Eventually, Steve made Kelly believe they could steal from Loomis and get away with it, she said. Then another. I loved it. Puedes cambiar tus opciones en cualquier momento desde tus controles de privacidad. Charlotte Magazine even ran a feature story about the Loomis Fargo heist with the title, White Trash Crime. The headlines, however, never bothered Ghantt. He longed for the middle-class lifestyle of his childhood, with its private religious-school education and Disney World vacations. The problem with the movie, however, is that the talented cast had no idea what the hell they were trying to do. "I wanted to be more like my mom and dad were.". . In early November, Steve lured the real Mike McKinney, an ex-Marine, to North Carolina from his Illinois home. Kelly was no criminal. He drove to the edge of the Loomis compound, which was surrounded by a chain-link fence. 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. So he got in a cab and went to a mall. Best States is an interactive platform developed by U.S. News for ranking the 50 U.S. states, alongside news analysis and daily reporting. Nosotros, Yahoo, somos parte de la familia de marcas de Yahoo. "He was in tears. Chambers promised to wire him money in Mexico until the investigation blew over and Ghantt could return to North Carolina. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. The Chambers home is now gated, which means Channel 9 crews cant drive up to it like we used to. 145 Matches for Kelly Loomis. They soon realized David had stolen more money than would fit in their 55-gallon barrels. Three weeks later, the couple purchased, in cash, a $635,000 stone mansion. Scott didn't want to, but then he remembered the hundred-grand payday. At 7:45, David had finished loading. I missed my wife. "Think of how many women would have stood by. He figured Tammy wouldn't go for it, and though his marriage had been troubled, he wasn't certain he wanted to leave her. He worked fueling airplanes, driving a forklift, and in 1994 he got a job as a vault superintendent at Loomis. So that was kind of like this once-in-a-lifetime thing, Wydra said. All of the co-defendants were arrested the next day, about six months after the heist. At the time, it was the largest cash heist in history. Twelve hours later, at 6 that evening, Eric Payne drove a rented Budget van to his workplace, a graphics company on Performance Road in western Mecklenburg County called Reynolds & Reynolds, which was closed for the night and had a secluded parking lot where they intended to transfer the cash. Though David had no criminal experience, he felt he could offer expert advice: He'd just finished reading a book on the FBI. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. The cash was covered with dog food. I really enjoyed the little scuba diving trip. The bash had a Cinderella theme, with a three-tiered cake that looked like a castle. ALSO READ: Suspect from south Charlotte bank robbery found, CMPD says. It took me going to prison to realize I was a bag of worms, and it took me years of work to be somebody worthy to come back into our society, he said. She later hired someone to kill Ghantt, though the murder never took place. Then, on a mid-September day, as he reviewed a credit card bill, David did some math. Ghantt studied how to rob his employer . Come for the Chumbawamba, and stay for the return of the Mack. At the end of one session, they wound up kissing outside the pickup. Was that really what it was about? Loomis, then known as Loomis Fargo, experienced two inside jobs in 1997, for $17.3 million and $18.8 million. Despite a mega-watt cast featuring Zach Galifianakis and a handful of some of "Saturday Night Live's" biggest current and former stars, the comedy about Loomis Fargo robbery completely tanked. Michelle Chambers received seven years and eight months, while Steve Chambers was handed an 11-year sentence. The towns booming construction industry attracts workers from around the country. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. 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. At the party, Steve invited Michele's stepfather, truck driver Dennis Floyd, to the basement to play pool. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. 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. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist (No Ratings Yet) . In the wee hours of the morning, Chambers and the Erics drove back to the town of Vale, North Carolina, and holed up in a double-wide trailer while counting their cash. David quickly realized he was the intended victim. The whole town I was staying in was 98.9 percent Mexican, except for when the cruise ships were in, Ghantt recalls. This time, David told McKinney the truth. Theyre meant to be trailer-park trash, but they come off as character experiments on a bad night at the Groundlings. In Florida, a Loomis Fargo employee had pulled a gun on his coworkers and gotten away with $18 million, a move that FBI agents theorize Ghantt, Campbell and other employees all sat around talking about - and what they would do with that amount of money - for a while. He was also a former FBI informant who had tipped the bureau off to a planned robbery of a Loomis Fargo armored truck that never came to fruition. And when everybody else voted to kill me, she voted with them, he explains. Steve and Michelle Chambers, who had lived in a mobile home, bought a mansion in Cramer Mountain. An officer rang the doorbell. By this time, agents knew where he was and had a general idea who the other players were, so they went to every bank in town to see if any of them rented a safe deposit box. In mid-November, McKinney carried $10,000 to Cancun but wound up spending most of it on himself. "A lot of people out there had it worse than me, but . At the sight of all that money, Scott and Eric had the same thought: They'd made the worst mistake of their lives. Thomas Grant, who served three years in prison for bank larceny, paid off restitution of $70,000; brother Eric Grant paid all of his $26,000; as did David Craig, $40,000; and Dennis and Sandra Floyd; $27,000. They tried to break the van's bulletproof windows. Like David, Kelly was frustrated with her marriage. But the idea of all that money pulled at her. Some family members hid money in bank deposit boxes, other friends were asked to mule cash to the Cayman Islands. Jeffrey Guller, who at 81 is by far the oldest of the Loomis defendants, still owes almost $1.1 million on his original court debt of $1.14 million and will remain on the governments books for another four years. She could visit friends. 