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 to pay back more than $4 million. . Despite a mega-watt cast featuring Zach Galifianakis and a handful of some of Saturday Night Lives biggest current and former stars, Masterminds, the comedy about Loomis Fargo robbery completely tanked at the box office in its opening weekend, bowing in sixth place with just $6.6 million. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist seeing a woodpecker after someone dies lectomano que significa. About 5:45 a.m., he got into his pickup and began the 45-minute drive to work in Charlotte. 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. I had a four-hour layover there, and then from New Orleans to Cancun.. Even still, he was 27, married and struggling to provide for his family. They bought a BMW roadster. In real life: True. 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 think I always knew that, but lost my way for a while.". If I hadn't done what I did the, the life I have now with my wife and child, I wouldn't have. Steve bought a truck, a Rolex and a motorboat. LeVaughn Kelly Campbell (born July 23, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a former football wide receiver. Him and I still talk every now and then. Inside the Mazda, Steve told Scott Grant to get out and help David. . 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. But as soon as he drove off, I went right back in and opened the vault. . 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. Just head on out. And so, he did. So I was glad it was over. Because surprise! . 'Can I Keep the Velvet Elvis?': The Great Hillbilly Heist of 1997 Instead of lobster, the man who stole $17 million survived on home-cooked pasta and grilled cheese sandwiches. At 6-1 and 220 pounds, Steve was stocky and imposing, a fast talker with a brown goatee. I missed my wife. Steve had another conversation with Kelly about killing David. Kelly had no problem fanning the flames of their old flirtation. But few could have guessed how spectacularly the heist would go wrong after the criminals initially got away with it. I said, Probably, the best time would be on the weekend; theres fewer people there. Some family members hid money in bank deposit boxes, other friends were asked to mule cash to the Cayman Islands. To protect themselves, David and Steve didn't meet or talk. The cart held about $2 million, and the thief made multiple trips. In early November, Steve lured the real Mike McKinney, an ex-Marine, to North Carolina from his Illinois home. Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. Question: You were a consultant? Ghantt:I don't think he ever really meant to harm me. A version of this story originally appeared on CharlotteObserver.com. 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). Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded. ". The true crime behind Asheville-based Galifianakis film Ive never taken offense to anything like that, he tells me. A third tape he didn't know about kept recording. David complained it wasn't enough. . He longed for the middle-class lifestyle of his childhood, with its private religious-school education and Disney World vacations. And I said, Hey, man, I got this. In that time, I realized most of my problems were because of me. Her case closes in 2025. I'll never pay it off on my paycheck." Though David had said earlier he thought there was $15 million in the vault, the sight of that much cash held them spellbound. He para-sailed, power-skied and scuba-dived. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. Until, that is, he decided to hell with it he was going to pull-off the second largest heist in U.S. history. I don't blame him.". 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the year that everything happened 1997. In a word, "Teamwork. In mid-November, McKinney carried $10,000 to Cancun but wound up spending most of it on himself. In hindsight, it doesnt surprise me a bit, Ghantt says, a bitter laugh catching in his throat. And then I could hear her laughing. This story was originally published October 3, 2016, 9:12 PM. October was "a blast," he said. 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. In real life: False. 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. Steve told her to send David to Atlanta on a bus and drive back to the trailer. Is he telling the truth? 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. That was great. They agreed that after the heist, David would immediately move to Mexico, alone, but Kelly would soon join him there, with her two children. He rewarded Robert with $3,000 and vowed never to meet McKinney alone. What made her abandon an ordinary existence to commit this spectacular, doomed crime? More agents waited outside to arrest them. 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. I threw you out, and then threw the parachute after you. Or does it sit in an offshore account, waiting for a prison sentence to end? I was just going to get the money into the van. Question: You went to Mexico. His assignment was to deliver the cash to David and keep him happy until they could find a way to kill him, McKinney said. The whole town I was staying in was 98.9 percent Mexican, except for when the cruise ships were in, Ghantt recalls. How Bridgerton restarted buzz about her ancestry. The bizarre true story of the criminals behind the second-largest bank heist in American history. Loomis Fargo Heist of 1997 - History and Other Things You might as well take it all, Ghantt tells me. The Columbia airport had no available flights. Thats where they feel comfortable., This piece of information would become critical to his getaway plan. They involve Loomis armored car driver David Scott Ghantt. Then FBI agent Wydra watched Steve's wife, Michele, deposit about $8,000 at a Gaston County, N.C., bank. He was doing what the rest of us were doing making bad decisions. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. 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. All the while, Ghantt prepared himself for the task at hand. Here's what Floyd recalls: After two games of pool, Steve told him, "You know, we do a lot of gambling. If you want to go ahead and go, I got it. Steve solicited two others to help move cash during the theft. 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. 1-4-3 is 'I love you.' The FBI, in fact, obtained the evidence they needed to bring down the major players, including Chambers, after catching them talking about the murder plot on the telephone via wiretap. Ghantt pulled out $50,000 from the back of the unmarked Loomis Fargo van. Everybody seemed stunned. 