All of the co-defendants were arrested the next day, about six months after the heist. David was living under the name Mike McKinney on a phony ID. "I" has one letter. . Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. 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. Its really just a matter of timing, more than anything. And she says, How much do you think wed get out of there? I said, Ten to 15 million. But I didnt really know.. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. She also assured the teller her cash wasn't drug money. I mean, cause greed is a funny animal. "I missed my family. Steve Chambers would keep the rest. Then, on a mid-September day, as he reviewed a credit card bill, David did some math. ", "Even then . 145 Matches for Kelly Loomis. From Mexico, David usually spoke with Kelly on the phone once a week, paying with calling cards. The picture, which is directed by Jared Hess and written by Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, and Emily Spivey, stars Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Jason Sudeikis . The Election, U.S. Foreign Policy, And Harold Pinter's 2005 Nobel Lecture, Nate Parker on Rape Allegations: 'I Don't Feel Guilty'. "He said, 'Yeah, right,' and turned his head. I think I always knew that, but lost my way for a while.". 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. * I understand and. Ghantt simply got ready for work one morning knowing it would be his last day on the job. See all of the stories here. "Things I always wanted to do, but never had the time or the money," he said. Im on the phone with Kelly [Campbell], and Im like, Hey, I really was expecting a package to arrive. AP CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Kelly Campbell, the woman who helped plan the $17 million robbery of armored-car company Loomis, Fargo was sentenced yesterday to nearly six years in prison and ordered. I was burned out and just didn't know it. And then I realized that a lot of people knew who I was and they had followed the case.. The case had gotten national publicity and was the subject of numerous articles, documentaries and even a movie. Jim Gronquist was Campbells defense attorney. 1-4-3 is 'I love you.' Kelly had no problem fanning the flames of their old flirtation. On March 1, David Ghantt left his hotel to do some laundry. 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 . According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. Kelly found herself standing beside David while they waited together for a bond hearing. 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. The initials on the money wrapper belonged to a Loomis employee who hadn't worked there since before the heist. You might as well take it all, Ghantt tells me. "But, I hate to admit it, it doesn't faze me one bit. Exciting. He couldn't even bear to stick around for the final tally--though when he left he didn't forget to take $6,000, the first cut of his expected $100,000 share. This is where it starts to unravel, Ghantt tells me with a wry laugh. Kelly drove her pickup to a lot across the street from the Loomis building, on Suttle Avenue in Charlotte. He told him McKinney was in Mexico to kill somebody. He covers culture, politics, race, and other perplexing mysteries for MEL. As for his new wife, when the two just started dating, he was nervous about letting her know about his past, but he wanted to be honest. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. Too many questions remained: Where was the cash? His new life in Mexico had begun. For his part, Ghantt was now officially on his way to Mexico, his future stretched out before him. When he landed in Cancun, his first stop was Walmart. Probably very egotistical of me, I thought, Yeah, sure, I can beat them, theyre college smart and thats about it, Ghantt said. 0 Comments Get local news delivered to your inbox! My love for my family is by far the most important thing in my life. 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. Sandra Floyd, Michele Chambers's mother, remembers the first time she saw the house. ALSO READ: Suspect from south Charlotte bank robbery found, CMPD says. ". Then FBI agent Wydra watched Steve's wife, Michele, deposit about $8,000 at a Gaston County, N.C., bank. Puedes cambiar tus opciones en cualquier momento desde tus controles de privacidad. And then I could hear her laughing. A few of the Loomis restitution cases have already been closed either because the amount was paid in full or because the 20-year clock wound down. Although David was in on most of the planning, one discussion between Steve and Kelly was kept a secret. 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. Then Steve pushed Scott inside, and he began throwing plastic-wrapped bundles of tens, twenties, fifties and hundreds to Eric and Steve, who placed them in three blue 55-gallon barrels. With a cast like this, and Emily Spivey (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Up All Night) as part of the writing team, Masterminds shouldnt be nearly as obnoxious and dull as it is, but nothing ever clicks. