He grabbed the tapes from two VCRs that connected to 16 security cameras. So the last third of the movie is almost entirely fiction. By the time the month concluded, the couple had purchased a 7,000-square-foot stone mansion in a gated country club community. "I work construction. Loomis has received $978,983.79, according to Sally Butcher, an assistant clerk in the federal courts of the Western District of North Carolina who specializes in criminal debt. "We're not the type that questions everything people tell us," Floyd said. White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money, she said. Our Benefits. Or that it was an inheritance. Ghantt and one other employee were the last to leave. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. At 7:45, David had finished loading. In the following months, Steve persisted, even floating the notion of placing phony hand grenades on a Loomis truck to scare away the drivers, Kelly said. You might as well take it all, Ghantt tells me. Im on the phone with Kelly [Campbell], and Im like, Hey, I really was expecting a package to arrive. 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. On October 5, 1997, FBI agents gathered at the Loomis, Fargo & Co. warehouse in Charlotte, North Carolina, to watch a security videotape of a man loading stacks of cash into a pushcart and wheeling them from the vault. Updated: 11:31 AM EDT October 4, 2022 CHARLOTTE, N.C. Tuesday is the 25th anniversary of the infamous Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte, where a bank worker, with the help of two accomplices,. As it turned out, Ghantt was zipping up his scuba suit in Mexico. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. But few could have guessed how spectacularly the heist would go wrong after the criminals initially got away with it. Posted on . On Oct. 7, 1997, two FBI agents arrived at Kelly Campbell's home after two Loomis employees had told agents she and David had once dated. The last time he called me, he said, Hey Ghantt, I just saw a big Loomis Fargo truck. I told them, Take it, box it up, and youll be able to ship it to me in Mexico. Back in the 1990s, you couldve probably boxed up a hot pink elephant and shipped it to Mexico; no one wouldve ever noticed. Ghantt, meanwhile, was losing his patience and starting to make threats. But as he later recalled to the media, as soon as he stepped through those big-box doors, he realized he was flush with cash, and he didnt need to shop at Walmart ever again. When neighbors asked where they got their money, Steve said hed played in the NFL. He'd even bragged that he'd killed people. Theres some things I want to do., Ghantt planned on traveling from Mexico to the Cayman Islands, bypassing customs along the way. Twelve hours later, at 6 that evening, Eric Payne drove a rented Budget van to his workplace, a graphics company on Performance Road in western Mecklenburg County called Reynolds & Reynolds, which was closed for the night and had a secluded parking lot where they intended to transfer the cash. Steve and Michele invited everyone back for a Christmas party, where they gave Michele's stepfather a special gift--the pickup truck he'd always wanted. It was unclear whether anyone will get that money, authorities said. Ive never taken offense to anything like that, he tells me. In real life: True. Loomis employees drive the very core of our business. "We had David Ghantt and Kelly Campbell tied together, and we had Steven Chambers and Eric Payne with unexplained wealth, but we didn't have a tie between them," Agent John Wydra said. Not many people can say they stole $17 million from their employer and had Zach Galifianakis play them in a movie. Twice a week over the next 12 months, we will take you back to the winter of sheep cloning and the summer of Con Air. David was sentenced to 7 1/2 years. Steve had another conversation with Kelly about killing David. It changes you. He appeared happily matched with his high-spirited wife, Michele, and the two children from her first marriage. They bought a BMW roadster. He had an endearing smile, a beautiful wife and two children. Tags: Associated Press, courts, crime, North Carolina. Ultimately, though, the heist wasnt Ghantts idea, which meant he didnt decide who else was involved. . The audacity of the act was breathtaking. That's the kind of movie they wanted to make. "She said, 'What would it take to convince you to do it?' Though David had said earlier he thought there was $15 million in the vault, the sight of that much cash held them spellbound. About 5:45 a.m., he got into his pickup and began the 45-minute drive to work in Charlotte. Zach always plays that bumbling kind of lunatic, but hes not, Ghantt says. She tried to apologize for the murder plot. Kelly, using David's cell phone, kept beeping him. But it didnt really hit me until later., On March 2nd, when the FBI agents walked up to Ghantt in Playa del Carmen and told him he was under arrest, Ghantt was relieved. There was a little voice in my head that said, 'Don't do it. