Jim Gronquist was Campbells defense attorney. When he landed in Cancun, his first stop was Walmart. 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. He figured Tammy wouldn't go for it, and though his marriage had been troubled, he wasn't certain he wanted to leave her. At first, David Ghantt said, "I didn't take her seriously. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. I think I always knew that, but lost my way for a while.". I mean, it was dark, Ghantt explains. 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the year that everything happened 1997. 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. It affects everybody different. Steven Chambers and David Ghantt (back) arrested 12) Loomis Fargo heist- The aftermath I don't blame him.". 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. But few could have guessed how spectacularly the heist would go wrong after the criminals initially got away with it. The first weekday after the heist, Michele Chambers, co-conspirator Steve's wife, walked into a NationsBank branch with a briefcase containing $5,000. But if you did, youll never forget it. I did a little research into crime statistics and the local cops. Warning! Mine did. Back in North Carolina, Ghantts former accomplices were living high on the hog. Kelly had recently left a job driving an armored-car for Loomis, Fargo & Co. "He's the one who brought it up first," said Kelly, a year after her arrest. 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. David complained it wasn't enough. About 5:45 a.m., he got into his pickup and began the 45-minute drive to work in Charlotte. "I was trying to figure out a way to [leave my husband] and take care of my kids without having to depend on him or any other man," Kelly said. Username. Ghantt had fled to Mexico with $50,000 in cash, leaving the rest of the money with Steve Chambers. They soon realized David had stolen more money than would fit in their 55-gallon barrels. His assignment was to deliver the cash to David and keep him happy until they could find a way to kill him, McKinney said. I said, Probably, the best time would be on the weekend; theres fewer people there. Where was Ghantt? his keys and wedding ring. He then began loading $17 million in unmarked bills inside a company van before driving away. The cart held about $2 million, and the thief made multiple trips. "That would be living on the run, and I didn't want my kids to live that way. They paid for all of it in cash. Steve told Scott to ignore the remaining stacks, which were mostly ones and fives. Puedes cambiar tus opciones en cualquier momento desde tus controles de privacidad. Meanwhile, Steve was keeping a close eye on Kelly. Truth was, David wanted more than help leaving, he wanted company. Records show the government has garnished his Social Security checks. For his part, Ghantt was now officially on his way to Mexico, his future stretched out before him. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. I pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs.. About 20 ago, Campbell sent him a letter of apology, but he never responded. "We kept going, '1-4-3, 1-4-3,' " recalled Vic O'Korn, assistant special agent in charge of Charlotte's FBI office. He grabbed the tapes from two VCRs that connected to 16 security cameras. The last time he called me, he said, Hey Ghantt, I just saw a big Loomis Fargo truck. Driving away, he said he felt a mix of fear, confidence and excitement that he outsmarted the FBI. After a Gulf War stint in the Army, David got married in 1992. The FBI now knew Chambers had Loomis cash. Or as he tells me, How many people in the United States havent thought about robbing a bank? Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. He appeared happily matched with his high-spirited wife, Michele, and the two children from her first marriage. That was great. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. Campbell, a mother of two, was in the process of divorcing her. In the dark, Scott inserted one key into the back door slot. From going fishing to riding horses on the beach the whole nine yards. Kelly Loomis. He worked fueling airplanes, driving a forklift, and in 1994 he got a job as a vault superintendent at Loomis. From Mexico, David usually spoke with Kelly on the phone once a week, paying with calling cards. . ". More agents waited outside to arrest them. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. Not all of them, but some of them are going to forgive you, theyre going to overlook it., he said. He became the target of a nationwide FBI manhunt and was arrested five months later near the Mexican resort of Cozumel. I loved it. But after she left, she reached back out to Ghantt and brought up what they'd talked about that day in the break room. Even with several vehicles, they underestimated how much space they would need and they had to leave $3 million behind. Masterminds which opens nationwide today (though youd be hard pressed to know that given the decided lack of promotion) is proof again that all the talent in the world cannot salvage a bad script, and not even a good screenwriter can make up for terrible performances. They found Ghantts truck, and in it were his keys, some personal items and his wedding ring. Depression had led to smoking a lot of marijuana and taking Prozac, a combination she figures affected her judgment. The FBI's final challenge is finding the remaining $2 million. For example, Steve Chambers and his wife were living in a trailer and upgraded to what would today be a multi-million-dollar mansion at Cramer Mountain. Basically, he needed a score to make his problems go away. Get to me. Its that kind of excitement.. Directed by Jared Hess and written by Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer and Emily Spivey, the film stars Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Jason Sudeikis.. Ghantt would go on to spend six and a half years in federal prison. This machine is the property of Loomis. And after two years, you're just a file." "But, I hate to admit it, it doesn't faze me one bit. By late November, McKinney made a third trip to Mexico, saying he'd help David move to Mexico City. We got to the end of the day, and he was acting like he wanted to linger. Too many questions remained: Where was the cash? It is based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo Robbery in North Carolina, which was the subject of the 2016 American comedy film Masterminds. Mexican police, Interpol officers and an FBI agent were watching him. They put up mauve wallpaper. This meant a bump in pay, up to $8.15 an hour. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. When October 1997 began, Steve and Michelle Chambers lived in a double-wide trailer. So that was kind of like this once-in-a-lifetime thing, Wydra said. 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. Given his position at the bank, hed be the one to pull off the robbery, and he intended to be ready. So it was weird when during the middle of the week, there were these very clean-cut, very Midwestern looking, obviously American guys in the town. ". People dont seem to understand human nature. His name was Corey. David was excited, jabbering about their future together. David was living under the name Mike McKinney on a phony ID. They cursed. 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. hippie fest 2022 michigan; family picture poses for 5 adults; unforgettable who killed rachel; pacific northwest college of art notable alumni; adler sense of belonging family constellation Thats where they feel comfortable., This piece of information would become critical to his getaway plan. A couple weeks pass, and I call again, Hey, Id like to get some more money. 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. His new life in Mexico had begun. ", "Even then . Then FBI agent Wydra watched Steve's wife, Michele, deposit about $8,000 at a Gaston County, N.C., bank. He would pay McKinney $250,000, half upfront. We got this guy named Bruno. He kept looking over his shoulder. When neighbors asked where they got their money, Steve said hed played in the NFL. That October, the Chamberses' bank accounts ballooned. Was that really what it was about? So much so that one suspicious neighbor called the FBI. Without really intending to, Kelly recalls, she turned the conversation to the possibility of a heist. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. To its credit, Masterminds does nail down the broad strokes of the real story, although there were a couple of noteworthy details the film left out. But what did that mean? I flew from Atlanta to New Orleans. Still, she wasn't happy. "It probably should bother me," he said. 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. Her case closes in 2025. A guard at an armored car company in the Southern U.S. organizes one of the biggest bank heists in American history. Thats one of my personality flaws. It was the first Saturday in October. Loomis, then known as Loomis Fargo, experienced two inside jobs in 1997, for $17.3 million and $18.8 million. Him and I still talk every now and then. They assumed that whoever was involved would keep the cash in a safe place, like a safe deposit box. Not every agent has a case like that, he said. Time passed, and Campbell eventually quit her job at Loomis Fargo. I mean, cause greed is a funny animal. As it turned out, Ghantt was zipping up his scuba suit in Mexico. He told him McKinney was in Mexico to kill somebody. Then he was driving in the darkness with a van full of cash. Haz clic en Gestionar ajustes para obtener ms informacin y gestionar tus opciones. Galifianakis seems to be playing a character out of Dumb and Dumber 3: The Dumbening; Kristen Wiig plays what could only be described as her worst SNL character; Owen Wilson plays an Owen Wilson character; and Sudeikis plays a bumbling hitman who cant pull the trigger after he finds out his target shares the same name and birthdate, which is the dumbest twist since the Martha revelation in Batman vs. Superman. I did every touristy thing you could possibly do while I was down there. "She said, 'What would it take to convince you to do it?' What made her abandon an ordinary existence to commit this spectacular, doomed crime? First, in January, he tried to get someone to take some millions down to Mexico. With the help of Aldo, a Mexican waiter he had befriended, David found a beach apartment in Cancun. Twice a week over the next 12 months, we will take you back to the winter of sheep cloning and the summer of Con Air. And I knew that by that time, Id be in Cancun no matter what. . Scott was so nervous, he said, that he couldn't help. Now that Kelly believes she has found Jesus, she has become more analytical about her past. Now, at 7:45 p.m., with all the money finally inside the van, his aching muscles could take a breather. The number of people involved had ballooned after Steve started asking friends and family to help him launder the stolen cash. In February 1998, the FBI tapped their phones and listened to Steve discuss depositing $2.5 million in the Cayman Islands. It changes you. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. 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. In the first days after the arrests, agents recovered or accounted for all but about $2 million of the stolen money. He went deep-sea fishing. Find 145 people named Kelly Loomis along with free Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok profiles on PeekYou - true people search. David kissed his sleeping wife on the cheek on the morning of Oct. 4.