt to a restaurant under the auspices of a date, but then springs the idea of the heist on him, as Chambers and two associates join the conversation from an . Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. "I've got a friend," she said, "who can hook you up with a new ID.". uncanny, eerie, unnatural, preternatural, supernatural, unearthly, other-worldly, unreal, ghostly, mysterious, mystifying, strange, abnormal, unusual. The figures can be astounding. They involve Loomis armored car driver David Scott Ghantt. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. Unexplained Mysteries - owned by Aliens since 2011. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. David said he needed Kelly to drive to Loomis before the theft that night to remove a duffel bag from his parked pickup truck. Ghantt studied how to rob his employer and advised the others not to spend the money lavishly. That way, outsiders couldn't see money being loaded. A customs inspector, asking routine questions of bus passengers, focused her attention on him when his answers reminded her of Tommy Flanagan, the pathological-liar character played by Jon Lovitz on Saturday Night Live. Later, they also arrested Nathans older brother. The FBI was inadvertently aided by the gang members extravagant spending. And after two years, the case is just a file. Ghantt didnt know the full extent of what was happening back home -- how that lay low plan turned into a flurry of extravagant spending. Living with his wife, Tammy, in a mobile home, he had longed for the middle-class lifestyle of his childhood that had come to seem luxurious, a pipe dream for him now. He added that money can be a motivator for anyone. The figures can be astounding. CHARLOTTE If you didnt live in the Charlotte area 25 years ago, you might not believe it. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. Another time, the day after a Christmas in the late 1980s, David and some friends planted all the discarded Christmas trees from the area in one neighbor's front yard. From there, the money was moved from the armored car to private vehicles. 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. You can seize property. He is a graduate of Yale and has worked for the Connecticut Post, the Associated Press, and the Palm Beach Post. David got a kick out of her. The property has changed hands several times since then. One number is working in Campbells favor. If the American Dream involved being better off as adults than your parents were, David was experiencing a version of the American Nightmare. When you have money, you just have different problems: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. Except for the kiss in the pickup truck a few weeks before the heist, Kelly had kept things platonic. 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. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. 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. 2023 Cox Media Group. 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. Steve and Michelle Chambers, who had lived in a mobile home, bought a mansion in Cramer Mountain. 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. Its in the ether. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. He hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. But if you did, youll never forget it. Campbell left her job in the summer of 1997, but she would later use Ghantt's feelings for her to her own advantage to get him to agree to carry out the multi-million-dollar heist. Probably very egotistical of me, I thought, Yeah, sure, I can beat them, theyre college smart and thats about it, Ghantt said. A parrot tattoo on her right ankle. The towns booming construction industry attracts workers from around the country. Instead he became paranoid, especially after Steve Chambers put a contract out on his life. OWLS director fired in wake of new board taking over, New rules will require flood history disclosure in real estate, North Carolina recreational spring flounder season canceled for 2023, Supreme Court seems ready to sink student loan forgiveness, Beach commission gets update on search for new sources of sand for beach nourishment. What kind of surprised me is how much the car smelled like money, like if you ever hold money up to your nose it has a distinct smell, Wydra said. Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter. Husband and wife Steven and Michelle Chambers, whose conspicuous consumption of a luxury home, a BMW convertible, breast implants and a $600 wooden Indian, among other purchases, helped the FBI solve the crime, were assessed $3.81 million and $4.8 million, respectively. It all went down in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the man at the center of that heist, David Scott Ghantt, now lives in Jacksonville. 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. Well they were in some sense celebrities, Gronquist said. The actual crime itself required none of Hollywood's imagination. In total, 24 people were convicted and all but one of the accused pleaded guilty. Just after the last employees left that day, surveillance footage shows a man enter the vault, and begin to load more than 2,740 pounds in cash into a nearby van, totaling around over $17 million. 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. The corporation handled armored transportation, ATM maintenance and other cash handling services, and had millions of currency stashed in the vault of the North Carolina branch. He allegedly hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. 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. Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. The October 4 shift was lasting longer than expected, due to delays involving pickups and deliveries. Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. Money. That was the thing that sticks in my mind to this day.. But that only tells part of the story. The unfairness gnawed at him, stirred by Kelly's questions. 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. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. One day, the two employees were in the break room and got to talking about the news of the day a massive bank heist that just occurred in Florida by someone at their company. The money weighed as much as a compact car and he did it all by himself. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. Chambers had no intention of wiring any money to Ghantt and intended to have him killed to keep him from implicating the others. The supervisor liked him and gave him the job. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). He couldn't understand the gap, why he wasn't more successful, why he couldn't at least match the financial stability of his father, who earned a comfortable salary driving a truck. He had since held one low-paying job after another. All of the defendants are out of prison -- the longest sentence was 11 years. My knee-jerk reaction was to be angry, and then the sarcastic ass side of me started laughing about it, Ghantt said. VERDICT The first edition of this work was published in 2002. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. 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. Authorities were notified of the robbery in the morning, when employees couldnt open the vault. In all, agents arrested 24 people in the heist. He had approached her inside the chain-link fence that surrounded the building and said with a flirty smile, "If you give me a cigarette, I'll be your friend. David was supposed to be showing him the ropes of the job, which included cash pickups and deliveries. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done.. It was 2:00 p.m. on October 4, 1997, and tension was building between two planners of what would rank high among the largest heists in United States history. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. It just happened to fall on my desk.. Jeffrey Guller, who at 81 is by far the oldest of the Loomis defendants, still owes almost $1.1 million on his original court debt of $1.14 million and will remain on the governments books for another four years. Michelle Chambers paid off only $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. They assumed that whoever was involved would keep the cash in a safe place, like a safe deposit box. Their only intimate physical contact had been kissing on a mid-September night when they had driven her pickup truck to a field behind a shooting range in Gaston County to discuss their plans and the theft's chance of success. More calls between the two men, and also between Steve and Kelly Campbell, made it clear that the group was starting to turn on David Ghantt. just generally being a jerk. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft [Jeff Diamant] on Amazon.com. Once they were in custody, the overwhelming task of clearing out possessions possibly purchased with the stolen money began. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. He knew they were nervous outside waiting for him, but he also knew he wouldn't stop stealing until he had taken everything. The plan was to maintain a low profile and wait for things to cool off, allowing Ghantt to return to the states and collect his cut. A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. The building was configured so vans could drive inside and pull up next to the vault. And then I realized that a lot of people knew who I was and they had followed the case.. ", "I don't need any more friends," she'd shot back. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. The only other employee with him on this day was a trainee. He was a hard worker, smart enough, and had graduated from high school. What purpose does that serve other than to denigrate that person into abject poverty?. Libraries without that edition should consider purchasing this entertaining and lightly edited version, which reads like a fast-paced novel. A report by the General Accounting Office found that as of budget year 2016, $110 billion in restitution ordered by the federal courts was outstanding and that more than 90% of the amount had been classified as uncollectible.. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. While Ghantt waited for the heat from the robbery to die down, Chambers would send Ghantt small amounts of money. So the original gang was all totally shocked, Wydra said. The defendants received sentences ranging from probation for several relatives to over 11 years in federal prison for Steve Chambers. It should have been easy, but for some reason the gate didn't open for him. She had attitude. And Kelly thought he was funny. The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. You can seize property. As beads of sweat formed under his red hair, he loaded up another cart and repeated the process. 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. They also found several stacks of money with Loomis bands still attached throughout all the homes searched. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. Ghantt had worked with the branch since 1994, and had been promoted from a driver to the vault supervisor. Yet their lives seemed far easier and better than his. They also purchased expensive cars, jewelry and a breast enhancement or two. In preparation for what lay ahead, David had backed an unmarked company Ford Econoline van near the vault entrance and opened the van's back door. 12) Loomis Fargo heist- The aftermath Ultimately, eight co-conspirators were indicted for the Loomis Fargo bank heist. 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. Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. You can garnish wages. FBI video shows the agency searching that home and finding drawers full of cash. Their most important conversation occurred one afternoon in August 1997 after Kelly paged him at work. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. I think if you remember some of her early photographic opportunities, shall we put it that way, she was sort of laughing, not seeming to take it seriously.. 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. In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. If we work together, we can all have plenty of pie.. Thank you so much. He stayed at it until the vault was empty. Growing up, David had been a nice kid, a decent student who was at worst a minor troublemaker and prankster. she asked. They had met in December 1995 on one of her first days at Loomis. 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. About six months before the Charlotte theft, on March 29, a total of $18.8 million was taken from Loomis, Fargo in Jacksonville, Fla., in what was believed to be the largest heist in U.S.. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. Turns out, most of the thieves and their accomplices have been about as effective coming up with their court-ordered restitution as they were hiding their original crimes. Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. He wanted to leave his wife for her, and Kelly, who also was married, let him think she wanted the same. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. His collection case closes in two years. The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. 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. He decided at that moment that if Kelly called again, he would go for it. They had to be extremely careful not to tip off the group, as they could lose potential conspirators or more information important to a conviction. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. You should definitely start your own blog, I highly recommend it. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. Another name the FBI had become very interested in is Eric Payne. The walk-in vault was a fortified gray room, more wide than long, with shelves, cabinets, desks, and multiple pushcarts stocked with shrink-wrapped cash. He'd already done enough, he realized, to get himself fired and arrested, even if the gate prevented him from moving the money outside the building. Theres no way to get it back, Butcher told The Charlotte Observer. While David Ghantt trusted Steve Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. I was relieved emotionally because I knew there was a good chance my luck might run out, Ghantt said. Meanwhile, Ghantt's gang spent wildly and paid their family members and friends to hide money. If it didn't work out, he could return to the United States later with a new identity. true story that has captivated American audiences on the news and now on the big screen in the major motion picture, Masterminds. David's vision for all of this actually derived more from books than from movies. At about 6:40 p.m., he went back inside. The investigation ultimately resulted in the conviction of eight people directly involved, as well as sixteen others who had indirectly helped them. One night in a small North Carolina town, a down-on-his-luck guard at Loomis Fargo manages to steal $17 millionliterally more than one ton of cash. He said at first, they were very proud of what they had been able to do. 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.

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