I mean, thats pretty much why I did it. David Bragg . And drastic it was. The scary one is stealing the money. She had previously been making frequent small deposits to avert suspicion. Chambers had no intention of following those rules, believing the FBI would never connect him to Ghantt. I knew it was over then, Ghantt said. 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. 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. David Ghantt had been a model employee for an armored car company before pulling off the second biggest cash heist in U.S. history, fleeing with more than $17 million in untraceable bills in 1997. Als u niet wilt dat wij en onze partners cookies en persoonsgegevens voor deze aanvullende doeleinden gebruiken, klik dan op 'Alles weigeren'. [1] Tips had led the FBI to begin monitoring Chambers's (and his wife's) activities, but it was not until the FBI recorded a phone call from Ghantt in Mexico that the final connection was made. Will California Save the Iconic Joshua Tree? 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. After this look at David Ghantt and the Loomis Fargo heist, read about a more successful robbery, the Antwerp diamond heist. Chambers, his wife, and several of their accomplices were arrested the next day. Its a farce that never farces; a comedy without jokes. BBC Motion Gallery. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. Here, he amps up the most obnoxious excesses of his entire cast and lets their grating bad-improv skills run amok. He told me they were in the dirt business, so he didn't have to worry too much about me. Once the heat was off, Ghantt would return and they would split the haul evenly. All but one of the indicted pleaded guilty. The pair began to daydream about whether they could really pull off the heist. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The former star . When the rest of the Loomis Fargo employees showed up the next morning and found that they couldnt open the vault, they called the police. (Ghantt works as a heavy machine operator in the construction industry.). Bubbling under the surface, however, was a deep frustration at the way he was treated. When Ghantt called Chambers to have the latter wire him more money, Chambers sent just a few thousand dollars. He is an uncomplicated man stuck in a monotonous life. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers home. Ghantts accomplices soon showed up but now they had another problem. Then Michele made a trip to the bank. Q: Your troubles were self-inflicted, but you seem happy. For Christmas, Steve Chambers gave his wife a $43,000 diamond ring. Dont worry, its not drug money.. David Ghantt discovers the true meaning of adventure far beyond his wildest dreams. 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. 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. 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. It's the little things like that that gnaw on you. By comparison, Ghantt served seven years in prison and was fined $26,000. David Ghantt was a nuisance to Steve Chambers and Kelly Campbell, John Wydra, a retired FBI agent who handled the case, told Super Heists.. Her reaction seems so far away now, all these years and a Hall of Fame career later. Even though they drove away with less than they had initially intended, they still had more than $17 million in hand. Eventually, Ghantt would return to the United States and the full sum would be split up between the conspirators. Loomis Fargo employees could not open the vault the next morning and called the police. Now looking back, with the life I have now, Ive got a great family, got a great kid. All of the defendants except for one pleaded guilty and accepted their sentences. 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. David Bowie 's widow recently took to Instagram to post selfies, while promoting both her makeup brand and fashion line. Before he decided to steal $17 million from the bank, Ghantt had worked for years as a relatively taciturn and compliant employee. Chambers promised to wire him money in Mexico until the investigation blew over and Ghantt could return to North Carolina. 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. 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. . He was also married. You've decided to give up on a part of your life. After years of working hard, the realisation hit . Chambers and his wife also made some cash payments on a few cars. Back then all I really wanted to do was just, I wanted to change my life. For the New York State assemblyman, see. 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. Unfortunately, he failed to disable the third camera. To make a successful getaway, Ghantt had to lift nearly 2,800 pounds of currency. 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. 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. Q: You say your time in federal prison changed you. Pocketing $50,000 for himself, that man, named David Ghantt, hopped into a car of his own and headed towards Mexico. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually . But because he still owes millions to the IRS, he couldnt be paid. Federal Judge Graham Mullen sentenced her to between those lengths. Afterward, outside the courthouse, her parents said the length was about what she had expected. Jimmy Carter is a Liberal Saint Now, Was a War Criminal Then. But before thehit could be carried out, the FBI swooped in and arrested Ghantt and the others. Working by himself, Ghantt would commit the robbery and then flee for Mexico, leaving the bulk of the cash with Chambers. Steve Chambers and his wife (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) were a little more difficult to connect to the heist. Please subscribe to keep reading. Prosecutors also resisted Culler's efforts to downplay Michele Chambers' role in the theft. At the time it was the second largest cash robbery ever to happen on US soil. Meanwhile, David Ghantt was relaxing on a beach in Cozumel, Mexico. 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. Ill never pay it off on my paycheck, Ghantt said. 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. 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. 2023 www.gastongazette.com. As it turns out, the heist did in fact go as well as you might expect. Q: You came to the North Carolina mountains during Hurricane Irma, but what do you miss about Gastonia? A: I hate to think about what I'd be doing if I hadn't gotten caught. David Ghantt : I had a hard time liftin' it up. This article will teach you more about the SAT subject testsasync src='https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js' and help you decide whether you should take them. Ghantt was the vault manager. Ghantt added, I really enjoyed the movie. ``I'm glad she didn't get nine years,' said Sandra Floyd, her mother. Because Ghantt was the only employee who wasnt there that morning, he became the obvious suspect. How? Until it's gone, you don't appreciate it. 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. Ask below and we'll reply! 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 chief running joke in Masterminds is the Prince Valiant 'do gamely sported by Galifianakis as David Ghantt, . Its easy to get somebody to do something if you know that they are that infatuated with you.. Guess what? What ACT target score should you be aiming for? Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Finally, in March 1998, the FBI traced a call from Ghantts phone and he was arrested in Mexico. He was angry a lot. 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. 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. He was released in 2006. Zach Galifianakis played David Scott Ghantt, with other roles played byOwen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Leslie Jones, Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon. All but one of the defendants pleaded guilty. 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. David Ghantt struck up a relationship with fellow Loomis Fargo employee Kelly Campbell, and they continued to maintain contact even after Campbell left the company. Ten days later, the group was indicted for bank larceny and money laundering. There is nothing of value in this movie. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. David Ghantt And The Loomis Fargo Heist: The Outrageous True Story. 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. 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. David Ghantt normally came home between 6 and 8 p.m., and often he was late, his wife said. Its about the 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery also known as the hillbillly heist the second largest cash robbery in the history of the United States. Robbing the 7-Eleven and getting $40 bucks and a pack of Marlboros was not for me. Will Mcintyre/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesMichele Chambers 1998 BMW for sale following the prosecutions of the Loomis Fargo heist conspirators.