You can seize property. Chambers would then occasionally wire Ghantt money and see to his basic financial needs; when the heat was off, Ghantt was to re-enter the U.S. and the money would be split up among all of the co-conspirators. I think if you remember some of her early photographic opportunities, shall we put it that way, she was sort of laughing, not seeming to take it seriously.. The FBI heard about the plot and agents knew they could no longer wait. 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. This was several years before the advent of smartphones and the post-9/11 increase in federal surveillance of electronic communications, and public knowledge about this tracking was less widespread. 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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. People dont seem to understand human nature. Nathan, Steves cousin, was found in a mobile home the Chambers had abandoned. That first day in prison was scary, Ghantt said. This technically made it abank robbery afederal offense. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. Hes a family man with a wife and daughter. 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. 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. Campbell was another employee at Loomis Fargo and she and Ghantt quickly struck up a relationship, one that Campbell denies was ever romantic though FBI evidence says otherwise, and one that continued after she left the company. Enabling JavaScript in your browser will allow you to experience all the features of our site. Only a nickel on every dollar have been collected so far. 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. "Don't double-cross us," the woman on the phone told David Ghantt. Chambers had broached the possibility of a robbery to Campbell earlier in the summer. His collection case closes in two years. So the pieces were falling into place for investigators. He was the only employee unaccounted for the next morning, and videotapes recovered at the Loomis Fargo Charlotte office showed Ghantt removing cubes of cash and loading it into a Loomis Fargo armored van for over an hour. 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. They could talk about anything, even topics he couldn't discuss with his wife. just generally being a jerk. All but one of the defendants pleaded guilty. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily by millions of dollars worth of temptation. So we were able to figure out with all the denominations, it would require about 20 safe deposit boxes to store it all.. Clerk of Court Frank Johns of Charlotte. The plan was still on, but David remained steamed. Thomas Grant, who served three years in prison for bank larceny, paid off restitution of $70,000; brother Eric Grant paid all of his $26,000; as did David Craig, $40,000; and Dennis and Sandra Floyd; $27,000. "For the first year after a crime," he told her, "they're all over you, with six to ten agents. Some of that money is just gone. He had stayed in a luxury hotel and paid for expensive food and activities such asscuba divingandparasailing. The loot would later be divided among David, Kelly, and Steve. 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. But they'd stayed in touch, and now they were poised to attempt a crime like almost no other. At that point, Kelly and David had known each other for two years. 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. Campbell, a former Loomis employee and one of the original masterminds of the caper, has paid off less than $21,000 of the $4,701,694.18 she was docked. We are happy to work with other website publishers. Unexplained Mysteries - owned by Aliens since 2011. Of course the most famous thing inside the home was a velvet Elvis portrait. He hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. The same applies to trolling, the use of multiple aliases, or That was the thing that sticks in my mind to this day.. There are many robberies registered in the history of America, but the Loomis Fargo Robbery is known to be the second largest robbery in the United States. The gang made numerous mistakes. The October 4 shift was lasting longer than expected, due to delays involving pickups and deliveries. Ghantt, in order to conserve this money, curtailed his spending. The walk-in vault was a fortified gray room, more wide than long, with shelves, cabinets, desks, and multiple pushcarts stocked with shrink-wrapped cash. Campbell was released from federal custody in 2004 after serving five years, meaning her collection case will age out in December 2024. For people earning $8.15 an hour David's salary the jokes came naturally. If a prank seemed dangerous, David backed out. Loomis Fargo, the nation's largest privately held armored- car company, used vans to transport hundreds of millions of dollars a day belonging to banks and other businesses, stocking automated teller machines and storing money in the Loomis vault between deliveries. Soon thereafter, he met Kelly Campbell, a co-worker at Loomis Fargo. The biggest restitution numbers for victims of financial crimes generally involve Ponzi schemes or sweepstakes fraud, not cash thefts. They didnt expect it.. He knew his mother would be traumatized, shocked, and appalled. All of the primary players got fined millions of dollars --for example, Kelly Campbell was hit with more than $4 million, an amount that she will never come close to paying. While David Ghantt trusted Steve Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. None of the suspects had been in any serious trouble before this. The actual crime itself required none of Hollywood's imagination. Kelly called, using David's own cell phone, to ask where he was already, because she and the others were waiting outside for him. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP). EDITORIAL: Computer Science misses the need for digital literacy, N. Carolina legislators announce Medicaid expansion deal, EDITORIAL: Fighting political forces that sever family ties, Special-use to get overhaul: Commissioners, planners take a look, Cape Carteret seeking new police chief one month after hiring New Bern resident for post, How many in North Carolina are awaiting student loan debt relief? If we can sit on the money for a year, maybe two, it could work.". He decided at that moment that if Kelly called again, he would go for it. Two days later, when the FBI found the Loomis Fargo armored van, they discovered almost $3.3 million in cash left in the back of the van; it was later discovered that the thieves had miscalculated the sheer bulk of the small denomination currency, and that they simply left the cash that they could not take with them in the back of the van. He has a regular life now, but 25 years ago, Ghantt was the mastermind behind the third-largest bank robbery in U.S. history. Its in the ether. You can garnish wages. 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. Sure enough, she called a few days later, around September 16. 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. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually hooking him up with Chambers. Though Wydra is retired, 25 years ago, he was an agent with the FBI. Thirty years! The Star-Ledger, 06/15/2015On October 4, 1997, an amateurish gang robbed Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte, NC of $17 million, the second largest heist in U.S. history. Aprs de nombreux seconds rles comiques au cinma, elle parvient percer en co-crivant et tenant le rle principal de la Stealing from Loomis Fargo could make him rich, if he got away with it. Cool interesting stuff features everything odd, weird, bizzare, strange or unusual. He loves his motorcycle and enjoys going fishing and, while hes sorry for the past, hes not ashamed to talk about it. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. There was no reason to leave anything, he felt. He hired a hitman to take Ghantt out, tying up the ultimate loose end. 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. High around 65F. She had attitude. What kind of surprised me is how much the car smelled like money, like if you ever hold money up to your nose it has a distinct smell, Wydra said. Its in the ether. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. "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. " "Do you know how much there's gonna be?" If the American Dream involved being better off as adults than your parents were, David was experiencing a version of the American Nightmare. He shut the empty vault and set its timer so the vault could not be opened for two or three days. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. And they hit the jackpot -- FBI video shows agents recovering most of the stolen cash. Most people are going to forgive you.
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