He told me they were in the dirt business, so he didn't have to worry too much about me. 2023 www.gastongazette.com. 'When you have money, you just have different problems': The Loomis Will Mcintyre/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images. Even though they drove away with less than they had initially intended, they still had more than $17 million in hand. The scary one is stealing the money. Former Cramerton Police Chief David Young soon got wind of the Chambers excessive spending spree and reached out to the FBI. 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. You have permission to edit this article. Answer: The painful one is getting caught. 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. Pocketing $50,000 for himself, that man, named David Ghantt, hopped into a car of his own and headed towards Mexico. But in addition to a wife,. David Ghantt was portrayed by Zackary Hatfield. EDITORIAL. Over the years many of his social . I wanted to make a drastic change and I went for it, Ghantt remembered later to the Gaston Gazette. All of the cash from the Loomis Fargo heist was recovered or accounted for, except for $2 million. Although the history of the predecessor Wells Fargo & Company dates back to 1852, Loomis Fargo & Company was established in 1997 by the consolidation of Wells Fargo Armored Service and Loomis Armored Inc.; the resulting corporation employed 8,500 people and provided armored transportation, cash handling services, and automatic teller machine maintenance. Ask below and we'll reply! Collections. Separating the Red and Blue. And, with the help of several others David made off with $17.3 million dollars, 11 million of which was in 20's. A: People are very forgiving if you're open and honest right from the start. 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. Thats the big thing. Guided by federal sentencing rules, prosecutors had requested a sentence of nine years for Michele Chambers. Instead, the two started hanging out on the beach together and became friends. There is nothing of value in this movie. Her husband, Steve Chambers, whom prosecutors have called the main defendant, began serving an 11-year sentence earlier this year. Zach Galifianakis played David Scott Ghantt, with other roles played byOwen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Leslie Jones, Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon. How Did David Ghantt, Kelly Campbell, Steve Chambers Steal More Than In total, 24 people were convicted. 5 min read. Jimmy Carter is a Liberal Saint Now, Was a War Criminal Then. 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. 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. David Ghantt And The Loomis Fargo Heist: The Outrageous True Story. ``None of these defendants , in this court's opinion, are capable of making substantial restitution, no matter what they do, or no matter what they try,' Mullen said. The judge said he doubted she would be able to pay the $4.8 million restitution, but said federal law required him to impose it. 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. 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? In spite of Chambers assurance that the money was, you know, totally not illegally acquired, the teller remained suspicious, especially because the stacks of cash still had Loomis Fargo wrappers on them. 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. The move bought him a little extra time to make his escape. Theres barely a laugh in the entire film, which looks like it was shot entirely in one take while the actors were still working out their characters. Loomis Fargo employees could not open the vault the next morning and called the police. U kunt uw keuzes te allen tijde wijzigen door te klikken op de links 'Privacydashboard' op onze sites en in onze apps. Until it's gone, you don't appreciate it. You take a movie like Oceans Eleven, the whole concept of that movie is so farfetched, its not even funny. I did get to meet him. 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.". The FBI continues to search for a missing $2 million from the theft. And it didn't take long to figure out that this was not the place for me. Prosecutors also resisted Culler's efforts to downplay Michele Chambers' role in the theft. Said Ghantt, one day life kinda slapped me in the face. $17.3 million in cash was robbed from the Charlotte, North Carolina, regional office vault of Loomis, Fargo & Co. on the evening of October 4, 1997. They kept several furnishings from the previous owners, including a painting of Elvis Presley on black velvet. The FBI quickly connected Ghantt to Campbell, who was a former Loomis Fargo employee. 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. C hristopher David Ghantt Phone Numbers (704) 678-8911. David Ghantt, a Gulf War veteran, had never been in trouble with the law. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LCR9zyGkbo. The true crime behind Asheville-based Galifianakis film Thirteen friends and family members were also charged with money laundering, as they had helped Ghantt, Chambers, Campbell, and the others deposit money illegally. For the New York State assemblyman, see. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Two days after the heist, the FBI found the missing van with $3.3 million of cash left in it. Chambers had no intention of following those rules, believing the FBI would never connect him to Ghantt. He left his wedding ring behind and spent his days spending money on luxury hotels and scuba diving. 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. An elderly American couple who went missing in Greece in late January this year were discovered dead in Taygetos mountain range. David GhanttRetweeted Iraqveteran8888 @Iraqveteran8888 Dec 9, 2022 Elect me President and I'll fire everyone, free Julian Assange, and pardon Edward Snowden. 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. 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. 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. After years of working hard, the realisation hit . 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. Ghantt @ChristyGhantt Dec 7, 2022 I just entered the @clxgaming Ra PC Giveaway! They also bought a BMW Z3 with cash and made several large purchases, including a $600 cigar store Indian. 'Masterminds' Review: Loomis Fargo Robbery Where Are They Now? - Pajiba And Ghantt hadnt really thought about the physical challenge of moving such a large sum of money. Here, he amps up the most obnoxious excesses of his entire cast and lets their grating bad-improv skills run amok. The morning after the height, employees of Loomis Fargo realized they couldnt open the vault. 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. After finding himself in prison he made a concious choice to do things differently. He is an uncomplicated man stuck in a monotonous life. I didnt even have a real home life because I was never there. 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. 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. 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. DUMB & - The Washington Post That 3-carat ring came back to haunt Michele Chambers at Tuesday's hearing. ", The much-faster-than-expected economic recovery thats followed the easing of the coronavirus pandemic has produced several encouraging develo. 33. Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, though he was released on parole after five. Some of the friends and family members received parole, while Ghantt was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. Will Mcintyre/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesMichele Chambers 1998 BMW for sale following the prosecutions of the Loomis Fargo heist conspirators. Its 90-minutes of mugging for the camera, but the only people who feel mugged are those that pay to see Masterminds. Campbell and Chambers made themselves easy to catch, what with their lavish spending. Both were involved in the second-largest cash heist in U.S. history, in which a group of people stole $17 million from the. David Scott Ghantt Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. 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.