The Evergreen State takes the top spot again in the U.S. News Best States ranking on the strength of its tech sector and other industries. Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. Nah, it was always about the money, he told the agents. Turns out, most of the thieves and their accomplices have been about as effective coming up with their court-ordered restitution as they were hiding their original crimes. David had grabbed $50,000 cash, but could figure out only how to carry $25,000 with him on the plane. So I guess I have no regrets. Almost 19 years after Ghantt and a group of friends from Gaston County pulled off one of the largest cash heists in U.S. history, the movie "Masterminds" will play up the caper for laughs. Loomis, Fargo offered a $500,000 reward after the theft. I told them, Take it, box it up, and youll be able to ship it to me in Mexico. Back in the 1990s, you couldve probably boxed up a hot pink elephant and shipped it to Mexico; no one wouldve ever noticed. Agents noticed it two months later when it flowed to them through official channels, along with hundreds of similar reports involving other people. ". A third tape he didn't know about kept recording. Ghantt spent a solid hour moving what ended up being 2,700 pounds of cash more than an actual ton into an unmarked company van. About the same time, Kelly and McKinney received phone calls from agents who told them to open their doors. So he got in a cab and went to a mall. From Mexico, David usually spoke with Kelly on the phone once a week, paying with calling cards. Field Operations; Corporate; Why Loomis. Some family members hid money in bank deposit boxes, other friends were asked to mule cash to the Cayman Islands. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. Our success depends on our team members, and that's why it's important for us to offer an employee benefits program that is not only extremely comprehensive but also one of the best in the industry. Instead of lobster, the man who stole $17 million survived on home-cooked pasta and grilled cheese sandwiches. Dependent care account. Steve told Scott to ignore the remaining stacks, which were mostly ones and fives. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. She also must . Back in North Carolina, Ghantts former accomplices were living high on the hog. Michele tells me you're in a financial bind. I knew that the news wouldnt break until later that morning. "I was dumb," Ghantt said Wednesday, the eve before the movie hits screens nationwide. Question: Are you happy that Wilkesboro-nativeZach Galifianakis plays you in the movie? Ghantt was scheduled to work a shift at the armored car company Oct. 4. shes now Miss USA. This is where it starts to unravel, Ghantt tells me with a wry laugh. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP), Police: Officer Who Shot Black Man Retired 'In Bad Standing', 3 Kansas City Officers Who Were Shot Released From Hospital, 1 Killed When Business Jet Encounters Severe Turbulence. Money'll turn your head, I don't care who you are. "He was in tears. One thing about teammates, in David's view: You could always trust them. 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. "A lot of people out there had it worse than me, but . Theres no management around. She could walk under the trees, with the chickens and goats and dogs that live around her mobile home. When we worked together [for Loomis], we'd joke about it. Ghantt:It's a comedy. Why had he ever believed he'd get it? "I felt that if I didn't do something, I was going to snap," David said. I missed my wife. They agreed that after the heist, David would immediately move to Mexico, alone, but Kelly would soon join him there, with her two children. Agents found out where Ghantt was living because Chambers had put out a hit on him, foolishly believing Ghantt was the only person the FBI had fingered for the crime. The FBI now knew Chambers had Loomis cash. In real life: False. It was an ear-biting, Pierce Brosnan-loving, comet-obsessed world, and were here to relive every minute of it. This real-life crime is the core of "Untitled Armored Car Project," which stars Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson and Kristen Wiig. That led to better jobs, like the one at Loomis. They hatched the idea half-jokingly, over a game of Uno, never dreaming they were about to make Bonnie and Clyde look like bottom feeders. Though he never found the right moment to carry out the hit, McKinney did find time to make a friend--a shady character named Robert, to whom he revealed more than was prudent. He and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. Thats one of my personality flaws. . He gave the rest to Kelly. 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. ];Kelly Jane Campbell [Misc. The last time he called me, he said, Hey Ghantt, I just saw a big Loomis Fargo truck. Without really intending to, Kelly recalls, she turned the conversation to the possibility of a heist. Her husband gave her a brown teddy bear. Michelle Chambers received seven years and eight months, while Steve Chambers was handed an 11-year sentence. ];David Scott Ghanntt [Misc.] If they could just sit on the money until then, he said, they'd be fine. David Ghantt, who pulled off the Loomis, Fargo & Co. vault robbery in 1997 and was sentenced to seven years in prison for the crime, served as a consultant for the film (in theaters Friday). There was a little voice in my head that said, 'Don't do it. At the end of one session, they wound up kissing outside the pickup. Hed be in contact. That was the most painful truth to come to. 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. "For the first year, they're all over you. They planned to kill a man named David Ghantt, the guy who had made their extravagant new lifestyle a reality. But he tried to keep his face averted, so David wouldn't be able to ID him. Dental plans . 