We are happy to work with other website publishers. He decided at that moment that if Kelly called again, he would go for it. In this outrageously entertaining book, Jeff Diamant, the Charlotte Observer's lead reporter on the case, offers the definitive inside account of this astonishing. The same applies to trolling, the use of multiple aliases, or He called Kelly to say he was coming and hopped into the driver's seat of the loaded Loomis van. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. Winds light and variable. "Don't back out on us. Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. But on Oct. 4, 1997, that no longer mattered and Ghantt took off with $17.3 million. David was supposed to be showing him the ropes of the job, which included cash pickups and deliveries. The Loomis Fargo Heist Over the next months, Ghantt, Campbell, and Chambers developed a plan. They kept several furnishings from the previous owners, including avelvet Elvis. '. And once he started, he didn't stop with one cartful. 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. Authorities were notified of the robbery in the morning, when employees couldnt open the vault. Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. 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. Even with several vehicles, they underestimated how much space they would need and they had to leave $3 million behind. 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. One night in a small North Carolina town, a down-on-his-luck guard at Loomis Fargo manages to steal $17 millionliterally more than one ton of cash. 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. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. That was taking the long view. To be brutally honest, it was that morning, Ghantt replied. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.. Clear skies. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. He also took various measures to change his appearance, such asshaving, after a patron at a restaurant pointed out to him that he looked like the man who robbed a bank of $20 million.. (LogOut/ Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. From my standpoint, it was just a business deal, Ghantt said. When some friends stole a stop sign from a busy intersection, David made them put it back. Then we went on a mission to calculate exactly how much size-wise the money was, $11.3 million in $20 bills, and it weighed over 2,000 pounds, Wydra said. If we work together, we can all have plenty of pie.. The case resurfaced in the federal courts on Thursday, Sept. 1, when the U.S. Attorneys Office in Charlotte posted a public reminder in the case file of Loomis defendant Kelly Campbell that she had fallen behind in her restitution. An additional tip reached the FBI when Michelle Chambers made a large deposit at a bank. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. You have permission to edit this article. Kristen Wiig plays Kelly, who really wasn't that into David, but convinced him to take a fortune from Loomis Fargo in the fall of '97. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct.. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. Oh were not going to talk to anybody, theyre not going to be able to convict us, that bravado happens in the beginning and then it often gets worn down by the reality, Gronquist said. Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date. The old man me would never survive that, Id have a heart attack.. 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. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. Temptation to do something that you think you normally wouldnt do can change a lot of minds when its that kind of cash, and thats what it was., (WATCH BELOW: VIDEO: The Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later). EDITORIAL: Computer Science misses the need for digital literacy, N. Carolina legislators announce Medicaid expansion deal, EDITORIAL: Fighting political forces that sever family ties, Special-use to get overhaul: Commissioners, planners take a look, Cape Carteret seeking new police chief one month after hiring New Bern resident for post, How many in North Carolina are awaiting student loan debt relief? The affidavit described Chambers as a former FBI informant who had provided information on another Loomis armored car robbery that never materialized. His collection case closes in two years. Working by himself, Ghantt would commit the robbery and then flee for Mexico, leaving the bulk of the cash with Chambers. He worked close-by to where the van and over $3 million dollars had been ditched, and was friends with Steve Chambers. The gang made numerous mistakes. 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. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. The supervisor liked him and gave him the job. The unsolved crime mystery of Marilyn Sheppard. But if you did, youll never forget it. "So he stays behind and moving over two thousand pounds of . He could even be famous, perhaps joining the ranks of legendary master thieves. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Heist! Inside the truck, they found Ghantts ring and surmised this as a sign of Ghantts intention to end his relationship with his wife. There's just one hitch: Ghantt has entrusted the money to an oddball crew of accomplices who had wooed him into committing this massive theft in the first placeand who, he soon learns, are trying to take him out. High around 65F. Stealing from Loomis Fargo could make him rich, if he got away with it. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. In Campbells case, Gronquist says his client was buried in court-ordered debt despite the fact that she took responsibility for what she had done and cooperated with prosecutors and the FBI. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. The $17 million Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte, North Carolina, was the second largest armored car robbery in U.S. history. https://www.charlotteagenda.com/67457/loomis-fargo-heist-masterminds-movie/, http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/article104506876.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_1997_Loomis_Fargo_robbery#Company, http://retroclt.blogspot.com/2014/07/loomis-fargo-heist.html, . Ms. Campbell worked at Loomis for 11 months, leaving in November 1996, according to court papers. Paying the money back has taken a lot longer, and time is running out for the U.S. government to collect. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. The case resurfaced in the federal courts on Thursday, Sept. 1, when the U.S. Attorneys Office in Charlotte posted a public reminder in the case file of Loomis defendant Kelly Campbell that she had fallen behind in her restitution. Thank you! Enabling JavaScript in your browser will allow you to experience all the features of our site. How did they get away with stealing more than $17 million? David was thin six-foot-one, one hundred sixty-five pounds and heaving the stacks onto the cart, pushing the cart toward the vault door, and then emptying its contents into the van was exhausting. In David's eyes, Johnson's big mistake was that he did it alone. For the defendants in the Loomis Fargo heist, its allure was irresistible. Steve and Michelle Chambers, who had lived in a mobile home, bought a mansion in Cramer Mountain. A customs inspector, asking routine questions of bus passengers, focused her attention on him when his answers reminded her of Tommy Flanagan, the pathological-liar character played by Jon Lovitz on Saturday Night Live. David said he needed Kelly to drive to Loomis before the theft that night to remove a duffel bag from his parked pickup truck. In preparation for what lay ahead, David had backed an unmarked company Ford Econoline van near the vault entrance and opened the van's back door. Some of that money is just gone. 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. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. just generally being a jerk. Most people are going to forgive you. We went on a mission to calculate exactly how much size-wise the money was, $11.3 million in $20 bills, and it weighed over 2,000 pounds, former FBI agent John Wydra said. "Just remind Steve," he said, "that I might be trouble my own self." Over 88% of the money has been recovered since the heist. Ghantt studied how to rob his employer and advised the others not to spend the money lavishly. I ride motorcycles and fish -- normal guy, Ghantt told Counts. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Is this really about the needs of the poor? Ghantt went to Mexico leaving the money with his cohorts, thinking that he could get his share back when he needed it. The world is full of unexplained events, strange mysteries, and mysterious legends. LeVaughn Kelly Campbell (born July 23, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a former football wide receiver. 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. Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter. If we can sit on the money for a year, maybe two, it could work.". The Loomis case is another example where the amount of restitution ordered vs. what is actually paid are two dramatically different numbers. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. He ejected the two VCR tapes that he knew had recorded him stealing the money, took them, and prepared to leave. He would then have the bulk of his share sent south of the border. He was a hard worker, smart enough, and had graduated from high school. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. Ghantt said he believes in redemption, and that his mistake 25 years ago brought him all the things that are important in his life today. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later 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. In March 1997, after Loomis Fargo & Company has been robbed of $18.8 million in Jacksonville by company security guard Philip Noel Johnson, Steve Eugene Chambers and Kelly Campbell, a former employee of Loomis, decides to rob the company. The building was configured so vans could drive inside and pull up next to the vault. From there, the money was moved from the armored car to private vehicles. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Its in the ether. I was relieved emotionally because I knew there was a good chance my luck might run out, Ghantt said. Twenty years ago this Wednesday, a small group of people stole $17 million in cash from the main vault of a Loomis Fargo & Co. armored-car warehouse in west Charlotte. La vie de David Ghantt n'a rien de compliqu. Sunny. A parrot tattoo on her right ankle. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later While David Ghantt trusted Steve Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. Asked the purpose of his visit, Johnson had replied, "To visit friends. Jim Gronquist was Campbells defense attorney. The unsolved mystery of the Van Meter Visitor a winged creature! 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 . A connection between each suspect began to emerge slowly, and as the intensity of spending grew, suspicion did as well. To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. Campbell, a mother of two, was in the process of divorcing she asked again. Not every agent has a case like that, he said. They also found several stacks of money with Loomis bands still attached throughout all the homes searched. The Star-Ledger, 06/15/2015On October 4, 1997, an amateurish gang robbed Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte, NC of $17 million, the second largest heist in U.S. history. Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. She had attitude. 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. FBI video shows agents searching the Cramer Mountain home and finding stacks of cash. They hadn't slept together or even fooled around much, but he was ready to commit. Of course the problem was, the money belonged to someone else. In all, they recovered $6.6 million. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft [Jeff Diamant] on Amazon.com. It wasn't how much you stole that mattered most; it was that you had stolen in the first place. sole discretion of the site administrators and repeat offenders may Chambers had told Campbell to do whatever she needed to do to get Ghantt to commit the robbery. Former Loomis employee David Scott Ghantt is accused of stealing the money. When did you conclude Yeah, Im actually going to do this? Counts asked. Investigators considered Ghantt to be the prime suspect almost from the beginning. In the end, the FBI was able to capture the original gang in five months, snaring 21 individuals for their participation in the crime. He had stayed in a luxury hotel and paid for expensive food and activities such asscuba divingandparasailing. Two days later, when the FBI found the Loomis Fargo armored van, they discovered almost $3.3 million in cash left in the back of the van; it was later discovered that the thieves had miscalculated the sheer bulk of the small denomination currency, and that they simply left the cash that they could not take with them in the back of the van. People dont seem to understand human nature. (LogOut/ The robbery was committed by David Scott Ghantt who was the vault supervisor and accomplices Kelly Campbell, Steve Chambers, Michelle Chambers, Michael Gobies, and other four members. He angrily hung up the phone at Loomis, Fargo & Co., his soon-to-be former employer in Charlotte, North Carolina. Some of the biggest numbers remaining on the Loomis collection board, as is the case with Campbell, belong to those who played the biggest role in the crime: David Ghantt, the Loomis employee who loaded all that money 2,800 pounds in all into the back of a company van before escaping to Mexico, has paid just under $50,000 of the $3.81 million he was assessed. