Anonymous tips had the FBI monitoring Chambers calls. Ghantt added, I really enjoyed the movie. 1) David Ghantt is underpaid and unhappy. Thats going to be your life for quite some time, typically. Q: You say your time in federal prison changed you. 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. All rights reserved. START or Stop: Do Nuclear Weapons Treaties Matter? Just the ability to come and go as I please and walk barefooted in the backyard means so much. Its a farce that never farces; a comedy without jokes. Instead, the bandits just started throwing as much money as they could into the van until they couldnt fit anymore. Jared Hess directed Masterminds, and god bless the guy, but if Gentlemen Broncos and Nacho Libre were not proof enough that Napoleon Dynamite was a fluke, Masterminds should seal the deal. Everybody thinks being famous and being an actor is stupendous, and the money is fantastic, but they kind of live in afish bowl. David Scott Ghantt: Vault Supervisor David Scott Ghantt was the vault supervisor at the regional branch of Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte, North Carolina. Authorities had the receipt and had known it was missing. SAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination BoardTM. He was like OK, yeah, we can do that, she recalled. 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? 5 min read. Did you know that the SAT offers subject exams, too? 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. Meanwhile, David Ghantt was relaxing on a beach in Cozumel, Mexico. Youre better at planning bank heists than David Ghantt. 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. On the night of October 4, the plan went into action. Ghantt believed the new employee would make a good replacement for his wife, but the feelings were not necessarily reciprocated. Ghantt was the vault manager. 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. 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. David Bowie 's widow recently took to Instagram to post selfies, while promoting both her makeup brand and fashion line. What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For? When Ghantt called Chambers to have the latter wire him more money, Chambers sent just a few thousand dollars. Once the hitman Chambers had hired arrived in Mexico, he found that he couldnt bring himself to kill Ghantt. Defense lawyer Andy Culler sought a seven-year, three-month sentence. You'd be amazed at how much stress you can relieve yourself from in your life by just taking 20 or so minutes a day for yourself and just letting the world go. The Loomis Fargo robbery was one of the largest heists in history, with $2 million in stolen funds still unaccounted for. Ill never pay it off on my paycheck, Ghantt said. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Nebraska cheerleader competes by herself at state competition, but crowd doesn't let her feel alone, Police identify victim who died Wednesday in Greensboro's 11th homicide of 2023, William Sturkey: Chapel Hill trustees 'hellbent' on winning campus culture wars, Rob Schofield: North Carolinas chronic public employee shortage wasnt an accident, KFC is bringing back a fan favorite after a nearly 10-year hiatus, Richard Groves: What the 'He Gets Us' media campaign says about the decline of Christianity, Two Things: Victim's family not surprised by no show; hospital wars in Greensboro and money well spent, Mark Elliott and Jeremy Rinker: Budget reductions at UNCG punish it for serving disadvantaged students, Samet: Guilford County wanted more black-owned businesses added to construction project after the bids were opened, Former Page High School teacher arrested on child sex charges, records show, Proposed rules for Airbnb, other short-term rentals advance in Greensboro, 'A bizarre case': Greensboro TikTok star found not guilty in fatal 2019 crash, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist proposes community hospital in Greensboro, Greensboro police officer involved in confrontation on Golden Gate Drive resigns, Jaydon Young's lessons of sacrifice mix with two-hour transfer, Virginia Tech and 2023 tournament. And so this third camera caught everything that happened next. Als u niet wilt dat wij en onze partners cookies en persoonsgegevens voor deze aanvullende doeleinden gebruiken, klik dan op 'Alles weigeren'. A: I'm in dire need for some RO's barbecue and some Tony's Ice Cream. You've decided to give up on a part of your life. 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. Chambers, it turned out, became the biggest source of evidence for the FBI. 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. Chambers promised to wire him money in Mexico until the investigation blew over and Ghantt could return to North Carolina. Lees ons privacybeleid en cookiebeleid voor meer informatie over hoe we uw persoonsgegevens gebruiken. Within two days, the investigators found the van with $3 million in cash and the security camera tapes inside. 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. 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. On March 1, 1988, Mexican police arrested Ghantt at Playa del Carmen. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! In February 2009 the Associated Press reported that Chambers had chosen to describe himself as "changed". I knew that if we could stay off the radar for about a year, we could basically live a vacation life, Ghantt said. Investigators considered Ghantt to be the prime suspect almost from the beginning. With a cast like this, and Emily Spivey (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Up All Night) as part of the writing team, Masterminds shouldnt be nearly as obnoxious and dull as it is, but nothing ever clicks. Authorities say Steve. Most high schools offer a variety of history classes, so make sure youre taking the right ones for you. 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. 