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) The Associated Press, BY MICHAEL GORDON, The Charlotte Observer. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist (No Ratings Yet) . Hidden in it was a 3 1/2-carat diamond ring that cost $43,000. Ghantt and one other employee were the last to leave. By March, Steve Chambers decided he needed to do something more drastic about Ghantt, making plans to send a hitman to Mexico to silence him for good. He hadnt checked ahead of time if the airport had any available flights, let alone if it would even be open. So its one thing to go from up here, thought, to action, he said. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. For the defendants in the Loomis Fargo heist, its allure was irresistible. Kelly Campbell is scheduled to be sentenced in October. It was released in 2016 and Wydra was invited to the premiere. I really enjoyed the little scuba diving trip. The barrels were Steves idea, Ghantt says. 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. and "I love money!" Hes going to start bringing you money. Alright. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. As soon as Corey left, I pretended like I was leaving. Truth be told, Ghantt had something of a crush on Campbell, and so, he told her exactly how hed pull off such a heist. It affects everybody different. It just happened to fall on my desk.. Agents noticed it two months later when it flowed to them through official channels, along with hundreds of similar reports involving other people. Since Ghantt was the supervisor, he sent his co-worker home first. Depression had led to smoking a lot of marijuana and taking Prozac, a combination she figures affected her judgment. Theres barely a laugh in the entire film, which looks like it was shot entirely in one take while the actors were still working out their characters. David was excited, jabbering about their future together. Steve Chambers has told agents the missing cash was stolen from a shed in Lincoln County. At the end of one session, they wound up kissing outside the pickup. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. She could walk under the trees, with the chickens and goats and dogs that live around her mobile home. The mystery 1-4-3 caller had been Kelly, though agents didn't know it yet. He recalled that another agent, Phil King, said, "Hey, there was an article in the [Charlotte] Observer about beeper codes. 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. That was pretty awesome., It felt like a dream vacation until he started running out of money. Now, I kind of know something is fishy., Alone in Mexico with limited cash, Ghantt thought about turning himself in. The problem with the movie, however, is that the talented cast had no idea what the hell they were trying to do. Ghantt didnt know the full extent of what was happening back home -- how that lay low plan turned into a flurry of extravagant spending. On the radio, the "John Boy and Billy" show played the song "Take the Money and Run. "I'd been told all my life, money will not make you happy," Kelly said. But what the bank didnt tell Michelle, and Michelle didnt know, was that one of those forms get filled out if you ask about it, or if its close to $10,000 or if they suspect that any part of that transaction is suspicious, Wydra said. Her sentence was delayed until Jan. 1 so she could spend the holidays with her family. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. . "I said, 'That's all they gave me,' " McKinney recalled. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily by millions of dollars worth of temptation. That was the thing that sticks in my mind to this day., ALSO READ: Man released from jail, accused of robbing banks while wearing electronic monitor, police say. Loomis has received $978,983.79, according to Sally Butcher, an assistant clerk in the federal courts of the Western District of North Carolina who specializes in criminal debt. I've got a good woman.". One of them tapped him on the back. He partied, met women, drank, skied and hung out at the beach. Scary. The FBI was also surveilling Kelly Campbell and followed her to a pay phone that she used to place calls to Mexico. Now that Kelly believes she has found Jesus, she has become more analytical about her past. Informacin sobre tu dispositivo y conexin a Internet, como tu direccin IP, Actividad de navegacin y bsqueda al utilizar sitios web y aplicaciones de Yahoo. 