The bizarre true story of the criminals behind the second-largest bank heist in American history. When Ghantt called Campbell however, the FBI was able to track his location, and arrested him with the help of the Mexican police onMarch 1, 1998. Lacking a college degree, he found that his army skills felt meaningless in the 1990s job market. But this time on the phone, Kelly wasn't joking. Sure enough, she called a few days later, around September 16. The woman on the phone was Kelly Jane Campbell, and David had a mad crush on her. This website uses cookies and some data tracking to improve your experience and serve adverts, We assume you're ok with this, you can opt-out if you wish. Tuesday marked 25 years since a group of buddies pulled off the third-largest money grab in U.S. history -- the Loomis Fargo heist. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: But where will they park? Charlotte Observer"more than a crime story, and one that's worth reading." Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. My knee-jerk reaction was to be angry, and then the sarcastic ass side of me started laughing about it, Ghantt said. So they went to Mexico and arrested Ghantt in order to protect him. He shut the empty vault and set its timer so the vault could not be opened for two or three days. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. You have permission to edit this article. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft [Jeff Diamant] on Amazon.com. We are happy to work with other website publishers. They also purchased expensive cars, jewelry and a breast enhancement or two. She was five-foot-seven, had dirty-blond hair, and had worked with him for about a year at Loomis Fargo, until she left for another job in 1996. Change). "I've got a friend," she said, "who can hook you up with a new ID.". Feet Security Officer Bo Foot's Incident In Happy Town | ipl.org Jim Gronquist was Campbells defense attorney. How many people have walked the red carpet at a movie premiere in a case that was yours?. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth., White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money,, Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with., She will never get beyond the debt. Human nature is a flexible part of life, Gronquist said. 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. 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. It just happened to fall on my desk.. Ghantt had worked with the branch since 1994, and had been promoted from a driver to the vault supervisor. Though much of the cash was already stacked on pushcarts in the vault, other stacks were on shelves or the floor, and they were heavy. About the worst he had done as a teenager was stealing a construction company's Porta-Jon with a friend, tying it to the back of a pickup truck, and driving around for about fifteen minutes. He waffled on the heist idea three or four times from late August to mid-September. The friend was Steve Chambers, and Kelly said he knew his way around the world of crime. David Scott Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. 'When you have money, you just have different problems': The Loomis Cool interesting stuff features everything odd, weird, bizzare, strange or unusual. He added that money can be a motivator for anyone. They knew Steve Chambers had worked as an informant in the past, and were nervous he would smell out an undercover. Moving the money into the van quickly proved an onerous task. They assumed that whoever was involved would keep the cash in a safe place, like a safe deposit box. Before the robber left Loomis Fargo, he made a trip to the managers office to remove two surveillance tapes in order to conceal his identity. - 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. Steve began talking about wiring money to overseas accounts, and even purchasing a nightclub. Low 46F. Man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 years ago now a 'normal guy While Ghantt waited for the heat from the robbery to die down, Chambers would send Ghantt small amounts of money. White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money, she said. Sunny. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. Campbell was another employee at Loomis Fargo and she and Ghantt quickly struck up a relationship, one that Campbell denies was ever romantic though FBI evidence says otherwise, and one that continued after she left the company. The figures can be astounding. The inspiration behind the major motion picture Masterminds starring Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, and Jason Sudeikis! The FBI was inadvertently aided by the gang members extravagant spending. He and his wife, Michele, moved from theirmobile homeinLincoln Countyto a luxury house in the wealthy Cramer Mountain section ofCramerton. The trainee didn't know to check to make sure it was closed. That first day in prison was scary, Ghantt said. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. Seven Charged In $17M Heist - CBS News 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. They also bought aBMW Z3with cash and made several large purchases, including a $600 statue of aNative American. 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. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Remember why you were elected! He added that he would be able to send the trainee home at about 6:00 p.m. and would then need about an hour to load the money from carts, shelves, and the floor into a Loomis company van. David placed their odds of success at 85 percent, a confidence inspired by faith not just in his planning but also in his feelings for Kelly. 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. "But you can still have a cigarette.". He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. Its like, me and you sat down, I have access to pie, you like pie, all I want is my share of the pie. At 2:20 p.m., the phone rang; it was Kelly again. 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Loomis Fargo employees could not open the vault the next morning, and called the police. Investigators considered Ghantt to be the prime suspect almost from the beginning. "Do you know how much there's gonna be?" 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. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. 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. Former Loomis employee David Scott Ghantt is accused of stealing the money. Campbell led Ghantt to think she loved him and they would flee to Mexico together, but she actually wanted to make a better life for herself in the U.S. With the plan in place, Ghantt sent a newly hired employee he had been assigned to train home early (reportedly, at 6 p.m.) and then proceeded to load a little more than $17.3 million in cash (approximately $11 million of which was in$20 bills) into the back of a company van. The Chambers home is now gated, which means Channel 9 crews cant drive up to it like we used to. The police almost immediately called theFBI, since 95% of the money handled at the facility was owned by banks. