``This defendant was second to Steve Chambers in (benefiting) from the crime,' he said. mesurer votre utilisation de nos sites et applications. Then you end up in a eight by ten cube and youre going to share that cube with two other people. VIDEO. Wyatt Redd is a freelance writer from Nashville, Tennessee. I work construction. 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. Together with his wife, Chambers bought a new luxury home (upgrading from his mobile home), a BMW Z3, and some extravagant furnishings. The chief running joke in Masterminds is the Prince Valiant 'do gamely sported by Galifianakis as David Ghantt, . We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. 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.. I knew it was over then, Ghantt said. But Ghantt has been open about what he did and how he believes it changed him for the better. On March 1, 1988, Mexican police arrested Ghantt at Playa del Carmen. Over the years many of his social . Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here: PrepScholar 2013-2018. CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM MASTERMIND MOVIE. 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. Director Jared Hess Writers Chris Bowman (screenplay) Hubbel Palmer (screenplay) Emily Spivey (screenplay) Stars Zach Galifianakis Kristen Wiig Owen Wilson He was insecure. In November 1990, David married Margaret in San Diego, California. 121 90 1,443 Show this thread David GhanttRetweeted C.A. Chambers, who made an ill-fated decision to buy a home in the gated Cramer Mountain community with his newfound wealth, now runsa gym on Lowell-Bethesda Road. Will Mcintyre/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesMichele Chambers 1998 BMW for sale following the prosecutions of the Loomis Fargo heist conspirators. Chambers, his wife, and several of their accomplices were arrested the next day. There is nothing of value in this movie. 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. A comedy film called Masterminds, based on the Loomis Fargo heist and starring Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson, and Jason Sudeikis, was released in 2016. [citation needed], The defendants were the targets of many barbed jokes in Charlotte and across the country, in part because of their extravagant spending. Nous, Yahoo, faisons partie de la famille de marques Yahoo. 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 may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba. David Ghantt was portrayed by Zackary Hatfield. But after one visit, she asked a teller "How much can I deposit before you have to report it to the feds?" And, with the help of several others David made off with $17.3 million dollars, 11 million of which was in 20's. 33. Just the ability to come and go as I please and walk barefooted in the backyard means so much. 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. I learned that I was an a--hole. The judge said he would recommend that Michele Chambers be given mental health treatment in prison. Victoria Beckham's family were on hand as she debuted her latest collection at Paris Fashion Week on March 3, including her and husband David Beckham's oldest child, Brooklyn Beckham . My name is David Scott Ghantt. [citation needed], It was later confirmed by the FBI that more than 88% of the stolen cash had been located or otherwise accounted for. They asked me how I felt about it and I said, Its my story, but its your movie so have at me. I figured it had to be me. On March 12, a Charlotte grand jury indicted the eight co-conspirators for bank larceny and money laundering; the latter offense was included because of how they spent the stolen money. In October of 1997, I was a vault supervisor for armored truck company Loomis Fargo, when I made off with $17.3 million. No rift here! By now, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, Steve Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell. Biography Comedy Crime A guard at an armored car company in the Southern U.S. organizes one of the biggest bank heists in American history. As it turns out, the heist did in fact go as well as you might expect. 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. 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. 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. A: I hate to think about what I'd be doing if I hadn't gotten caught. The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points, How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer. 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. Hes way smarter than youd think he would be because he tends to play Bozos. Wij, Yahoo, maken deel uit van de Yahoo-merkenfamilie. Philosophically, now looking back I wouldnt be who I am now if I hadnt gone through all that, said David Scott Ghantt in an interview with the Observer. But even though he worked for a company that regularly moved millions of dollars, David Ghantt himself was underpaid. 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. Si vous souhaitez personnaliser vos choix, cliquez sur Grer les paramtres de confidentialit. David Bowie 's widow recently took to Instagram to post selfies, while promoting both her makeup brand and fashion line. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. I knew that if I did something like that, I would take a huge amount of money, Ghantt said of the brash robbery on an upcoming episode of CNBCs Super Heists, airing Monday at 10 p.m. 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. The connection to Chambers took more time. Its easy to get somebody to do something if you know that they are that infatuated with you.. Campbell knew theyd need the help of the warehouses vault supervisor, who just happened to have a crush on her, and she called Ghantt to ask for his help. Ghantts accomplices soon showed up but now they had another problem. He made his own self miserable. The FBI continues to search for a missing $2 million from the theft. 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. You can't get barbecue slaw in this hedonistic state (Florida), and there's nowhere to get real ice cream here like Tony's. This article will teach you more about the SAT subject tests. 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. 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. 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. 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. He had never been in trouble with the law. FBI security footage of David Ghantt in the midst of the Loomis Fargo heist. 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. Her sentence would've been ``substantially' less if she hadn't kept it, officials said. 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. Collections. Michele Chambers declined to make a statement at the hearing. The missing couple were identified as David Harrison Robinson and his wife Lucretia Robinson. 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. By Dustin Rowles | Film | September 30, 2016 |. He left his wedding ring behind and spent his days spending money on luxury hotels and scuba diving. Authorities say Steve and Michele Chambers moved from a mobile home into a $635,000 house three weeks after the theft. All rights reserved. When the cheerleading coach broke the news to Katrina Kohel that she was the only one left on the cheer squad, Kohel was determined to compete anyway. He was like OK, yeah, we can do that, she recalled. David Ghantt on stealing 17 million dollars from Loomis Fargo (Crime & Entertainment Full Interview) Crime & Entertainment 3.77K subscribers Subscribe 4.8K views 1 year ago David Ghantt. I really don't miss that guy. Thats the big thing. Get the latest articles and test prep tips! In February 2009 the Associated Press reported that Chambers had chosen to describe himself as "changed". A Comprehensive Guide. The pair were both from the United States but had lived in the Peloponnese region of Greece for the past few years. Its heavy. Everybody thinks being famous and being an actor is stupendous, and the money is fantastic, but they kind of live in afish bowl. The two struck up a friendship during work that would continue after Campbell left the company. ``There are many people with those factors who don't resort to crime,' he said. By comparison, Ghantt served seven years in prison and was fined $26,000. Eventually, Ghantt would return to the United States and the full sum would be split up between the conspirators. A lot of people ask me, Oh, do you have any regrets? No, not really. I didnt even have a real home life because I was never there. Based on a true story, the premise itself is fascinating, which makes Masterminds all the more a waste. For the New York State assemblyman, see. I was working sometimes 75-80 hours a week at $8.15 an hour. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! 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. We caught up with David Ghantt about life after his $17m heist, hanging out with Zach Galifianakis and the accuracy of Masterminds, a new movie based on. Custom Content. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. Until it's gone, you don't appreciate it. Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, though he was released on parole after five. Campbell and Chambers made themselves easy to catch, what with their lavish spending. Ten days later, the group was indicted for bank larceny and money laundering. 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.". [1], This robbery was the second-largest cash robbery on U.S. soil at the time, as only seven months earlier, on March 29, 1997 in Jacksonville, Florida, Philip Noel Johnson stole $18.8 million from the Loomis Fargo armored vehicle he was driving.[2]. I stole $17 million, and Zach Galifianakis played me in a movie. Zach Galifianakis played David Scott Ghantt, with other roles played byOwen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Leslie Jones, Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon. You've decided to give up on a part of your life. The plan went off with few problems, but after Ghantt was safely in Mexico, his partners were left storing large amounts of cash. 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. You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or www.Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. afficher des publicits et des contenus personnaliss en fonction de vos profils de centres dintrt; mesurer lefficacit des publicits et contenus personnaliss; et. But as Ghantt admitted, the film took some liberties with specific details and characters to make the film funnier. Afterward, outside the courthouse, her parents said the length was about what she had expected. 