There are multiples of thousands of these things coming every year. About the worst he had done as a teenager was stealing a construction company's Porta-Jon with a friend, tying it to the back of a pickup truck, and driving around for about fifteen minutes. To the community, the Loomis Fargo heist was a big joke -- the largest hillbilly caper of all time. Libraries without that edition should consider purchasing this entertaining and lightly edited version, which reads like a fast-paced novel. 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. After hanging up on her, David returned to work. David placed their odds of success at 85 percent, a confidence inspired by faith not just in his planning but also in his feelings for Kelly. His collection case closes in two years. He added that money can be a motivator for anyone. Holding her hands behind her back, Michele Chambers was sentenced Tuesday to seven years and eight months in prison for her role in the $17 million heist from Loomis, Fargo & Co. She was also. But he wasn't finished. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. Of course the most famous thing inside the home was a velvet Elvis portrait. Steve's a serious guy.". Afterward, she and David would talk just occasionally on the phone. 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. In his youth, his mother had taken him to Sears and JCPenney, but as a man he shopped at Walmart, and while he knew there was nothing wrong with that, he wished he could afford more. She will never get beyond the debt. Twenty people were convicted of roles big and small in the massive 1997 armored-car warehouse heist in west Charlotte. Their most important conversation occurred one afternoon in August 1997 after Kelly paged him at work. "Everything's gonna be all right," she told him. she asked. Loomis Fargo heist: 25 years later While David Ghantt trusted Steve Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. 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 same applies to trolling, the use of multiple aliases, or >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later Ghantt, his former co-worker Kelly Campbell and her friends Steve and Michelle Chambers, carried out the Loomis Fargo heist on Oct.. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. https://www.charlotteagenda.com/67457/loomis-fargo-heist-masterminds-movie/, http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/article104506876.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_1997_Loomis_Fargo_robbery#Company, http://retroclt.blogspot.com/2014/07/loomis-fargo-heist.html, . The plan was still on, but David remained steamed. They had initially agreed to control their spending for a year or two, in the belief that the government would vigorously track the spending habits of any and all suspects for at least a year before relenting. The Loomis Fargo Heist Over the next months, Ghantt, Campbell, and Chambers developed a plan. They hadn't slept together or even fooled around much, but he was ready to commit. Booklist "Librariesshould consider purchasing this entertaining and lightly edited version, which reads like a fast-paced novel." Chambers had no intention of wiring any money to Ghantt and intended to have him killed to keep him from implicating the others. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. In order to receive more evidence, the FBI decided to listen. There was a book published in 2002 as well, by author Jeff Diamant called,Heist! David Ghantt was just an average Joe with an average low-wage job. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. It's still the hot topic . The hillbilly outfit did more that just drop a few breadcrumbs. In 1994, they moved to Gastonia, North Carolina, where they had grown up, and David took a job driving a forklift. Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date. 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Marine Fisheries Commission advocates for water quality, North Carolina the only state allowing unnecessary killing of sea turtles, 'Pagan' bike gang leader in N. Carolina sentenced to prison, Deputy cleared in shooting death of Gloucester woman, Beaufort amends charter to allow four-year mayoral term. Some of that money is just gone. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. This website uses cookies and some data tracking to improve your experience and serve adverts, We assume you're ok with this, you can opt-out if you wish. The van used to move the money was later located a few miles from the warehouse. Another name the FBI had become very interested in is Eric Payne. "What would it take to make you do it?". They could talk about anything, even topics he couldn't discuss with his wife. Before the robber left Loomis Fargo, he made a trip to the managers office to remove two surveillance tapes in order to conceal his identity. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. She sounded incredulous. 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. And if that gives people out there a little bit of hope, then Ive served my purpose on this earth.. All of the defendants are out of prison -- the longest sentence was 11 years. And once he started, he didn't stop with one cartful. The participants in the heist also spent lavishly on fancy jewelry, fancy cars and breast enhancement surgeries. Spunk. 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. : The .17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft [Jeff Diamant] on Amazon.com. Investigators considered Ghantt to be the prime suspect almost from the beginning. Ghantt had fled to Mexico with $50,000 in cash, leaving the rest of the money with Steve Chambers. Now one of the most wanted men in America with the FBI hot on his heels, Ghantt must figure out how to get his money, get away from a hit man, and get even. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. But things didnt quite work out that way. Campbell, a mother of two, was in the process of divorcing That sounds like a lot of money until its compared to the $18,930,201.26 the group was ordered to pay. You cannot fine low-income people millions of dollars. Eric Payne got out of prison in 2006 for his role in the heist and has since paid $11,357 on his $292,000 debt. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. 