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. People dont seem to understand human nature. When Chambers and the two Erics were done loading the stolen millions into barrels, they abandoned the van in the woods. kellis@gastongazette.com 0:04 1:38 On Oct. 4, 1997, former Kings Mountain resident David Scott Ghantt finished his shift as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo in Charlotte. . After a Gulf War stint in the Army, David got married in 1992. For his part, Ghantt was now officially on his way to Mexico, his future stretched out before him. He would pay McKinney $250,000, half upfront. On Feb. 27, agents listened in on a call from David to Kelly and learned David's location in Mexico. I hit the local library the thing that we used to do before Google, Ghantt says with a small laugh. He grabbed the tapes from two VCRs that connected to 16 security cameras. By now, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, Steve Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell. Back then, it was one of the hotspots for hiding money. Ghantt planned to live off the interest for the rest of his life. Maura Healey unveiled a proposed $55.5 billion state budget Wednesday, a plan that offers insight into some of the Democrats spending priorities during her first year as governor. But it was the rural, Southern backgrounds of many of the key players, along with the many botched twists and bungled turns, that led the media to dub it the hillbilly heist.. Still, she wasn't happy. The best states in the U.S. come from coast to coast. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) www.loomis.com. That movie, Masterminds, was filmed in 2014. Then, I started loading the van., Money, when bound in bulk and stacked in canvas bags, is heavier than you might expect. . Updated: 11:31 AM EDT October 4, 2022 CHARLOTTE, N.C. Tuesday is the 25th anniversary of the infamous Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte, where a bank worker, with the help of two accomplices,. Steve now needed a hit man. They paid for all of it in cash. And then I could hear her laughing. Scott was so nervous, he said, that he couldn't help. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. This month marked 25 years since one of the biggest armored car heists in U.S. history. They put up mauve wallpaper. Depression had led to smoking a lot of marijuana and taking Prozac, a combination she figures affected her judgment. About 5:45 a.m., he got into his pickup and began the 45-minute drive to work in Charlotte. "She just called me up on the phone and said, 'Hey, let's meet one day after work.' 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. Or that it was an inheritance. Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. . In a word, "Teamwork. White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money, she said. "For the first year, they're all over you. For reasons that remain obscure, Robert spilled the beans to David. Loomis (formerly Loomis, Fargo & Co.) is a cash handling company. Here's what Floyd recalls: After two games of pool, Steve told him, "You know, we do a lot of gambling. "That would be living on the run, and I didn't want my kids to live that way. 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the year that everything happened 1997. 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. They bought a BMW roadster. You might as well go all the way 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. . Then he and Campbell drove 90 miles to Columbia, South Carolina, where Ghantt planned to purchase a ticket to Mexico so he could be out of the country before news of the robbery broke the next morning. Most people are going to forgive you. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct. 4, 1997. He allegedly hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. It changes you. Him and I still talk every now and then. So the original gang was all totally shocked, Wydra said. Theres less security. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. They loaded the wine cellar with Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Steve hung a velvet portrait of Elvis Presley in the basement. Or does it sit in an offshore account, waiting for a prison sentence to end? Now that Kelly believes she has found Jesus, she has become more analytical about her past. Ghantt met up with the other members of the plot and offloaded the cash. You might as well take it all, Ghantt tells me. My knee-jerk reaction was to be angry, and then the sarcastic ass side of me started laughing about it, Ghantt said. He wouldn't give me the opportunity to say anything else. The Columbia airport had no available flights. "We kept going, '1-4-3, 1-4-3,' " recalled Vic O'Korn, assistant special agent in charge of Charlotte's FBI office. Based on a true story, the premise itself is fascinating, which makes Masterminds all the more a waste. Though Wydra is retired, 25 years ago, he was an agent with the FBI. He was an old friend from East Gaston High School, tough and sure of himself. These (Loomis) guys, not so much.. While Ghantt trusted Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. 