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. If you can see the obvious flaw in this plan, namely that Chambers would have no reason whatsoever to actually wire Ghantt any money, then congratulations. 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 . The brother of a man killed by a woman now charged with murder in Chambers County said he sees similarities in his brother's case and the case of woman's latest husband's death. The police then called the FBI because most of the money handled at the facility belonged to banks, which technically made it a bank robbery a federal offense.[5]. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. ABC7 Eyewitness News Watch Now But neither of those things would matter after he met Kelly Campbell. Too bad it was so poorly planned. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. It was nearly the perfect crime, but while Ghantt fled to Mexico to lay low, his partners lavish spendingand their own alleged plans for murderwould ultimately be the groups demise. 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. Chambers, it turned out, became the biggest source of evidence for the FBI. Q: Your troubles were self-inflicted, but you seem happy. Prosecutors also resisted Culler's efforts to downplay Michele Chambers' role in the theft. You have permission to edit this article. So Chambers decided to solve the problem by putting a hit on Ghantt. Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. If I could get far enough away in a very short amount of time, my odds of getting away with it were pretty high, Ghantt said. The jokes between Ghantt and Campbell about their disgruntlement with their jobs took on a more serious note when Campbell introduced Ghantt to an old high school classmate of hers named Steve Chambers. David Ghantt discovers the true meaning of adventure far beyond his wildest dreams. The FBI knew they needed to make their move. And it didn't take long to figure out that this was not the place for me. There was also no dramatic showdown between Chambers and Ghantt as the movie suggests. Bubbling under the surface, however, was a deep frustration at the way he was treated. Ghantt's spending in Mexico was extravagant at first. Elizabeth Poile was in 10th . 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. #CLXGaming#CLXRa#evokethegods 1 2 Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. The Loomis Fargo heist became something of a media lightning rod. Within two days, the investigators found the van with $3 million in cash and the security camera tapes inside. 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. You see, theres a reason Loomis Fargo used armored cars to move large amounts of cash. Two days after the heist, the FBI found the missing van with $3.3 million of cash left in it. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. He was released in 2006. Ghantt, in order to conserve this money, curtailed his spending. So with the assistance of a co-worker and possible love interest as well as a small-time criminal, David Ghantt pulled off the then-second-largest cash heist in U.S. history. But his partners soon began to get greedy and were spending large amountswith Chambers and his wife, Michelle, even buying an exclusive mansion in cash. Once the heat was off, Ghantt would return and they would split the haul evenly. 4 million images and real time event coverage from coast to coast , ImageCollect is the only celebrity photo site you'll ever need. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! 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. Chambers promised to wire him money in Mexico until the investigation blew over and Ghantt could return to . Some of the friends and family members received parole, while Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. Naturally, Ghantt started to run out of cash and turned to Chambers, who was annoyed by his requests for more money. At the. I'd probably be that infamous gringo living in Belize, kicked back on the beach, fishing and bored out of my mind. 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. Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com, allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. 29 David Ghantt Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images. After meeting up with Chambers, Campbell, and some other co-conspirators, Ghantt hightailed it to Mexico with $50,000 in cash in his car. After finding himself in prison he made a concious choice to do things differently. They also bought a BMW Z3 with cash and made several large purchases, including a $600 cigar store Indian. And Ghantt hadnt really thought about the physical challenge of moving such a large sum of money. The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points, How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer, Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests. 