Als u uw keuzes wilt aanpassen, klik dan op 'Privacyinstellingen beheren'. Then Michele made a trip to the bank. In addition to her work for PrepScholar, Hayley is the author of Museum Hack's Guide to History's Fiercest Females. 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. The College Entrance Examination BoardTM does not endorse, nor is it affiliated in any way with the owner or any content of this site. David Ghantt : [voice-over] Steve was a petty thief, mostly known for stealing tiny wheelchairs from pediatric hospitals. You see, theres a reason Loomis Fargo used armored cars to move large amounts of cash. 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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. His partners, who planned to stay behind, agreed to send him his full cut of the money after the heat from investigators had died down. The chief running joke in Masterminds is the Prince Valiant 'do gamely sported by Galifianakis as David Ghantt, . ``There are many people with those factors who don't resort to crime,' he said. Some people screw up big like you, some people screw up small.". ``I wish she'd gotten less. So he hatched a plan to rob his employers. I didnt even know about it and overlooked it, he said. You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or www.Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. He completed his prison sentence in November 2006. Culler acknowledged that she had overheard her husband and co-defendant Kelly Campbell talk about the plan, ``but she thought it was fantasy world.'. [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]. The defense has finished its closing argument in the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Campbell and Chambers made themselves easy to catch, what with their lavish spending. Instead, the bandits just started throwing as much money as they could into the van until they couldnt fit anymore. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LCR9zyGkbo. Michele Chambers declined to make a statement at the hearing. Chambers promised to wire him money in Mexico until the investigation blew over and Ghantt could return to North Carolina. And drastic it was. But there was just one thing the group hadnt been counting on: the massive weight of that amount of cash. ``I'm glad she didn't get nine years,' said Sandra Floyd, her mother. Once the hitman Chambers had hired arrived in Mexico, he found that he couldnt bring himself to kill Ghantt. The scary one is stealing the money. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Ghantt believed the new employee would make a good replacement for his wife, but the feelings were not necessarily reciprocated. Elizabeth Poile was in 10th . He then proceeded to load about $17.3 million in cash (approximately $11 million of which was in $20 bills) into the back of a company van. 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. He stayed at a luxury hotel and took scuba diving lesson. They kept several furnishings from the previous owners, including a painting of Elvis Presley on black velvet. A: When I first got in, I thought, "What in my life has led me to this?" Campbell left her job in the summer of 1997, but she would later use Ghantts feelings for her to her own advantage to get him to agree to carry out the multi-million-dollar heist. But in addition to a wife,. Here's whatGhantt says now about the heist that madethe "Cramer Mountain Hillbillies" famous and changed him forever. Wyatt Redd is a freelance writer from Nashville, Tennessee. 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. I got to eat my meal perfectly, but every 5 minutes, someone wanted to shoot a selfie with Zach or an autograph from Zach. 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. Two days after the heist, the FBI found the missing van with $3.3 million of cash left in it. 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. Si vous ne souhaitez pas que nos partenaires et nousmmes utilisions des cookies et vos donnes personnelles pour ces motifs supplmentaires, cliquez sur Refuser tout. The odds of you actually getting away with something these days is pretty damn slim. The FBI (Leslie Jones, Jon Daly) made easy work of the case, however, and everyone involved was eventually arrested and imprisoned. I learned that I was an a--hole. . After finding himself in prison he made a concious choice to do things differently. Just days after agreeing to the plan, the group set a day to carry out the robbery. 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. Chambers had no intention of following those rules, believing the FBI would never connect him to Ghantt. hbspt.cta.load(360031, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05', {}); Have any questions about this article or other topics? 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. Meanwhile, David Ghantt was relaxing on a beach in Cozumel, Mexico. During the next few months they bought a BMW-Z3 roadster and tens of thousands of dollars in antiques, furniture and decorations. Even the outtakes during the credits are bad. Chambers promised to wire him money in Mexico until the investigation blew over and Ghantt could return to . Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. 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. Jimmy Carter is a Liberal Saint Now, Was a War Criminal Then. It was over. Anonymous tips had the FBI monitoring Chambers calls. I wasnt attracted to him or anything, but he was a nice guy, Campbell said. Hes way smarter than youd think he would be because he tends to play Bozos. Get the latest articles and test prep tips! When Ghantt called Chambers to have the latter wire him more money, Chambers sent just a few thousand dollars. Harper Beckham and her dad David Beckham dressed in matching black outfits as they headed to a Paris Fashion Week event being thrown by Harper's mom and David's wife Victoria . David Ghantt : I had a hard time liftin' it up. The FBI investigation was aided by the gang's extravagant spending. 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. Ghantt's spending in Mexico was extravagant at first. 29 David Ghantt Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images. ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score, How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League, Is the ACT easier than the SAT? [7][8], Rocket Science, a 1998 double-disc album by Charlotte-based radio personalities John Boy & Billy, includes a track ("Marvin: The Loomis Caper") mocking the defendants. Ghantt was. 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. I knew that if we could stay off the radar for about a year, we could basically live a vacation life, Ghantt said. 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. Before he decided to steal $17 million from the bank, Ghantt had worked for years as a relatively taciturn and compliant employee. Most high schools offer a variety of history classes, so make sure youre taking the right ones for you. He was also married. 2023 www.gastongazette.com. Generally, the events of the film are fairly close to reality when they follow the broad details of the case. A lot of people ask me, Oh, do you have any regrets? No, not really. On Oct. 4, 1997, former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt finished his shift as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte. Too bad it was so poorly planned. afficher des publicits et des contenus personnaliss en fonction de vos profils de centres dintrt; mesurer lefficacit des publicits et contenus personnaliss; et. At the. In addition to his phone calls with Ghantt, Chambers began extravagantly spending the money, even though the co-conspirators had agreed to lay low for a year or two. Prosecutors also resisted Culler's efforts to downplay Michele Chambers' role in the theft. 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. His wife, they said, got breast implants and used cash to purchase a 1998 BMW Z3 sports car. Als u niet wilt dat wij en onze partners cookies en persoonsgegevens voor deze aanvullende doeleinden gebruiken, klik dan op 'Alles weigeren'. Naturally, Ghantt started to run out of cash and turned to Chambers, who was annoyed by his requests for more money. They asked me how I felt about it and I said, Its my story, but its your movie so have at me. She had previously been making frequent small deposits to avert suspicion. In October of 1997, I was a vault supervisor for armored truck company Loomis Fargo, when I made off with $17.3 million. 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. Chambers was a small-time crook who suggested to Campbell that they rob Loomis Fargo. You have permission to edit this article. David Ghantt (@DavidGhantt) is a man that still holds the record for the second largest bank heist on American Soil. The FBI knew they needed to make their move. Answer: The painful one is getting caught. 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. They took a lot of liberty with the story here and there. Over the years many of his social . Ghantt plead guilty to his charges andserved six years in prison, along with21 other defendantswho received chargesrangingfrom money laundering to bank larceny. Until it's gone, you don't appreciate it. David Ghantt spent 11 years in the military and now works as a film consultant on the side. I think Zachs a hell of an actor. 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. Because the money in the vault was largely from banks, the crime was technically a bank robbery and thus a federal offense. 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. Q: How do you tell prospective employers you once stole $17 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. This article will teach you more about the SAT subject tests. Kate. I did get to meet him. 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 wife, Michelle, bought a minivan in cash and began taking frequent trips to the bank to make deposits. [citation needed], It was later confirmed by the FBI that more than 88% of the stolen cash had been located or otherwise accounted for. Based on a true story, the premise itself is fascinating, which makes Masterminds all the more a waste. But Ghantt has been open about what he did and how he believes it changed him for the better. Three of the 21 defendants in the case haven't been sentenced. Guess what? 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David Scott Ghantt was the vault supervisor at the regional branch of Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte, North Carolina. While Ghantt waited for the heat from the robbery to die down, Chambers would send Ghantt small amounts of money. Q: North Carolina native Zach Galifianakis portrayed you in "Masterminds." On March 1, 1988, Mexican police arrested Ghantt at Playa del Carmen. David Bragg . The FBI quickly connected Ghantt to Campbell, who was a former Loomis Fargo employee. SAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination BoardTM. 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. How? 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. While listening in, they uncovered another more sinister alleged plan to kill Ghantt. 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. $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. And, with the help of several others David made off with $17.3 million dollars, 11 million of which was in 20's. All rights reserved. You've decided to give up on a part of your life. I got no real complaints, not at this point., The heist became the premise for the movie,Masterminds, released in September 2016. Will California Save the Iconic Joshua Tree? Of course, I went on a spending spree. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! [citation needed], The defendants were the targets of many barbed jokes in Charlotte and across the country, in part because of their extravagant spending. 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. 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. But because he still owes millions to the IRS, he couldnt be paid. And it didn't take long to figure out that this was not the place for me. 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. 