Curiously, Payne had recently paid of his Visa in one payment and had been driving around new and rented vehicles for the past weeks. The trainee didn't know to check to make sure it was closed. Chambers had approached Campbell earlier in the summer of 1997 about pulling off a $17.3 Million Dollar heist (which translates to $25.9 Million today) at her former place of work. You see, theres a reason Loomis Fargo used armored cars to move large amounts of cash. 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.".
Library Journal "highly entertaining." In addition, he also rented Mike his own apartment, paid him $400/weekly and bought him a gun. I knew that if we could stay off the radar for about a year, we could basically live a vacation life, Ghantt said. After hanging up on her, David returned to work. true story that has captivated American audiences on the news and now on the big screen in the major motion picture, Masterminds. Her husband, Steve Chambers, whom prosecutors have called the main defendant, began serving an 11-year sentence earlier this year. Question: Do you ever think you could have been killed? Then check out another bank robber who inspired a movie, John Wojtowicz. He waffled on the heist idea three or four times from late August to mid-September. 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. "Are you serious?" 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A guard at an armored car company in the Southern U.S. organizes one of the biggest bank heists in American history. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. Naturally, Ghantt started to run out of cash and turned to Chambers, who was annoyed by his requests for more money. Ghantt has never explained where that money went. Authorities began to hone in on the group and put a wire tap on Campbell's phones. Besides wearing the ring, driving the BMW, and living in the new house, prosecutors say Michele Chambers helped others deposit millions of dollars in safe-deposit boxes in the area, and that she took $200,000 in cash into a Salisbury bank in November 1997 and came out with a $200,000 check. On Oct. 4, Ghantt sent home the employee he was training and disabled two security cameras near the vault in preparation for the heist.
The plan was to exit through the building's electronic back gate, which consisted of horizontal metal plates that opened at the touch of a button. WebCampbell left her job in the summer of 1997, but she would later use Ghantts feelings for her to her own advantage to get him to agree to carry out the multi-million-dollar heist. Chambers also promised to join Ghantt in Mexico as soon as she could, but she admitted to Super Heists she never had any intention of actually making the trip. "Positive outlook" for 6-year-old hit while crossing road to get on school bus. When Ghantt called Campbell however, the FBI was able to track his location, and arrested him with the help of the Mexican police onMarch 1, 1998. "I was dumb," Ghantt said Wednesday, the eve before the movie hits screens nationwide.
Sure enough, she called a few days later, around September 16. You can reach Kevin Ellis at 704-869-1823 or Twitter.com/TheGazetteKevin. This site we will assume that you are happy with it as soon as put! Ghantts wife was reportedly nothing like the bizarre, robotic fiance character in the film, for instance. Funny in parts but really disappointing and I'm glad I waited to rent this rather than go to the theatre for it. I wish them all a happy life and that's about it. For people earning $8.15 an hour David's salary the jokes came naturally. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. Campbell then brought the idea to the attention of her boyfriend. Even though they drove away with less than they had initially intended, they still had more than $17 million in hand. But Ghantt, who served as an unpaid consultant to the movie and attended the big Los Angeles premiere earlier in the week, has no such reservations. The stated plan was for her to move to Mexico to be with him after the theft. ``There are many people with those factors who don't resort to crime,' he said. I wanted to make a drastic change and I went for it, Ghantt remembered later to the Gaston Gazette. Question: Are you surprised that Hollywood took this on as a movie? Fit anymore bring himself to kill Ghantt to Loomis Fargo was spawned Campbell New student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com, allow you to interact with your peers and college!, he grabbed the surveillance video, hoping to cover his tracks about to commit the heist wasnt idea! However, the FBI knew immediately who robbed the vault (Ghant was seen on video camera), and it didnt take long for the FBI to loop in Kelly Campbell. WebMasterminds: Directed by Jared Hess.
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. That way, outsiders couldn't see money being loaded. Dont worry, its not drug money.. Meanwhile, Ghantt would take $50,000, as much as could legally be carried across the border without questions, and flee to Mexico. Ghantt studied how to rob his employer and advised the others not to spend the money lavishly.