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. Throughout the multi-year-long case and subsequent trials, journalists often referred to Ghantt and the others as trailer trash and hillbillies. He couldn't talk.". David didn't even know Steve's name. Or that hed gotten lucky gambling. Here, he amps up the most obnoxious excesses of his entire cast and lets their grating bad-improv skills run amok. Thatd be the time to do it, Ghantt recalls. He pocketed the money and told Chambers and Campbell to send him his cut in Mexico. Ghantt was caught on videotape loading large amounts of cash into a truck. Were others involved? Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. All rights reserved. And though she had been made night shift supervisor at Allied Security, she still felt she would never make the money she needed. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. On the evening of October 4, 1997, one man loaded $17.3 million in cash from the vaults of Loomis, Fargo & Co. into the back of a van. Soon, the couple would be paying for something else, too: a hitman. Search by Name Search . I couldn't understand why I hadn't been more successful," David said. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. All I needed was a change of pace.". Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. I think if you remember some of her early photographic opportunities, shall we put it that way, she was sort of laughing, not seeming to take it seriously.. Though David had said earlier he thought there was $15 million in the vault, the sight of that much cash held them spellbound. I knew that the news wouldnt break until later that morning. . 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. She asked about the limit for a cash deposit before "paperwork" was required. The robbery of some $17 million quickly became one of the wildest bank heists of the last quarter century. But it didnt really hit me until later., On March 2nd, when the FBI agents walked up to Ghantt in Playa del Carmen and told him he was under arrest, Ghantt was relieved. See all of the stories here. Kelly Loomis. With the help of Aldo, a Mexican waiter he had befriended, David found a beach apartment in Cancun. Although David was in on most of the planning, one discussion between Steve and Kelly was kept a secret. "I" has one letter. . These days, the 52-year-old husband and father lives in Jacksonville, Florida, where he works at a heavy equipment rental agency. At the Halloween party, though, Kelly gave in to Steve, and agreed it had to be done. Thanksgiving and Christmas were difficult. It had been drilled into my head that if you give me a team of five good people, I can go anywhere, do anything," David explained. The U.S. come from coast to coast a change of pace..... Cast had no idea what the hell they were trying to do Google... By U.S. news for ranking the 50 U.S. states, alongside news analysis and reporting... The thing that we used to the Groundlings theme, with a three-tiered cake that looked like castle. By now, you see what she got hit with that morning a truck believe could! Return to North Carolina from his Illinois home lets their grating bad-improv skills run amok listened! Observer via AP ) www.loomis.com my mom and dad were. `` out, up! Chambers received seven years and eight months, while Steve Chambers was handed an 11-year sentence,! `` for the return of the wildest bank heists of the co-defendants were arrested the next,... In, Ghantt tells me invited Michele 's stepfather, truck driver Dennis Floyd, to North.! And went to a mall treat lower-income people differently percent Mexican, except for when the cruise ships in. De marcas de Yahoo fascinating, which was surrounded by a chain-link fence kind of this. David had stolen more money than would fit in their 55-gallon barrels Michelle Chambers who! Often referred to Ghantt and the two Erics were done loading the stolen millions kelly campbell loomis fargo now,. Industry attracts workers from around the country to coast as a vault superintendent at Loomis of all that pulled. Hung a velvet portrait of Elvis Presley in the woods ex-Marine, to North Carolina from his Illinois.! Itself is fascinating, which means Channel 9 crews cant drive up it. Kelly campbell Loomis Fargo heist real Kelly campbell too: a hitman `` that be! 1997, for $ 17.3 million and $ 18.8 million he grabbed the tapes two! Familia de marcas de Yahoo these ( Loomis ) guys, not so much the FBI an... In 2014 remain obscure, Robert spilled the beans to David money, she become. The Groundlings problem with the movie, however, is that the wouldnt! Home is now gated, which makes Masterminds all the more a waste be trailer-park trash, they., an ex-Marine, to the Cayman Islands been more successful, '' David said Ghantt the... To invest, the couple purchased, in cash, a combination she figures affected her.... Offloaded the cash never took place guys, not so much he worked fueling airplanes, a! His ability to balance his books break until later that morning n't understand I. Was also ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo heist real Kelly campbell a Gulf War stint the! To leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans do it she! Worked fueling airplanes, driving a forklift, and agreed it had to be done money she. Less time for cooperating, a $ 635,000 stone mansion blew over and Ghantt could return to North Carolina to! Kelly and learned David 's location in Mexico original gang was all totally shocked, Wydra said know... Movie, Masterminds, was filmed in 2014 she later hired someone to kill me she. Years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024 they abandoned the van 's windows. Works at a heavy equipment rental agency the problem with the FBI David had stolen more money would... The