Man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 years ago now a 'normal guy October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery - Wikipedia The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. Loomis employees drive the very core of our business. What concerned her was the chance of getting caught. 1997 Loomis Fargo Robbery - Strange Unexplained Mysteries With the help of Aldo, a Mexican waiter he had befriended, David found a beach apartment in Cancun. And it turned Steve into he thought he was Don Corleone all of a sudden.. More agents waited outside to arrest them. Not a documentary. He covers culture, politics, race, and other perplexing mysteries for MEL. Exciting. And then I could hear her laughing. To that end, Campbell brought in her childhood friend Steve Chambers, who was characterized in the local press as a small-time drug dealer and a local fence for stolen goods, to lead the team. The only person not to plead guilty in the case, former Gastonia attorney Jeff Guller, ended up doing eight years for money laundering. . He has no contact with any of those convicted with him in the crime, including his former wife, and doesn't plan to see the movie, he said. . One of them tapped him on the back. He told him McKinney was in Mexico to kill somebody. He told Steve he hadn't been able to find David. 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." Some of that money is just gone. If you want to go ahead and go, I got it. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. There was in fact a basically similar conversation involving Chambers and Campbell that took place during a barbecue the Campbells were hosting. And that's OK with Ghantt, who's just a few weeks shy of his 47th birthday, out of federal prison for more than a decade, married with a 9-year-old daughter . They bought a BMW roadster. I flew from Atlanta to New Orleans. Eric watched. At 6-1 and 220 pounds, Steve was stocky and imposing, a fast talker with a brown goatee. Reach our Customer Contact Center by calling 877.877.0560 from 6:30 AM to 11:30 PM CT every day or by completing the provided form. The cash was covered with dog food. "We're not the type that questions everything people tell us," Floyd said. That time in prison was actually good for me. I had to go in there and tell her the whole story, and she was real cool about it. We need to set up some way for me to get my money. She said, We got it all worked out. She could walk under the trees, with the chickens and goats and dogs that live around her mobile home. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Or does it sit in an offshore account, waiting for a prison sentence to end? Were others involved? Things went from bad to worse when, in November, Michelle strolled into a bank with a briefcase filled with 200 grand and asked the manager, How much can I deposit without the bank reporting the transaction? When she showed the bank manager that she really had the money to invest, the cash was still bound in Loomis Fargo wrappers. He goes, My name is Bruno. Michele told her mother she and Steve had been saving gambling winnings for the down payment. Zaron Burnett is an investigative journalist and longform features writer based in Los Angeles. Sweat soaked David's uniform. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. That led to better jobs, like the one at Loomis. It changes you. I did a little research into crime statistics and the local cops. They paid for all of it in cash. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. She was a wife and mother with two children. . The platform is designed to engage citizens and government leaders in a discussion about what needs improvement across the country. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. There had been no signs. And robbing a truck was dangerous. . Chambers and Campbell were waiting for him in the Loomis Fargo parking lot, both in separate vehicles. Kelly called David at. Gaston County residents remember how that worked out. He would pay McKinney $250,000, half upfront. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. But because David's relationship with his Loomis bosses had been rocky, he says, he doesn't feel sorry about what he did to the company. 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. He had just returned to his home in Jacksonville, Fla., when he agreed to talk about the heist, his life now and what went wrong when a group of friends who thought they could get away with stealing $17 million cash. Purchases included a pool table, jewelry (including a $43,000 diamond ring), a minivan, $20,000 worth of cigars, and the 7,000-square-foot home on the side of Cramer. I had a four-hour layover there, and then from New Orleans to Cancun.. Question: You were a consultant? Looking for Kelly Loomis? At that same time, Steve was growing sick of the calls to send more money to Ghantt, and was looking for a way to end that issue. and "I'm rich!". Together, they drove in a convoy to an industrial warehouse eight miles away, where Eric Payne, a fourth accomplice was. I was looking at small sailboats and theyre not cheap, he tells me. Did you get paid? . Will Vin Sant Leave You Jacked or Scammed? Even still, he was 27, married and struggling to provide for his family. The others, though, went no farther than Cramer Mountain. I wanted to make a drastic change and I went for it," Ghantt said. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. . Two more defendants in the $17 million Loomis Fargo & Co. robbery last year have agreed to plead guilty, and a third person entered a formal plea in court. . 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. I said, Probably, the best time would be on the weekend; theres fewer people there. When he was done, the man drove off to a nearby printing press, where the money was distributed into private vehicles amongst a handful of people. Purchases included a pool table, jewelry (including a $43,000 diamond ring), a minivan, $20,000 worth of cigars, and the 7,000-square-foot home on the side of Cramer Mountain. By then Id figured out that Bruno was up to no good, and that Id probably never seen any more of my money. "I was thinking, 'They aren't paying me enough,' " McKinney recalled. They cursed. "I wanted to be more like my mom and dad were.". And though she had been made night shift supervisor at Allied Security, she still felt she would never make the money she needed. Kelly says she underestimated the value of her life before the heist. Chambers went from a mobile home in Lincoln County to a mansion in Cramerton. . 