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. In 97 me and my wife were just barely scraping by, Ghantt recalled in Mondays episode. He and his wife, Michelle, moved from their mobile home in Lincoln County to a luxury house in the wealthy Cramer Mountain section of Cramerton. Theyre meant to be trailer-park trash, but they come off as character experiments on a bad night at the Groundlings. [1], Steven Chambers finished serving his sentence in November 2006. Generally, the events of the film are fairly close to reality when they follow the broad details of the case. Galifianakis will play the armored car driver, David, who evades authorities, will be searching for his co-conspirators who betrayed him, Kelly (Kristen Wiig) and Steve (Owen Wilson). On Oct. 5, 1997, Ghantt carried out the heist during his regular shift after sending another employee home, stealing more than $17 million from the bank vault. Ghantt has never explained where that money went. followed by "Don't worry, it is not drug money," the bank filled out a suspicious activity report, which ultimately reached the FBI. Playing upon David's obvious feelings for her, Kelly is the . 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. While Ghantt spent more than 6 1/2 years in federal prison, he said he usedthat time to"re-invent" himself. 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. 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. Culler acknowledged that she had overheard her husband and co-defendant Kelly Campbell talk about the plan, ``but she thought it was fantasy world.'. I started just chucking it as fast as I could, he said, adding the sweat was pouring off of me.. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Whisler said he didn't think those factors should result in a reduced sentence. They would then load as much cash as they could carry into a van. 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. Chambers promised to wire him money in Mexico until the investigation blew over and Ghantt could return to North Carolina. All but one of the defendants pleaded guilty. In the end, eight co-conspirators were indicted for the Loomis Fargo heist. David Ghantt : I had a hard time liftin' it up. Authorities say Steve. Its gone! CREATIVE. Pour en savoir plus sur la faon dont nous utilisons vos donnes personnelles, veuillez consulter notre politique relative la vie prive et notre politique en matire de cookies. Ghantts wife was reportedly nothing like the bizarre, robotic fiance character in the film, for instance. The Army veteran and Hunter Huss High graduate was captured in Mexico five months later when one of the others involved in the theft, Steve Chambers, decided he needed to tie up loose ends by having Ghantt killed. Pocketing $50,000 for himself, that man, named David Ghantt, hopped into a car of his own and headed towards Mexico. All of the cash from the Loomis Fargo heist was recovered or accounted for, except for $2 million. Will California Save the Iconic Joshua Tree? Over the next months, Ghantt, Campbell, and Chambers developed a plan. his wife-to-be. 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 thieves had simply abandoned whatever they couldnt carry away. This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 16:45. Hes a great person. Having only brought $50,000 in cash, however, Ghantt soon found himself short on funds. A: When you're locked up, you live in an 8-by-10 box and you share that with two other people. I'll take the live one. Finally, in March 1998, the FBI traced a call from Ghantts phone and he was arrested in Mexico. Chambers wife, Michelle, bought a minivan in cash and began taking frequent trips to the bank to make deposits. I did get to meet him. You take a movie like Oceans Eleven, the whole concept of that movie is so farfetched, its not even funny. The former star . Thats going to be your life for quite some time, typically. The College Entrance Examination BoardTM does not endorse, nor is it affiliated in any way with the owner or any content of this site. (I) bought jewelry, bought a van, Campbell recalled of her own spending. Its a farce that never farces; a comedy without jokes. Some people screw up big like you, some people screw up small.". A: When I first got in, I thought, "What in my life has led me to this?" Ghantt believed the new employee would make a good replacement for his wife, but the feelings were not necessarily reciprocated. Campbell used part of her share of the money to buy a Toyota Sienna minivan in two cash installments. After a Gulf War stint in the Army, David got married in 1992. 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.. David Ghantt was the vault supervisor for Loomis, Fargo & Co. armored cars, which managed the transportation of large sums of cash between banks in North Carolina. Chambers and his wife Michele moved out of a trailer and into a luxury mansion in a nice neighborhood. I felt cornered and one day the joking in the break room about robbing the place suddenly didnt seem so far-fetched.. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually . That suspicion was immediately confirmed by a quick glance at the security camera footage that showed Ghantt doing a little dance after loading all the cash into the van. Before he decided to steal $17 million from the bank, Ghantt had worked for years as a relatively taciturn and compliant employee. Defense attorney Jim Griffin laid out his team's side of the case to the jury for more than two hours, arguing . 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? Here's whatGhantt says now about the heist that madethe "Cramer Mountain Hillbillies" famous and changed him forever. Answer: The painful one is getting caught.