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. Before he decided to steal $17 million from the bank, Ghantt had worked for years as a relatively taciturn and compliant employee. We were two paychecks away from being homeless at any given time.. David GhanttRetweeted Iraqveteran8888 @Iraqveteran8888 Dec 9, 2022 Elect me President and I'll fire everyone, free Julian Assange, and pardon Edward Snowden. The missing couple were identified as David Harrison Robinson and his wife Lucretia Robinson. The Proposed TikTok Ban Goes Too Far. But even though he worked for a company that regularly moved millions of dollars, David Ghantt himself was underpaid. 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.. You have permission to edit this article. Elizabeth Poile was in 10th . He was released in 2006. A: People are very forgiving if you're open and honest right from the start. Because Ghantt was the only employee who wasnt there that morning, he became the obvious suspect. Of course, I went on a spending spree. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. He told me they were in the dirt business, so he didn't have to worry too much about me. I started just chucking it as fast as I could, he said, adding the sweat was pouring off of me.. I think Zachs a hell of an actor. And Ghantt hadnt really thought about the physical challenge of moving such a large sum of money. 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.". 43-year-old Margret and her mother both died in 2012 . #CLXGaming#CLXRa#evokethegods 1 2 One of the best ways to learn more about U.S. history is to make sure youre taking history classes. You can cancel at any time. He completed his prison sentence in November 2006. Besides wearing the ring, driving the BMW, and living in the new house, prosecutors say Michele Chambers helped others deposit millions of dollars in safe-deposit boxes in the area, and that she took $200,000 in cash into a Salisbury bank in November 1997 and came out with a $200,000 check. 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. 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. 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. 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. But even though he worked for a company that regularly moved millions of dollars, David Ghantt himself was underpaid. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. 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. Chambers and his wife Michele moved out of a trailer and into a luxury mansion in a nice neighborhood. Nine other relatives and friends were also charged with money laundering, as they had co-signed for safe deposit boxes used to store some of the money; prosecutors opted to charge them on the grounds that they should have known the money was obtained illegally. 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. 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. Thats the big thing. 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 . 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. The FBI investigation was aided by the gang's extravagant spending. As a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo, David had access to the vaults and all the cash within. I knew it was over then, Ghantt said. It was an open-and-shut case and all authorities had to do now was to find the culprit and identify Ghantts accomplices. Director Jared Hess Writers Chris Bowman (screenplay) Hubbel Palmer (screenplay) Emily Spivey (screenplay) Stars Zach Galifianakis Kristen Wiig Owen Wilson (I) bought jewelry, bought a van, Campbell recalled of her own spending. Learning about US history? 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? ``I'm glad she didn't get nine years,' said Sandra Floyd, her mother. The FBI knew they needed to make their move. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. To make a successful getaway, Ghantt had to lift nearly 2,800 pounds of currency. 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. From the beginning, the FBIs prime suspect was David Ghantt. I wasnt attracted to him or anything, but he was a nice guy, Campbell said. 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. All but one of the defendants pleaded guilty. In November 1990, David married Margaret in San Diego, California. [3][4] Its Charlotte office would be the victim of David Scott Ghantt and his confederates later that year. 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. They kept several furnishings from the previous owners, including a painting of Elvis Presley on black velvet. 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 would hold on to most of the remaining cash and wire it to Ghantt as needed. 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. 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. 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. By now, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, Steve Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell. Q: How do you tell prospective employers you once stole $17 million? 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. BBC Motion Gallery. Ghantt has never explained where that money went. Im like, You need to understand that, that money has been missing for 20 years. The former star . Kate. 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. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. It was over. He and his wife,. 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. David Ghantt attends the after party for the Premiere Of Relativity Media's "Masterminds" on September 26, 2016 in Hollywood, California. Steve Chambers and his wife (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) were a little more difficult to connect to the heist. his wife-to-be. I got no real complaints, not at this point., The heist became the premise for the movie,Masterminds, released in September 2016. Masterminds - Zach Galifianakis 'David Ghantt' [On-Set Interview]SUBSCRIBE HERE: http://goo.gl/SrrTlTSUBSCRIBE MOVIE TRAILERS: http://goo.gl/8WxGeDA night gu. Q: Do you ever think about what your life would be like if you had gotten away with the money? 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. 