43-year-old Margret and her mother both died in 2012 . Authorities had the receipt and had known it was missing. Q: You say your time in federal prison changed you. You can't get barbecue slaw in this hedonistic state (Florida), and there's nowhere to get real ice cream here like Tony's. Everybody thinks being famous and being an actor is stupendous, and the money is fantastic, but they kind of live in afish bowl. 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. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. On similar grounds, four other people were ultimately also charged with money laundering. You can cancel at any time. Thats going to be your life for quite some time, typically. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually . An elderly American couple who went missing in Greece in late January this year were discovered dead in Taygetos mountain range. According to Campbell, Chambers could help Ghantt execute a massive cash robbery of the vault at Loomis Fargo in one night. And so this third camera caught everything that happened next. 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. CREATIVE. More than 2 million dollars is still missing to this day. 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. Over the next months, Ghantt, Campbell, and Chambers developed a plan. 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. 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. By Dustin Rowles | Film | September 30, 2016 |. Day in and day out, he drives an armored vehicle,. Will Mcintyre/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesMichele Chambers 1998 BMW for sale following the prosecutions of the Loomis Fargo heist conspirators. The only defendant to not plead guilty, Chambers's attorney Jeff Guller, was found guilty of money laundering and sentenced to eight years in prison. One of the best ways to learn more about U.S. history is to make sure youre taking history classes. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. As Predators' David Poile braces for retirement, his wife reveals their love story. In fact, David Ghantt was about to commit the heist of a lifetime. All of the defendants except for one pleaded guilty and accepted their sentences. Ghantt sent home a new employee and quickly loaded the money into the back of a bank van. But before thehit could be carried out, the FBI swooped in and arrested Ghantt and the others. Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here: PrepScholar 2013-2018. 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. He was insecure. Jandice : In any case, we got to talkin' afterwards, and I thought, well, that one's dead, this one's alive. 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. Its kind of out of sight, out of mind, she said of the reasoning. Meanwhile, Ghantt would take $50,000, as much as could legally be carried across the border without questions, and flee to Mexico. 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. They also bought a BMW Z3 with cash and made several large purchases, including a $600 cigar store Indian. And with that, David Ghantt took off for Mexico. 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. 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. Thirteen friends and family members were also charged with money laundering, as they had helped Ghantt, Chambers, Campbell, and the others deposit money illegally. 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? 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. David Ghantt is more than just a man who was a part of one of the worlds largest heists, he's more than a funny name associated with a comedy movie, he's actually just an every day person who once made a really bad decision. 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. David Ghantt (Zach Galifianakis), an employee of Loomis Fargo, robbed his own vault, left the $17.3 million in cash with his co-conspirators, Kelly Campbell (Kristen Wiig) and Steve Chambers (Owen Wilson) and fled the country to Mexico. AMA In October of 1997, I was a vault supervisor for armored truck company Loomis Fargo, when I made off with $17.3 million. A: I hate to think about what I'd be doing if I hadn't gotten caught. 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. 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. David Ghantt attends the after party for the Premiere Of Relativity Media's "Masterminds" on September 26, 2016 in Hollywood, California. Ghantts wife was reportedly nothing like the bizarre, robotic fiance character in the film, for instance. David Bowie 's widow recently took to Instagram to post selfies, while promoting both her makeup brand and fashion line. In the end, eight co-conspirators were indicted for the Loomis Fargo heist. Officers responded just after 5 a.m. Wednesday to an area near the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Carolyn Coleman Way and found , "The Wall Street Journal just so happened to have a supportive op-ed ready to publish within hours of the meeting. Director Jared Hess Writers Chris Bowman (screenplay) Hubbel Palmer (screenplay) Emily Spivey (screenplay) Stars Zach Galifianakis Kristen Wiig Owen Wilson 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. Fed up, exhausted, and seeing a way out, Ghantt agreed. Steve Chambers and his wife (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) were a little more difficult to connect to the heist. Having only brought $50,000 in cash, however, Ghantt soon found himself short on funds. 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. 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. He had stayed in a luxury hotel and paid for expensive food and activities such as scuba diving and parasailing. But even though he worked for a company that regularly moved millions of dollars, David Ghantt himself was underpaid. Wanneer u onze sites en apps gebruikt, gebruiken we, gebruikers authenticeren, veiligheidsmaatregelen toepassen en spam en misbruik voorkomen, en, gepersonaliseerde advertenties en content weergeven op basis van interesseprofielen, de effectiviteit meten van gepersonaliseerde advertenties en content, en, onze producten en services ontwikkelen en verbeteren. 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.". David Ghantt discovers the true meaning of adventure far beyond his wildest dreams.
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