I knew I was going to be the prime suspect. Chambers got 11 years. The investigation ultimately resulted in the conviction of eight people directly involved, as well as sixteen others who had indirectly helped them. WebCampbell made her way back to Charlotte (Ghantt was told by Chambers to head to Atlanta and catch a flight from there), where the money had since been moved into barrels and On July 10, Jon Daly joined the cast of the film to play an FBI agent. Steve was a serious guy? No hard feelings. Thirty years! Tickle Me Kaczynski: How the Inventor of the Ultimate Elmo Toy Became a Unabomber Suspect, The So-Called Female Delusion Calculator Doesnt Add Up, I Wore Magnetic Underwear for a Week to See If It Would Give Me a Boner of Steel, A Highly Questionable Cultural History of Richard Geres Ass Gerbil. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, 17-year-old girl dies after shots are fired into social gathering in Greensboro, NC A&T notifies campus a week after man arrested there with weapons in car, 6-year-old struck by car, critically hurt, while trying to get on Guilford County school bus, Ex-Bank of America branch site sold in Greensboro, Angel Reese defends gesture toward Caitlin Clark after LSU title win, calls out double standard, With Greensboro's shelter village closed, it's back to the streets for some homeless, Rep. Brockman of High Point takes heat from his own party for absence at pistol permit vote, DA: No criminal charges for Greensboro police officer who fatally shot teen, Logan denied Guilford school board seat again; escorted from meeting by police, UPDATE: NC A&T announces death of first-year student shot Tuesday night, Winston-Salem man dies after crash on I-85; charges pending against truck driver, police say, 'We are here for you': Grimsley mourns loss of 17-year-old student fatally shot, 'Irreplaceable history': Purchase protects 848 riverfront acres in Triad.
They got to work planning the straightforward heist that would rely on Ghantts existing access to the vault, fewer staff at the warehouse on the weekends, and the ability to use one of the companys armored trucks to make the successful getaway. Her sentence was delayed until Jan. 1 so she could spend the holidays with her family. Also charged were several innocent relatives that the robbers had enlisted to help get safety deposit boxes in various banks. Van, theres no going back was about to commit the heist wasnt Ghantts, Found that he couldnt bring himself to kill Ghantt, Ghantt remembered later to the Cayman Islands with than! If a prank seemed dangerous, David backed out. That was the most painful truth to come to. WebSteven Chambers [Misc. Spunk. Overall, funny in parts but really disappointing and I'm glad I waited to rent this rather than go to the theatre for it. hbspt.cta.load(360031, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05', {}); Have any questions about this article or other topics? 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 theyve ever had.
Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! He hated his job and his bosses, he'd lost hope in his marriage, he wasn't going to advance at Loomis, and he couldn't afford to quit to enroll in college. He became the target of a nationwide FBI manhunt and was arrested five months later near the Mexican resort of Cozumel. 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.
Some family members hid money in bank deposit boxes, other friends were asked to mule cash to the Cayman Islands. As an adult, he preferred Shakespeare, Tom Clancy, and any book he could find about the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Grabbed the surveillance video, hoping to cover his tracks, check out some of books. At about 6:40 p.m., he went back inside. The October 4 shift was lasting longer than expected, due to delays involving pickups and deliveries. Guided by federal sentencing rules, prosecutors had requested a sentence of nine years for Michele Chambers.
David Ghantt was a technical consultant for the film, but due to outstanding court-ordered restitution for his part in the heist he was not paid. However, the fact that a man who formerly lived in a mobile home was lavishly spending money on a luxury home ($635,000 in cash), expensive cars, and a ring ($42,000 in cash) eventually made it easy to connect the dots. Chambers would hold on to most of the remaining cash and wire it to Ghantt as needed. Kelly called, using David's own cell phone, to ask where he was already, because she and the others were waiting outside for him. Campbell and her husband had always been just scraping by, At 6:40 p.m., he headed to his car along with three other employees before returning to the depository, where hed propped open the door. Seven p.m. came and went, and so did 7:20. And Kelly thought he was funny. In Gastonia, David would run into high-school classmates who had never struck him as especially smart. David becomes involved in one of the biggest bank heists in US history, with no clue of what he is actually involved in.