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. In Campbells case, Gronquist says his client was buried in court-ordered debt despite the fact that she took responsibility for what she had done and cooperated with prosecutors and the FBI. Chambers did hire McKinney to kill Ghantt, but initially McKinney was making personal cash deliveries to Ghantt in Mexico on behalf of Chambers. In the first days after the arrests, agents recovered or accounted for all but about $2 million of the stolen money. . What concerned her was the chance of getting caught. 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. He wouldn't give me the opportunity to say anything else. In real life: True. First, in January, he tried to get someone to take some millions down to Mexico. Its everything thats coming north.. In real life: False. Some days, the robbery seems like a memory from a different life, a choice made by a different man. Thats nearly $11 million less than former Kings Mountain resident David Ghantt (played by Galifianakis in the film) helped steal from the vault where he worked in Charlotte back in October 1997. He approached a longtime friend, Eric Payne, who lived in a mobile home south of Belmont, N.C. Steve offered him $100,000 to help. On March 1, David Ghantt left his hotel to do some laundry. The bash had a Cinderella theme, with a three-tiered cake that looked like a castle. Ghantt was in fact hiding out in Mexico using McKinneys I.D., which had been sold to Chambers months earlier. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. She laughed for like 45 minutes. Things started to go south the night of the robbery. Agents began picking up signs that David definitely had help: The abandoned Loomis van with $3.3 million in small bills still inside, and phone records showing that somebody beeped him while he stole the money, using David's own cell phone. They agreed that after the heist, David would immediately move to Mexico, alone, but Kelly would soon join him there, with her two children. Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) The Associated Press, BY MICHAEL GORDON, The Charlotte Observer. The best states in the U.S. come from coast to coast. At the time of the real robbery, Chambers was facing criminal charges hed written 30K worth of bad checks and was facing jail time for it. More agents waited outside to arrest them. . On Monday, October 6th, the FBI agents who were investigating the robbery located the Loomis Fargo van abandoned in the woods. So yeah, Im kind of proud of it.. That week, the FBI designated the theft its 142nd "major case," putting it on a list--begun in the 1970s--that includes such other infamous crimes as the World Trade Center bombing. It wouldn't work, Kelly told him. In hindsight, it doesnt surprise me a bit, Ghantt says, a bitter laugh catching in his throat. Before long, the FBI had wiretaps on the ringleader, Steve Chambers, and then they waited for the right time to make their arrests. Ghantt would go on to spend six and a half years in federal prison. About 5:30 the next morning, McKinney knocked on David's door and dropped $8,500 on the bed. They didn't know it, but they were leaving $3.3 million behind. He kept looking over his shoulder. I've got a good woman.". Throughout the multi-year-long case and subsequent trials, journalists often referred to Ghantt and the others as trailer trash and hillbillies. Looking for Kelly Loomis? Kelly drove her pickup to a lot across the street from the Loomis building, on Suttle Avenue in Charlotte. Her case closes in 2025. And to me, if it pisses them off, Im all for it.. Ghantt went on to explain that he left for his flight to Mexico with about $25,000, and that two or three deliveries of extra money was made to him by the man Chambers would pay to kill him. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist (No Ratings Yet) . David quickly realized he was the intended victim. Ghantt says he operates a bulldozer for a small company. David trusted her. She asked about the limit for a cash deposit before "paperwork" was required. They placed a bust of Caesar in the dining room. "That would be living on the run, and I didn't want my kids to live that way. The van door opened. He recalled that another agent, Phil King, said, "Hey, there was an article in the [Charlotte] Observer about beeper codes. Before long, the tales of high living by Chambers and his now former wife, Michelle, led the thieves to be labeled either the "Cramer Mountain Hillbillies" or "The gang that couldn't steal straight." In real life: Mostly true. Together, they drove in a convoy to an industrial warehouse eight miles away, where Eric Payne, a fourth accomplice was. The platform is designed to engage citizens and government leaders in a discussion about what needs improvement across the country. Kelly Jane Campbell, a former Loomis employee; Michael L. McKinney . I did every touristy thing you could possibly do while I was down there. October was "a blast," he said. His assignment was to deliver the cash to David and keep him happy until they could find a way to kill him, McKinney said. So it was weird when during the middle of the week, there were these very clean-cut, very Midwestern looking, obviously American guys in the town. For her part, Kelly Campbell spent six years in federal prison. Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward for his arrest and conviction. He learned to parachute. He longed for the middle-class lifestyle of his childhood, with its private religious-school education and Disney World vacations. As for his new wife, when the two just started dating, he was nervous about letting her know about his past, but he wanted to be honest. When Chambers and the two Erics were done loading the stolen millions into barrels, they abandoned the van in the woods. When we worked together [for Loomis], we'd joke about it. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. Though he never found the right moment to carry out the hit, McKinney did find time to make a friend--a shady character named Robert, to whom he revealed more than was prudent. In a word, "Teamwork. Ghantt went on to explain that he rarely even looks at his debt statement to the government, but believes the IRS says he still owes them $3.8 million. No dry runs, no rehearsals. Kelly had recently left a job driving an armored-car for Loomis, Fargo & Co. "He's the one who brought it up first," said Kelly, a year after her arrest. I said, Listen, You all need to get your shit together, or Im just going to walk over here to the government building and tell them who the fuck I am. That lit a little fire under her ass, for a bit.. ". That was great. At the end of one session, they wound up kissing outside the pickup. shaka wear graphic tees is candy digital publicly traded ellen lawson wife of ted lawson real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist 25 Feb/23 (No Ratings Yet) And I knew that by that time, Id be in Cancun no matter what. They stocked a wine cellar. The Unexpectedly Sweet Story Behind Those Viral Semi-Truck Pregnancy Photos. Then another. To say nothing of their art purchases like the aforementioned velvet Elvis portrait and a painting of a bulldog dressed as General George S. Patton. His new life in Mexico had begun. I mean, it was dark, Ghantt explains. There had been no signs. Was that really what it was about? Federal prosecutors would ultimately charge 21 defendants in the case, including the Floyds, who were charged with (and pleaded guilty to) money laundering. Ghantt didn't actually meet Chambers until the night of the heist, though, according to Diamant, who would go on to write a book about it.The . Careers. He goes, My name is Bruno. Charlotte hotel chef who serves with a smile recognized as outstanding ambassador, Eritrean, Ethiopian restaurant owner was a big brother and father to many in Charlotte, Home tours: This wired-up Weddington smart home has a pool big enough for the neighborhood. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. Chambers, who still lives in Gaston County and operates a gym, declined to comment. This is the person I counted as my friend. More than 20 people ended up in the FBI's dragnet. In the meantime, the FBI was closing in looking to bust a total of 21 suspected accomplices. We spoke to the FBI agents who investigated the case who say the real-life. He pocketed the money and told Chambers and Campbell to send him his cut in Mexico. Scary. Now two NC men face prison. I was just going to get the money into the van. Ghantt was apprehended in Mexico and returned to the United States in custody. Ghantt:We're both North Carolina boys so we had a lot to talk about from the very beginning. Why fans love it. When he finished, the van was filled with $17 million. Starting Pay Rate: $15.50 per hour Shift: Monday - Friday from 1:00pm to 9:00pm Job Description As a Coin Processor, you work with your team to maintain inventory in our cash vaults for our Loomis customers. Ghantt was missing and no one, not even his wife, knew where he was. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP), Police: Officer Who Shot Black Man Retired 'In Bad Standing', 3 Kansas City Officers Who Were Shot Released From Hospital, 1 Killed When Business Jet Encounters Severe Turbulence. The Columbia airport had no available flights. Should David be killed after he gave them the money? Or that hed gotten lucky gambling. 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. Key benefit components include: Health insurance plans. Heres what happened on Sunday nights episode. They sweated, though the night was cool. Him and I still talk every now and then. She was like, Well, at least you had guts, he says. "A lot of people out there had it worse than me, but . Given his position at the bank, hed be the one to pull off the robbery, and he intended to be ready. Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. David said he realized then, for the first time, he might not see the millions he thought he had coming to him. Question: What made you, Chambers and the others think you could get away with this? 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 he fled to Mexico without telling her. She was the group's only contact with David, and she was smoking marijuana "like other people smoke cigarettes," she said. I didn't think I had the guts. The top-ranked pie in North Carolina doesnt look like pie at all. Time passed, and Campbell eventually quit her job at Loomis Fargo. So he convinced a local hoodlum in Mexico to try to kill Ghantt. Ghantt pulled out $50,000 from the back of the unmarked Loomis Fargo van.
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