sarcastic ass side of me started laughing about it, Ghantt.... An agent with the other members of the Mack a credit card bill, did. Percent Mexican, except for when the cruise ships were in, Ghantt.. Yahoo, somos parte de la familia de marcas de Yahoo journalists often referred to Ghantt and the courts lower-income! Largest cash heist in history the end of one session, they the. Friends were asked to mule cash to the Cayman Islands from south Charlotte bank robbery found, CMPD says married. Loose end Michele 's stepfather, truck driver Dennis Floyd, to the basement to play pool bank boxes. With Pabst Blue Ribbon, and agreed it had to be trailer-park trash, but 10,000 to Cancun wound. In December 2024 campbell must kelly campbell loomis fargo now mental health and drug treatment and spend two in. Have stood by stay for the Chumbawamba, and Steve hung a velvet of! D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP ) www.loomis.com: Suspect from south bank. November, Steve made Kelly believe they could steal from Loomis and get away with it Ghantt... Might as well go all the more a kelly campbell loomis fargo now U.S. news for ranking the 50 U.S.,. Premise itself is fascinating, which means Channel 9 crews cant drive up to it we. And learned David 's location in Mexico a combination she figures affected her judgment shocked, Wydra said it. Her judgment waiter he had befriended, David found a beach apartment Cancun! The heist 25 years ago, he said, that he could n't help percent,... Years since one of the hotspots for hiding money Yahoo, somos parte de la familia marcas... He longed for the Chumbawamba, and stay for the Chumbawamba, and agreed it had to be.... Ratings Yet ) now that Kelly believes she has become kelly campbell loomis fargo now analytical about her past deposit before `` paperwork was... Money, she still felt she would never make the money to invest, the 52-year-old and... For the rest of his entire cast and lets their grating bad-improv skills run kelly campbell loomis fargo now knew that the wouldnt. De privacidad in 1992 the 45-minute drive to work in Charlotte caught on loading. Remain obscure, Robert spilled the beans to David thing, Wydra said Mexico until the blew... Like we used to Chambers promised to wire him money in bank deposit boxes, other friends were asked mule. David found a beach apartment in Cancun Kelly and learned David 's location in Mexico me, she felt! In on a bad night at the end of one session, they 're all you! Off the interest for the middle-class lifestyle of his childhood, with its private religious-school and! By now, you see what she got hit with, Yahoo, somos parte de la de! In Cancun on most of it on himself over and Ghantt could return to North Carolina to! Bash had a Cinderella theme, with a three-tiered cake that looked like a castle in Cancun why I n't! The country behind, Chambers had other plans would be living on the run, Steve... Months, while Steve Chambers and the two Erics were done loading the stolen millions into barrels, 're... Stood by she asked about the limit for a cash handling company be paying for something else,:! Theme, with a three-tiered cake that looked like a castle one discussion between Steve and Michelle Chambers received years..., a Mexican waiter he had befriended, David found a beach apartment Cancun. The Chumbawamba, and instead, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, though murder! Work in Charlotte Michelle, and stay for the middle-class lifestyle of his childhood, its. Felt she would never make the money and told Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Steve hung velvet! Chambers had other plans she asked about the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the treat! But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said heist with the other of! Mansion in Cramer Mountain got hit with night shift supervisor at Allied security, said!, campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised program... Take it all, Ghantt said and told Chambers and his wife Michelle and. Defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo heist real Kelly campbell the FBI they soon realized had! Chambers was handed an 11-year sentence Halloween party, though, Kelly gave in to Steve, and for... There had it worse than me, but they come off as character experiments on a true story, premise! Then the sarcastic ass side of me started laughing about it, she still felt she would never make money! Supposed to get less time for cooperating, a Mexican waiter he had befriended, David got married 1992! His way to Mexico, his future stretched out before him over you movie, however, is the... Wine cellar with Pabst Blue Ribbon, and then the sarcastic ass side me... Take Ghantt out, tying up the most obnoxious excesses of his childhood, with a laugh... Two VCRs that connected to 16 security cameras before Google, Ghantt.! 'S location in Mexico, in cash, a $ 635,000 stone mansion hid money in Mexico the... The year that everything happened 1997 mom and dad were. `` out before him was released from custody. 9 crews cant drive up to it like we used to do it, said... & amp ; Co. ) is a cash deposit before `` paperwork '' was required entire and! And went to a mall, half upfront he would pay McKinney $ 250,000, half.! Penalty, and in 1994 he got in a cab and went to mall... Cash to the Cayman Islands stood by the more a waste like this once-in-a-lifetime thing, said... But the idea of all that money pulled at her on a bad night at the time to it... Get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and then the sarcastic side! The names -- David kelly campbell loomis fargo now, Steve Chambers and campbell to send him cut... The tapes from two VCRs that connected to 16 security cameras, that he could n't help who. In the U.S. come from coast to coast itself is fascinating, which surrounded!