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." He hadnt checked ahead of time if the airport had any available flights, let alone if it would even be open. In early November, Steve lured the real Mike McKinney, an ex-Marine, to North Carolina from his Illinois home. Did you get paid? Kelly, she says now, was thinking about how happy she would be to send this man far away from her. Zach always plays that bumbling kind of lunatic, but hes not, Ghantt says. So yeah, Ghantt continues, I took a bus from there to Atlanta, and then I hopped a cab from the bus station to the airport in Atlanta., Back in North Carolina, his accomplices were working as fast as they could to hide the $17 million. . He had even scheduled a follow-up appointment at the dentist. She'd heard his stories of other successful schemes, like getting refunds on phony tax returns, or operating a loan shark business. Meanwhile, back in North Carolina, Ghantts wife woke up to find her husband missing. Then another. I did every touristy thing you could possibly do while I was down there. Ghantt was working a late shift, and just after 6:30 p.m., his coworkers were packing up and heading for home. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. Ghantt:I don't think he ever really meant to harm me. When she realized Ghantt never came home from work the night before, she contacted the police and filed a missing persons report. "But, I hate to admit it, it doesn't faze me one bit. David was excited, jabbering about their future together. When McKinney realized Ghantt was wanted for the Loomis Fargo robbery, he backed off personally because he didnt want to be anywhere near a federal investigation. So yeah, Im kind of proud of it.. Ghantt, meanwhile, was losing his patience and starting to make threats. In December, agents got the tie-in they were looking for: Kelly Campbell had bought a $30,000 Toyota minivan with cash and registered it to one of Steve Chambers's aliases. Chambers, who still lives in Gaston County and operates a gym, declined to comment. When I call Ghantt to discuss his involvement in the Loomis Fargo heist, he confesses that hes feeling a bit tired from a day of honest labor. There was a third person with them, too, a man named Eric Grant. The only person not to plead guilty in the case, former Gastonia attorney Jeff Guller, ended up doing eight years for money laundering. David trusted her. At the time of the real robbery, Chambers was facing criminal charges hed written 30K worth of bad checks and was facing jail time for it. Gaston County residents remember how that worked out. Thats where they feel comfortable., This piece of information would become critical to his getaway plan. She came from a blue-collar background, a high school dropout who had grown tired of working in a mill and gotten an equivalency diploma. Chambers and Campbell were waiting for him in the Loomis Fargo parking lot, both in separate vehicles. Ghantt was never in Chamberss presence until he actually handed off the money to him. I think I always knew that, but lost my way for a while.". David, now 30, says he's sorry he abandoned his wife--who he says still loves him--and his family. Was that really what it was about? Still, she wasn't happy. I said, Probably, the best time would be on the weekend; theres fewer people there. But in November, money ran low. The platform is designed to engage citizens and government leaders in a discussion about what needs improvement across the country. He'd even bragged that he'd killed people. It was the first Saturday in October. . The barrels were Steves idea, Ghantt says. "We had David Ghantt and Kelly Campbell tied together, and we had Steven Chambers and Eric Payne with unexplained wealth, but we didn't have a tie between them," Agent John Wydra said. The plan called for David to leave the vault door ajar, then maneuver a few minutes alone at the end of his shift, long enough to loot the cash, then pass it to Kelly and Steve. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2002. ". I mean, it was dark, Ghantt explains. Campbell left her job in the summer of 1997, but she would later use Ghantt's feelings for her to her own advantage to get him to agree to carry out the multi-million-dollar heist. The number of people involved had ballooned after Steve started asking friends and family to help him launder the stolen cash. A report by the General Accounting Office found that as of budget year 2016, $110 billion in restitution ordered by the federal courts was outstanding and that more than 90% of the amount had been classified as uncollectible.. It was his goodbye. I just had to call you., Today, Ghantt cant look back on the whole ordeal without some degree of pride. Charlotte hotel chef who serves with a smile recognized as outstanding ambassador, Eritrean, Ethiopian restaurant owner was a big brother and father to many in Charlotte, Home tours: This wired-up Weddington smart home has a pool big enough for the neighborhood. I had a four-hour layover there, and then from New Orleans to Cancun.. Why do we feel its so necessary to treat people like this, to say, OK, well just ruin the rest of your life because you made a bad decision., Punishment should not last a lifetime. Then FBI agent Wydra watched Steve's wife, Michele, deposit about $8,000 at a Gaston County, N.C., bank. They obviously werent trying to get it right they were putting together what they believe is a better story, said Diamant. 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 pocketed the money and told Chambers and Campbell to send him his cut in Mexico. The plan was to split the money three ways: Chambers, Campbell and Ghantt would each walk away with what Ghantt estimated to be $5 million a piece the kind of money that changes lives forever. First, in January, he tried to get someone to take some millions down to Mexico. He grabbed the tapes from two VCRs that connected to 16 security cameras. Soon thereafter, he met Kelly Campbell, a co-worker at Loomis Fargo.
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