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. Twenty years ago this Wednesday, a small group of people stole $17 million in cash from the main vault of a Loomis Fargo & Co. armored-car warehouse in west Charlotte. Its in the ether. Lacking a college degree, he found that his army skills felt meaningless in the 1990s job market. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. You can have your whole career and not have a case like that. And after two years, the case is just a file. 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, former FBI agent John Wydra said. In preparation for what lay ahead, David had backed an unmarked company Ford Econoline van near the vault entrance and opened the van's back door. Prosecutors say a vault. The plan to. Enabling JavaScript in your browser will allow you to experience all the features of our site. A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. "its a great readsuspenseful, often funny, just the thing for those wondering what it might feel like to have, as these hapless, small-town criminals did, literally too darn much cash lying around. " She was five-foot-seven, had dirty-blond hair, and had worked with him for about a year at Loomis Fargo, until she left for another job in 1996. The theft at the time the second-largest cash robbery in U.S. history has been the brunt of mocking movies and books, mostly on how the thieves, who had little money to begin with, could not control their spending habits once they did. 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. All but one of the 24 defendants pleaded guilty, and the one who didnt take the deal was convicted. On Oct. 5, the Loomis heist celebrates its 25th birthday. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. He decided at that moment that if Kelly called again, he would go for it. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. shaka wear graphic tees is candy digital publicly traded ellen lawson wife of ted lawson real kelly campbell loomis fargo heist 25 Feb/23 (No Ratings Yet) Current price is $11.49, Original price is $14.99. He knew his mother would be traumatized, shocked, and appalled. When Ghantt called Campbell asking for more money, a plan was set in motion to take him out. Federal law stops government collection efforts 20 years after a defendant leaves prison. Unexplained Mysteries and Strange Things,Cool Interesting stuff has been online since early 2011. My knee-jerk reaction was to be angry, and then the sarcastic ass side of me started laughing about it, Ghantt said. Winds light and variable. In all, agents arrested 24 people in the heist. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. That way, outsiders couldn't see money being loaded. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. Kelly had approached David with the idea in the summer, knowing he had a crush on her and winning him over with the promise that a shady friend of hers with Mafia ties would help them. Now and again I run into blog posts that tends to make me want to get started on bloggin myself. For people earning $8.15 an hour David's salary the jokes came naturally. "Do you know how much there's gonna be?" He had since served time in prison for the crime and told our sister station WSOC-TV Channel 9s Glenn Counts he learned a valuable lesson while behind bars. For the defendants in the Loomis Fargo heist, its allure was irresistible. Probably very egotistical of me, I thought, Yeah, sure, I can beat them, theyre college smart and thats about it, Ghantt said. Learn how to enable JavaScript on your browser. I was relieved emotionally because I knew there was a good chance my luck might run out, Ghantt said. A parrot tattoo on her right ankle. You can seize property. The reason David didn't know Steve's last name was so they couldn't identify each other to the police or FBI, should cops or G-men ever enter the picture. David was thin six-foot-one, one hundred sixty-five pounds and heaving the stacks onto the cart, pushing the cart toward the vault door, and then emptying its contents into the van was exhausting. 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 pay (restitution to) thousands of people, but its in drips and drabs.. A parrot tattoo on her right ankle. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Remember why you were elected! Its attracted workers like Ghantt. It all went down in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the man at the center of that heist, David Scott Ghantt, now lives in Jacksonville. You can garnish wages. Have a youtube channel or website similar? From my standpoint, it was just a business deal, Ghantt said. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. In this outrageously entertaining book, Jeff Diamant, the Charlotte Observer's lead reporter on the case, offers the definitive inside account of this astonishing. They also purchased expensive cars, jewelry and a breast enhancement or two. 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. The FBI began to question past and current employees of Loomis Fargo. Of course the problem was, the money belonged to someone else. Then one day, while reviewing his and Tammy's credit card bill, he did some quick math and realized that even if they met the minimum monthly payments, the bill would take thirty years to pay. Many of the lesser players in the conspiracy have been the most effective in paying their debts. Charlotte Observer"more than a crime story, and one that's worth reading." Ghantt didnt know the full extent of what was happening back home -- how that lay low plan turned into a flurry of extravagant spending. (LogOut/ You can seize property. In Reservoir Dogs, released just five years earlier, the pawns in a robbery knew each other only by assigned colors: Mr. Kelly called, using David's own cell phone, to ask where he was already, because she and the others were waiting outside for him. By then, the FBI had become greatly concerned for Ghantts personal safety; they had learned of Chambersmurder for hirescheme. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all., WSOC TV facebook feed(Opens a new window), Part 2: Channel 9 speaks with the man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 years ago, ALSO READ: 14-year-old boy robbed at gunpoint while waiting for bus in east Charlotte, mom says, ALSO READ: Leader of $3M check theft, bank fraud scheme in Charlotte area sentenced to prison, ALSO READ: Man released from jail, accused of robbing banks while wearing electronic monitor, police say, ALSO READ: Suspect from south Charlotte bank robbery found, CMPD says, NCSHP arrest driver accused of nearly hitting 2 students at bus stop in Statesville, CMS delays opening of new school meant to ease overcrowding, Mooresville orders removal of memorial at park after teens death, Chick-fil-A announces app data breach, tells customers how to protect personal information, Charlotte woman celebrates $1 million scratch-off prize, WSOC - TV Public File Contact / Program Director, WAXN - TV Public File Contact / Program Director. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. The FBI says Chambers hired a hitman to tie up the ultimate loose end -- Ghantt. 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. Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. Restitution is a familiar part of sentencing in federal court. Perry identified the other six people arrested as Steve and Michelle Chambers; Kelly Jane Campbell, a former Loomis employee; Michael L. McKinney; Thomas Nathan Grant; and Eric Haley Payne.. Fourteen defendants were ordered to make restitution payments to Loomis Fargo totaling almost $19 million. It wasn't how much you stole that mattered most; it was that you had stolen in the first place. Eric Payne got out of prison in 2006 for his role in the heist and has since paid $11,357 on his $292,000 debt. He is a graduate of Yale and has worked for the Connecticut Post, the Associated Press, and the Palm Beach Post. Tips had led the FBI to begin monitoring Chambers (and his wifes) activities, but it was not until the FBIrecorded a phone callfrom Ghantt in Mexico that the final connection was made. The world is full of unexplained events, strange mysteries, and mysterious legends. A report by the General Accounting Office found that as of budget year 2016, $110 billion in restitution ordered by the federal courts was outstanding and that more than 90% of the amount had been classified as uncollectible.. "Are you serious?" Michelle Chambers received a few more months than Ghantt, because she had violated several bond conditions. Who all wanted a Rambo movie which explored his time training as a green beret and his time serving in Vietnam as a prequel to first blood WATCH Antebellum 2020 FULL MOVIE. Well she was a pretty happy-go-lucky person, he said. (LogOut/ Yet their lives seemed far easier and better than his. When some friends stole a stop sign from a busy intersection, David made them put it back. When did you conclude Yeah, Im actually going to do this? Counts asked. All but one took plea deals, including Ghantt, who was sentenced to seven years in prison. He said at first, they were very proud of what they had been able to do. Spunk. Library Journal "highly entertaining." He was on a budget for clothes, even for work boots; he had recently needed to check seven stores before finding a pair in his price range. 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. The government does not run debtors prisons, says U.S. She'd left Loomis in November 1996 to take a job elsewhere as a security guard. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. So they went to Mexico and arrested Ghantt in order to protect him. What that says is, We will never forgive you for what youve done. Since then, there have been numerous articles, books, documentaries and even a movie about this gang -- the gang that couldnt shoot straight. Most people are going to forgive you. At 2:20 p.m., the phone rang; it was Kelly again. Conversations about stealing from the company weren't rare for Loomis employees. But on Oct. 4, 1997, that no longer mattered and Ghantt took off with $17.3 million. For example, Steve Chambers and his wife were living in a. "I don't have time to mess with you. 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. Not all of them, but some of them are going to forgive you, theyre going to overlook it., he said. In the grand scheme of things, the prison sentence for stealing $20 million wouldn't be much worse than for stealing just $500,000 maybe a few extra years behind bars. They knew Steve Chambers had worked as an informant in the past, and were nervous he would smell out an undercover. He had since held one low-paying job after another. You Save 23%. The property has changed hands several times since then. Change). Discover some of the worlds strangest ancient places. But if you did, youll never forget it. She had attitude. However, Chambers had no intention of following those rules, believing the FBI would never connect him to Ghantt. All of the co-defendants were arrested the next day, about six months after the heist. Campbell led Ghantt to think she loved him and they would flee to Mexico together, but she actually wanted to make a better life for herself in the U.S. With the plan in place, Ghantt sent a newly hired employee he had been assigned to train home early (reportedly, at 6 p.m.) and then proceeded to load a little more than $17.3 million in cash (approximately $11 million of which was in$20 bills) into the back of a company van. Its a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I went down and talked to them, got to meet Zach Galifianakis and the director, Ghantt said. They involve Loomis armored car driver David Scott Ghantt. It was David who was hours away from committing the most daring act of his life, and she was going off about Steve being a serious guy? The Charlotte area's economy was booming all around him, and he felt passed over. David was supposed to be showing him the ropes of the job, which included cash pickups and deliveries. Its in the ether. But you cant get blood from a stone,, Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. Inside $3.3 million was located along with the two stolen surveillance tapes, apparently left due to the robber and his accomplices being sloppy, or in a hurry. So he and some friends decided at the end of his Oct. 4 shift he would load a company van with more than 2,000 pounds of cash and just drive away. Unexplained Mysteries - owned by Aliens since 2011. Jim Gronquist, Campbells defense attorney during the Loomis case, says the financial penalties levied against his client and her co-defendants are grossly excessive and unjust, particularly since most of the stolen Loomis money was actually recovered. After discussing his job, his marriage, and his everyday struggles, they joked about Loomis and about how easy it would be to steal from the place. 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