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily by millions of dollars worth of temptation. In all, agents arrested 24 people in the heist. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. Well they were in some sense celebrities, Gronquist said. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. David would simply empty the vault and deliver the money to the others. Steve Chambers would keep the rest. The site features a collection of unexplained, strange and odd mysteries. 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Marine Fisheries Commission advocates for water quality, North Carolina the only state allowing unnecessary killing of sea turtles, 'Pagan' bike gang leader in N. Carolina sentenced to prison, Deputy cleared in shooting death of Gloucester woman, Beaufort amends charter to allow four-year mayoral term. 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. All of the co-defendants were arrested the next day, about six months after the heist. It should have been easy, but for some reason the gate didn't open for him. He and Tammy could have one or two meals each week that he really liked, but the rest were hot dogs or Hamburger Helper. Ghantt took $50,000 for himself and fled to Cozumel, Mexico. How he felt shorted by life. They assumed that whoever was involved would keep the cash in a safe place, like a safe deposit box. At 2:20 p.m., the phone rang; it was Kelly again. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. 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. And after two years, the case is just a file. It's still the hot topic . So that was kind of like this once-in-a-lifetime thing, Wydra said. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. Soon thereafter, he met Kelly Campbell, a co-worker at Loomis Fargo. A third surveillance tape was carelessly left behind, and the company was able to identify the man who robbed the vault as David Ghantt. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. Campbell and her husband had always been just scraping by, however in the weeks following the robbery, the two seemed to have more money than they've ever had. VERDICT The first edition of this work was published in 2002. Now one of the most wanted men in America with the FBI hot on his heels, Ghantt must figure out how to get his money, get away from a hit man, and get even. Booklist "Librariesshould consider purchasing this entertaining and lightly edited version, which reads like a fast-paced novel." The woman on the phone was Kelly Jane Campbell, and David had a mad crush on her. Afterward, she and David would talk just occasionally on the phone. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. He knew they were nervous outside waiting for him, but he also knew he wouldn't stop stealing until he had taken everything. All of the primary players got fined millions of dollars --for example, Kelly Campbell was hit with more than $4 million, an amount that she will never come close to paying. Steve was a serious guy? Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. None of the suspects had been in any serious trouble before this. Later, they also arrested Nathans older brother. So he and some friends decided at the end of his Oct. 4 shift he would load a company van with more than 2,000 pounds of cash and just drive away. Once they were in custody, the overwhelming task of clearing out possessions possibly purchased with the stolen money began. It all went down in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the man at the center of that heist, David Scott Ghantt, now lives in Jacksonville. In Reservoir Dogs, released just five years earlier, the pawns in a robbery knew each other only by assigned colors: Mr. 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. It has a certain feel, a smell and weight to it. Nathan, Steves cousin, was found in a mobile home the Chambers had abandoned. The only other employee with him on this day was a trainee. Charlotte Observer"more than a crime story, and one that's worth reading." CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) During one overnight shift, a bumbling conspiracy of thieves just west of Charlotte stole more than $17 million from Loomis Fargo. How he and his wife had trouble communicating. The trainee didn't know to check to make sure it was closed. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. These cookies do not store any personal information. White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money, she said. Their only intimate physical contact had been kissing on a mid-September night when they had driven her pickup truck to a field behind a shooting range in Gaston County to discuss their plans and the theft's chance of success. The plan was for Ghantt to commit the actual robbery and then quickly leave the country forMexico but to leave the bulk of the cash with Chambers. Copyright The Nashua Telegraph | https://www.nashuatelegraph.com | 110 Main St, Ste 1, Nashua, NH 03060 | 603-882-2741, Loomis Fargo defendants owe as much as they stole in 1997, Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. What purpose does that serve other than to denigrate that person into abject poverty?. They knew Steve Chambers had worked as an informant in the past, and were nervous he would smell out an undercover. He has a regular life now, but 25 years ago, Ghantt was the mastermind behind the third-largest bank robbery in U.S. history. The next day, before Mike was able to leave the country, the FBI arrested him in his hotel room. He even had to watch what he bought at the grocery store. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. He knew his mother would be traumatized, shocked, and appalled. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. Its in the ether. Its like, me and you sat down, I have access to pie, you like pie, all I want is my share of the pie. The unfairness gnawed at him, stirred by Kelly's questions. Money. Some of that money is just gone. Chambers had no intention of wiring any money to Ghantt and intended to have him killed to keep him from implicating the others. Growing up, David had been a nice kid, a decent student who was at worst a minor troublemaker and prankster. By then, the FBI had become greatly concerned for Ghantts personal safety; they had learned of Chambersmurder for hirescheme. Ghantt, who by then was long out of prison, served as a consultant. As it neared its end, David stealthily left the vault door ajar. 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. Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. The plan to. Ghantt had worked with the branch since 1994, and had been promoted from a driver to the vault supervisor. "What would it take to make you do it?". Meanwhile, Ghantt's gang spent wildly and paid their family members and friends to hide money.