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 addition to their extravagant spending, Michelle Chambers made the mistake of loudly asking a bank teller how much cash she could deposit in her account without it being reported to the feds, and then said, its not drug money.. To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. Steve told me to tell [David] whatever was necessary to keep him happy.". It premiered in Los Angeles on September 26, 2016 and was theatrically released in the . They decorated their 6,000-square-foot stucco house with antiques, paintings and statues, including a six-foot wooden Indian that Michele had bought for $600. 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. Was that really what it was about? I didn't think I had the guts. Human nature is a flexible part of life, Gronquist said. All the while, Ghantt prepared himself for the task at hand. "But I had to know.". In the meantime, however, Chambers not only refused to wire money to Ghantt in Mexico, but ultimately hired a hitman (Jason Sudeikis) to take him out. Steve also offered $100,000 to his 26-year-old cousin. There was a third person with them, too, a man named Eric Grant. It changes you. And I was thinking about just showing up there. But being the vault supervisor at Loomis Fargo had one perk -- exposure to tons of cash. For her part, Kelly Campbell spent six years in federal prison. ALSO READ: 14-year-old boy robbed at gunpoint while waiting for bus in east Charlotte, mom says. Part 2: Channel 9 speaks with the man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 years ago. The bigger the amount, however, the bigger the damages to victims that likely will never be repaid: Amy Paynes collection account was closed in 2020 with her having paid $53,000 of the $274,000 she owed. ALSO READ: Leader of $3M check theft, bank fraud scheme in Charlotte area sentenced to prison, The hillbilly outfit did more that just drop a few breadcrumbs. The property has changed hands several times since then. He'd even bragged that he'd killed people. He had a favorite restaurant, Zandunga, which had a mariachi band each night and a view of the Caribbean. The figures can be astounding. I said, Listen, You all need to get your shit together, or Im just going to walk over here to the government building and tell them who the fuck I am. That lit a little fire under her ass, for a bit.. Without really intending to, Kelly recalls, she turned the conversation to the possibility of a heist. When McKinney arrived in North Carolina, the plan had changed. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. The next day, Kelly drove back to Steve's mobile home to watch the news with Steve and Michele. Kelly was lying. They cursed. It was the first Saturday in October. 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. David complained it wasn't enough. "I felt that if I didn't do something, I was going to snap," David said. At first, I just blended in with the tourists and picked up a few translation books, Ghantt explains. "I've learned that I'm a fortunate man," he said. Scott, 26, had a larceny conviction as a teenager, but he'd since cleaned up his act and now had a steady job, a daughter and a girlfriend. Or that hed gotten lucky gambling. "I wanted to be more like my mom and dad were.". real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist. Kelly, she says now, was thinking about how happy she would be to send this man far away from her. I don't blame him.". Kelly called David at Loomis; he told her he'd be ready for them with the cash at 6:30 or 7 p.m. Alone in the building, David was trying to finish loading cash from the vault into an unmarked white Ford Econoline van belonging to Loomis. A former FBI agent who helped crack the case sat down with Channel 9 Reporter Glenn Counts to talk about the clues that led to solving the crime, and how the group got caught. There is nothing of value in this movie. and "I'm rich!". Michelle Chambers paid off only $27,000. In one case, the restitution for a Loomis defendant may be a moving target. . Is he telling the truth? . I was relieved emotionally because I knew there was a good chance my luck might run out, Ghantt said. I was looking at small sailboats and theyre not cheap, he tells me. Working together, they got the gate open, then drove in a caravan to the Reynolds & Reynolds parking lot. She didn't plan to move to Mexico. There, Scott and Eric paced the floor as Steve tried to calm them down. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. Going south, nobody really looks at what youre shipping. He learned to parachute. Steve bought a truck, a Rolex and a motorboat. There was, however, one problem with his plan. It was his goodbye. "She said, 'What would it take to convince you to do it?' His mobile home was nicely furnished, on eight acres with a stream in the back. In hindsight, it doesnt surprise me a bit, Ghantt says, a bitter laugh catching in his throat. "I was thinking, 'They aren't paying me enough,' " McKinney recalled. The gang made numerous mistakes. 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. Like, Hey, I hate to admit kelly campbell loomis fargo now, it felt like a dream vacation he... 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