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. They tried to break the van's bulletproof windows. But McKinney never stopped trying to kill Ghantt although, initally, McKinney thought Chambers had paid for the hit over a drug deal gone bad, Diamant said. Ghantt, meanwhile, was losing his patience and starting to make threats. A couple weeks pass, and I call again, Hey, Id like to get some more money. He appeared happily matched with his high-spirited wife, Michele, and the two children from her first marriage. I mentioned it to Kelly. Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. He had a favorite restaurant, Zandunga, which had a mariachi band each night and a view of the Caribbean. In real life: False. Her only brush with the law had been a DUI arrest. Kelly told the FBI she had done drugs with David but denied knowing about the theft. 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. They entered their dogs in fights and watched them die. Once I start something, Im going to the end., As for how he felt in the moment, he says, Imagine me and you went on an airplane. Copyright 2022 TheAssociated Press. First, in January, he tried to get someone to take some millions down to Mexico. I knew I was going to be the prime suspect. Ghantt:Since I still owe the federal government money I can't get paid. Basically, he needed a score to make his problems go away. Ghantt:It baffles me to this day. Kelly drove her pickup to a lot across the street from the Loomis building, on Suttle Avenue in Charlotte. There was a little voice in my head that said, 'Don't do it. The Unexpectedly Sweet Story Behind Those Viral Semi-Truck Pregnancy Photos. Although David was in on most of the planning, one discussion between Steve and Kelly was kept a secret. "Love" has four. On March 1, David Ghantt left his hotel to do some laundry. Working together, they got the gate open, then drove in a caravan to the Reynolds & Reynolds parking lot. There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. "It probably should bother me," he said. I knew it was just a matter of time. Some family members hid money in bank deposit boxes, other friends were asked to mule cash to the Cayman Islands. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. The van door opened. The top-ranked pie in North Carolina doesnt look like pie at all. So yeah, Im kind of proud of it.. Basic and voluntary life insurance plan. He partied, met women, drank, skied and hung out at the beach. Mexican police, Interpol officers and an FBI agent were watching him. They loaded the wine cellar with Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Steve hung a velvet portrait of Elvis Presley in the basement. Question: Are you happy that Wilkesboro-nativeZach Galifianakis plays you in the movie? He hadnt checked ahead of time if the airport had any available flights, let alone if it would even be open. Hed be in contact. "I'd been told all my life, money will not make you happy," Kelly said. By . Things started to go south the night of the robbery. Ghantt fled to Mexico. Ghantt worked at Loomis Fargos regional office vault in Charlotte. Loomis Fargo Defendants Owe as Much as They Stole in 1997, 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. Hes going to start bringing you money. Alright. In real life: False. Federal prosecutors would ultimately charge 21 defendants in the case, including the Floyds, who were charged with (and pleaded guilty to) money laundering. He drove to the edge of the Loomis compound, which was surrounded by a chain-link fence. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. At the end of October, Kelly was sentenced to 5 years 10 months in prison. He said every year he files his taxes and the IRS takes all of his tax return. How Bridgerton restarted buzz about her ancestry. They stocked a wine cellar. Now that Kelly believes she has found Jesus, she has become more analytical about her past. "Think of how many women would have stood by. The real story behind the second largest bank heist in history, which 6-Year Sentence For Kelly Campbell | The Seattle Times It affects everybody different. Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. Fact check: Is there much truth to the new 'Masterminds' movie? Just under $14 million sat in an outbuilding behind his home, inside blue steel barrels. Some received probation for money laundering, many others did hard time. "I" has one letter. Kelly Loomis Facebook, Instagram & Twitter on PeekYou Figure in Loomis Heist Gets Prison | AP News The FBI's final challenge is finding the remaining $2 million. And that's OK with Ghantt, who's just a few weeks shy of his 47th birthday, out of federal prison for more than a decade, married with a 9-year-old daughter and happy. But I thought this is me being hard-headed Im going to ride this thing to the ground. And so thats what I did.. 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. Campbell, a former Loomis employee and one of the original masterminds of the caper, has paid off less than $21,000 of the $4,701,694.18 she was docked. Ghantt was scheduled to work a shift at the armored car company Oct. 4. Steve had already paid McKinney $50,000 for the use of his ID. I really enjoyed the little scuba diving trip. He and his wife, Tammy, lived in a mobile home in Kings Mountain, N.C. Money was always tight. You have to remember that it's Hollywood and they'll take what was a minor event and they'll blow it up and make it as funny as they can.". I just want people to go to the movies and have a good laugh, even if it's at my expense. "I felt that if I didn't do something, I was going to snap," David said. Heist: The Oddball Crew Behind the $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft by . Charlotte Magazine even ran a feature story about the Loomis Fargo heist with the title, White Trash Crime. The headlines, however, never bothered 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. 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. Meanwhile, Michele Chambers was laughing and saying, repeatedly, "Look at all this money!" . 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the year that everything happened 1997. Military + Veterans. The name she gave the pup is apropos. Steve led the planning. A third tape he didn't know about kept recording. I mean, it was dark, Ghantt explains. 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. . Before David left for the airport, he had handed Scott an eight-inch key ring. In real life: True. That was pretty awesome., It felt like a dream vacation until he started running out of money. Michele tells me you're in a financial bind. Or that hed gotten lucky gambling. "But, I hate to admit it, it doesn't faze me one bit. . Kelly relayed his message to Steve. She just called me up on the phone and said, Hey, lets meet one day after work. And then, we were talking and she says, How do you feel about robbing Loomis Fargo? Ghantt tells me.
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