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. In fact, David Ghantt was about to commit the heist of a lifetime. The plan went off with few problems, but after Ghantt was safely in Mexico, his partners were left storing large amounts of cash. In October of 1997, I was a vault supervisor for armored truck company Loomis Fargo, when I made off with $17.3 million. Its 90-minutes of mugging for the camera, but the only people who feel mugged are those that pay to see Masterminds. 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. I got to eat my meal perfectly, but every 5 minutes, someone wanted to shoot a selfie with Zach or an autograph from Zach. Will Mcintyre/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images. 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. But Ghantt has been open about what he did and how he believes it changed him for the better. David Ghantt was portrayed by Zackary Hatfield. A lot of people ask me, Oh, do you have any regrets? No, not really. Ghantt, in order to conserve this money, curtailed his spending. Ask below and we'll reply! But neither of those things would matter after he met Kelly Campbell. To its credit, Masterminds does nail down the broad strokes of the real story, although there were a couple of noteworthy details the film left out. Campbellwho was married herselfrepresented something new and exciting. A: Zach and I have a runningtext conversation going, but he's very busy. He worked fueling airplanes, driving a forklift, and in 1994 he got a job as a vault superintendent at Loomis. FBI security footage of David Ghantt in the midst of the Loomis Fargo heist. I stole $17 million, and Zach Galifianakis played me in a movie. 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. Together with his wife, Chambers bought a new luxury home (upgrading from his mobile home), a BMW Z3, and some extravagant furnishings. 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. You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or www.Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. Explain: The scary part is that as soon as you put that little bit of money in the van, that there's no going back. Si vous souhaitez personnaliser vos choix, cliquez sur Grer les paramtres de confidentialit. When he was done, the man drove off to a nearby printing press, where the money was distributed into private vehicles amongst a handful of people. At the. Then check out another bank robber who inspired a movie, John Wojtowicz. 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. 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. However, the fact that a man who formerly lived in a mobile home was lavishly spending money on a luxury home ($635,000 in cash), expensive cars, and a ring ($42,000 in cash) eventually made it easy to connect the dots. David Ghantt, a Gulf War veteran, had never been in trouble with the law. 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. 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. Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy a Toyota Sienna minivan in two cash installments. David Bragg . They called the police, who brought in the FBI, classifying the heist as a bank robbery. Ten days later, the group was indicted for bank larceny and money laundering. The College Entrance Examination BoardTM does not endorse, nor is it affiliated in any way with the owner or any content of this site. Ghantt was. The Loomis Fargo heist became something of a media lightning rod. 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.". 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. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. Afterward, outside the courthouse, her parents said the length was about what she had expected. He had never been in trouble with the law. Fed up, exhausted, and seeing a way out, Ghantt agreed. Finally, in March 1998, the FBI traced a call from Ghantts phone and he was arrested in Mexico. While listening in, they uncovered another more sinister alleged plan to kill Ghantt. Going to prison helped me grow up as a human being. 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. What happens at the end of mastermind? The scary one is stealing the money. Ghantts accomplices soon showed up but now they had another problem. 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. mesurer votre utilisation de nos sites et applications. More than 2 million dollars is still missing to this day. Also charged were several innocent relatives that the robbers had enlisted to help get safety deposit boxes in various banks. Three of the 21 defendants in the case haven't been sentenced. ABC7 Eyewitness News Watch Now It wasa painful process, but I learned to be happy with me and with what I've got. Where ever it was, it is long gone now. Ghantt, now 29, was a tall, decorated Persian Gulf War veteran whom early newspaper reports likened to Huckleberry Finn. The chief running joke in Masterminds is the Prince Valiant 'do gamely sported by Galifianakis as David Ghantt, . A former co-worker told me, "Everybody has screwed up. And, with the help of several others David made off with $17.3 million dollars, 11 million of which was in 20's. Two days after the heist, the FBI found the missing van with $3.3 million of cash left in it. Als u uw keuzes wilt aanpassen, klik dan op 'Privacyinstellingen beheren'. ', He explained the glorification and glamour often associated with bank heists and bank robberies in Hollywood films is far from reality. Chambers served 11 years before being released. 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.. I wanted to make a drastic change and I went for it, Ghantt remembered later to the Gaston Gazette. He was insecure. [1], Steven Chambers finished serving his sentence in November 2006. ", The much-faster-than-expected economic recovery thats followed the easing of the coronavirus pandemic has produced several encouraging develo. He was also married. They would then load as much cash as they could carry into a van. The FBI (Leslie Jones, Jon Daly) made easy work of the case, however, and everyone involved was eventually arrested and imprisoned. They received sentences and probation ranging from several years to 11 years and three months in federal prison for Steve Chambers, who was also fined more than $3,500,000.
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