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. This technically made it abank robbery afederal offense. RELATED: When you have money, you just have different problems: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later, How I held it together is beyond me, Ghantt said. Stealing from Loomis Fargo could make him rich, if he got away with it. He also stole both existing sets of vault keys and hurried into the manager's office, where three TV security screens and two VCRs were visible. As a child, he had preferred reading to playing sports, and he would say, as an adult, that although he couldn't have told you "who was on first," he knew as a kid who the Egyptian god of the dead was. Eric Payne got out of prison in 2006 for his role in the heist and has since paid $11,357 on his $292,000 debt. So the original gang was all totally shocked, Wydra said. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. Seven p.m. came and went, and so did 7:20. David got a kick out of her. The figures can be astounding. Enforcement of this policy is at the 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. them. Even with several vehicles, they underestimated how much space they would need and they had to leave $3 million behind. Steve had hired a bodyguard named Mike McKinney. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]. Available on Compatible NOOK Devices and the free NOOK Apps. He wanted to leave his wife for her, and Kelly, who also was married, let him think she wanted the same. If we can sit on the money for a year, maybe two, it could work.". Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. (LogOut/ Heist: The Oddball Crew Behind the $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. The theft at the time the second-largest cash robbery in U.S. history has been the brunt of mocking movies and books, mostly on how the thieves, who had little money to begin with, could not control their spending habits once they did. None of the suspects had been in any serious trouble before this. Sure to be in demand as the book has been made into a movie, Masterminds, to be released in August.Michael Sawyer, Pine Bluff, AR. "Just think about it," she said. 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After hanging up on her, David returned to work. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. First, they tapped the Chambers phone, and began listening in on February 11th, 1998. In fact, he had recently finished a book about the FBI and felt it provided insight into the agency's investigative techniques, insight he thought could help the little gang succeed. Heist! All but one took plea deals, including Ghantt, who was sentenced to seven years in prison. Although the FBI investigation was able to quickly connect Ghantt to Campbell, connecting Ghantt to Chambers was a more difficult task. If it didn't work out, he could return to the United States later with a new identity. Afterward, everything became comical. They succeeded in removing $17 million from the safe. 'When you have money, you just have different problems': The Loomis The FBI became more suspicious after they interviewed Campbell for the third time. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. "Are you serious?" The October 4 shift was lasting longer than expected, due to delays involving pickups and deliveries. He had since held one low-paying job after another. A connection between each suspect began to emerge slowly, and as the intensity of spending grew, suspicion did as well. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ). 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. 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.. FBI agents recall surreal story of heist that inspired - WLOS What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. Expanded two-hour true crime story about the 1997 Loomis-Fargo armored car heist in North Carolina and the serio-comic fate of its bumbling underdog perpetra. she asked again. Learning from this error, David planned to leave the stolen money behind with his coconspirators while he fled to Mexico. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist - molecularrecipes.com 2023 Cox Media Group. Sun, sand and beaches are all part of why Jacksonville is a popular destination. And they could barely afford the minimum payments, given the power bills, phone bills, car insurance bills, and home payments they had to meet. The world is full of unexplained events, strange mysteries, and mysterious legends. He knew they were nervous outside waiting for him, but he also knew he wouldn't stop stealing until he had taken everything. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. He allegedly hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. Steve Chambers and his wife were living in a trailer and upgraded to what would today be a multi-million-dollar mansion at Cramer Mountain. "I was unhappy with my life. Michelle Chambers received a few more months than Ghantt, because she had violated several bond conditions. For people earning $8.15 an hour David's salary the jokes came naturally. That sounds like a lot of money until its compared to the $18,930,201.26 the group was ordered to pay. A more immediate need was securing help to move the stolen money to safety the night of the crime. That movie, Masterminds, was filmed in 2014. she asked. In addition, he also rented Mike his own apartment, paid him $400/weekly and bought him a gun. Later, they also arrested Nathans older brother. 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. A couple by the names of Steve and Shelley Chambers also became people of interest in the investigation due to their extreme sudden increase in spending. In 1994, they moved to Gastonia, North Carolina, where they had grown up, and David took a job driving a forklift. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. Library Journal "highly entertaining." They hadn't slept together or even fooled around much, but he was ready to commit. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. Was the temptation too much? For example, Steve Chambers and his wife were living in a trailer and upgraded to what would today be a multi-million-dollar mansion at Cramer Mountain. Later that year, he saw a newspaper ad for a job at Loomis Fargo. The gang made numerous mistakes. How he felt shorted by life. Kelly Campbell, who one day visited a Toyota dealership to purchase a minivan with twenty-dollar bills. And once he started, he didn't stop with one cartful. He knew it would mean leaving Tammy. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. By then, the FBI had become greatly concerned for Ghantts personal safety; they had learned of Chambersmurder for hirescheme.
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