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. "A lot of people out there had it worse than me, but . So yeah, Im kind of proud of it.. It changes you. They sweated, though the night was cool. As with many recent historic events, this one had been caught on videotape, a fact that a few dozen Charlotte FBI agents would learn in a hastily organized Sunday morning meeting. Thanksgiving and Christmas were difficult. When he walked onto the plane, he was wearing big, tall cowboy boots, where hed stuffed a majority of the smuggled cash. ", "I said, 'If you drive a truck, you're always in a financial bind. He went deep-sea fishing. Ghantt was already married when he took part in the heist, to a woman named Tammy who author Diamant described as very nice. It is true, however, that she had no idea about the plot and that he fled to Mexico without telling her. You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. Down in Jacksonville, a Loomis Fargo employee took $18 million from an armored van he was driving. On his second trip, Steve gave McKinney David's hotel address. She declined to take a lie-detector test. Truth be told, Ghantt had something of a crush on Campbell, and so, he told her exactly how hed pull off such a heist. 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. So Im like, Can you get a move on with my money? After a couple of weeks passed, I get a phone call from Kelly: Okay, Brunos coming to you, blah, blah, blah. So I get a phone call from this guy, and I tell him where to meet me. Some received probation for money laundering, many others did hard time. Butcher says the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina have never handled a case quite like Loomis. At first, I just blended in with the tourists and picked up a few translation books, Ghantt explains. Masterminds (2016 film) - Wikipedia In real life: False. 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. 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. Loomis officials--forced to break into their own vault because David had taken the keys with him--calculated that he had stolen $17,044,000, making the second biggest heist in U.S. history, following the $18.8 million theft of an armored car by another Loomis Fargo employee just six months earlier. You see, there's a reason Loomis Fargo used armored cars to move large amounts of cash. Mine did. There had been no signs. On his way out, he grabbed the surveillance video, hoping to cover his tracks. Inside were, along with other personal items, his keys and wedding ring. 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. Why did this Charlotte engineer leave her job? Theres less security. Ghantt was missing and no one, not even his wife, knew where he was. The money was heavy. Still, she wasn't happy. As soon as you put that first bag of stolen money in that van, theres no going back. I knew I was going to be the prime suspect. He covers culture, politics, race, and other perplexing mysteries for MEL. The robbery was committed by Loomis vault supervisor David Scott Ghantt, his married girlfriend Kelly Campbell (a former Loomis co-worker), Steven Eugene Chambers (a one-time FBI informant), his wife Michelle Chambers, Michael Gobbies, and four other co-conspirators. There were times when I drank really heavily.". Theres no way to get it back, Butcher told The Charlotte Observer. We need to set up some way for me to get my money. She said, We got it all worked out. Find 145 people named Kelly Loomis along with free Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok profiles on PeekYou - true people search. They tried to break the van's bulletproof windows. Ghantt started at Loomis Fargo in 1994, and soon worked his way up from an armored car driver to a vault supervisor. I would call us friends. (The conversation was depicted as 100 percent private on screen). 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. When he said, 'I'll give you $20,000 to hold a million,' I said, 'Sure.' That's the kind of movie they wanted to make. Kelly Campbell - Wikipedia We got this guy named Bruno. Chambers and Campbell were waiting for him in the Loomis Fargo parking lot, both in separate vehicles. David said he realized then, for the first time, he might not see the millions he thought he had coming to him. Channel 9 speaks with the man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 It's about the 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery also known as the "hillbillly heist" the second largest cash robbery in the history of the United States. I wanted to get as far away as I could. The number of people involved had ballooned after Steve started asking friends and family to help him launder the stolen cash. No dry runs, no rehearsals. One thing about teammates, in David's view: You could always trust them. It will be some time before she can commune with domestic animals again. She was a wife and mother with two children. Copyright 2022 TheAssociated Press. Thats nearly $11 million less than former Kings Mountain resident David Ghantt (played by Galifianakis in the film) helped steal from the vault where he worked in Charlotte back in October 1997. There was a third person with them, too, a man named Eric Grant. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. And youre like, Come on parachute. I'd probably change jobs. 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. It affects everybody different. 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. He recalled that another agent, Phil King, said, "Hey, there was an article in the [Charlotte] Observer about beeper codes. Charlotte Magazine even ran a feature story about the Loomis Fargo heist with the title, White Trash Crime. The headlines, however, never bothered Ghantt. Now, I kind of know something is fishy., Alone in Mexico with limited cash, Ghantt thought about turning himself in. SEVEN NABBED IN CHARLOTTE HEIST\ - Greensboro News and Record Then he was driving in the darkness with a van full of cash. "Love" has four. He kept looking over his shoulder. If they could just sit on the money until then, he said, they'd be fine. He hated the sweet smell of the green ink, and the $8.15-an-hour salary. The bash had a Cinderella theme, with a three-tiered cake that looked like a castle. Yes, happy. Should David be killed after he gave them the money? Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. One number is working in Campbells favor. Like David, Kelly was frustrated with her marriage. 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. No regrets. These (Loomis) guys, not so much.. and "I'm rich!". And going to see the Mayan ruins. Cool, I say. . 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.". As he and Kelly met in a field behind a shooting range to refine the plan, she allowed him to believe she was falling for him. Contact Us | Loomis US I flew from Atlanta to New Orleans. Loomis - Home They set the date, Oct. 4, a Saturday when David knew he could be alone in the building after his shift. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. They placed a bust of Caesar in the dining room. When he finished, the van was filled with $17 million. 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. Besides her prison sentence . Once in a lifetime, Murdaugh verdict sends a Lowcountry message: No one is above the law | Opinion, Charlotte Waffle House found with live roach, unclean equipment during health inspection.