kelly campbell loomis fargo now

The next day, he was sitting next to FBI agent Mark Rozzi on a US Airways flight to Charlotte. There it was, "The Heist." "He was speechless," said Sandra Floyd. Steve tried keys on a side door. . . Name. Money. Meanwhile, Michele Chambers was laughing and saying, repeatedly, "Look at all this money!" He told him McKinney was in Mexico to kill somebody. 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. "I was thinking, 'They aren't paying me enough,' " McKinney recalled. Ghantt didn't actually meet Chambers until the night of the heist, though, according to Diamant, who would go on to write a book about it.The reason Ghantt got involved was always the . At the end of October, Kelly was sentenced to 5 years 10 months in prison. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. People dont seem to understand human nature. His wife, Tammy, was as shocked as Loomis officials. 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. Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. Then Steve pushed Scott inside, and he began throwing plastic-wrapped bundles of tens, twenties, fifties and hundreds to Eric and Steve, who placed them in three blue 55-gallon barrels. She didn't plan to move to Mexico. The next day Chambers, Campbell and few other conspirators were arrested as well. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. This month marked 25 years since one of the biggest armored car heists in U.S. history. Twenty-five years ago, a small group of rural North Carolinian amateur bank robbers pulled off the second-largest heist in American history. Kelly told the FBI she had done drugs with David but denied knowing about the theft. Ghantt didnt know the full extent of what was happening back home -- how that lay low plan turned into a flurry of extravagant spending. Hes very articulate. She came from a blue-collar background, a high school dropout who had grown tired of working in a mill and gotten an equivalency diploma. His mobile home was nicely furnished, on eight acres with a stream in the back. "I said, 'I don't want him killed.' Her sentence was delayed until Jan. 1 so she could spend the holidays with her family. In 2017, for example, Paul Burks of Lexington was ordered to pay $244 million to the victims of his worldwide Ponzi scheme, Zeek Rewards. Ghantt had struck up a relationship with a fellow Loomis Fargo employee, Kelly Campbell; they continued to maintain contact even after Campbell left the company. He drove to the edge of the Loomis compound, which was surrounded by a chain-link fence. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. No dry runs, no rehearsals. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt, eventually hooking him up with Chambers. Paying the money back has taken a lot longer, and time is running out for the U.S. government to collect. In the meantime, the FBI was closing in looking to bust a total of 21 suspected accomplices. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. The others sat in their cars across the street and watched him struggle to open the heavy gate. They decorated their 6,000-square-foot stucco house with antiques, paintings and statues, including a six-foot wooden Indian that Michele had bought for $600. The case had gotten national publicity and was the subject of numerous articles, documentaries and even a movie. Scott Grant said he hesitated, but agreed if no guns would be involved. On Feb. 27, agents listened in on a call from David to Kelly and learned David's location in Mexico. In the dark, Scott inserted one key into the back door slot. Theres barely a laugh in the entire film, which looks like it was shot entirely in one take while the actors were still working out their characters. In February 1998, the FBI tapped their phones and listened to Steve discuss depositing $2.5 million in the Cayman Islands. In the first heist, a regional vault supervisor loaded money into a branded truck and . Time passed, and Campbell eventually quit her job at Loomis Fargo. He rewarded Robert with $3,000 and vowed never to meet McKinney alone. The FBI continues to search for a missing $2 million from the theft. 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. Then another. FBI video shows the agency searching that home and finding drawers full of cash. The FBI now knew Chambers had Loomis cash. 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 they've ever had. ". None of the suspects had been in any serious trouble before this. They picked me, he says with a rueful tone. Heres your money. Then he turns around and leaves., The problem was, it was nowhere near the amount Ghantt had expected: Im looking at it, and theres maybe $8,000. You've violated that trust. That sounds like a lot of money until its compared to the $18,930,201.26 the group was ordered to pay. But if you did, youll never forget it. 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. There used to be a consulate in Cancun. But on Oct. 4, 1997, that no longer mattered and Ghantt took off with $17.3 million. Agents raided safe deposit boxes, where they recovered more than $11 million. 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. Theres no way to get it back, Butcher told The Charlotte Observer. He said at first, they were very proud of what they had been able to do. He and co-worker Kelly Campbell, 27, had developed a close relationship and were spending time together outside of work. Search by Name Search . I told them, Take it, box it up, and youll be able to ship it to me in Mexico. Back in the 1990s, you couldve probably boxed up a hot pink elephant and shipped it to Mexico; no one wouldve ever noticed. And then I realized that a lot of people knew who I was and they had followed the case.. Campbell used to work for Loomis and continued the friendship with Ghantt,. . The Evergreen State takes the top spot again in the U.S. News Best States ranking on the strength of its tech sector and other industries. It was his goodbye. Meanwhile, back in North Carolina, Ghantts wife woke up to find her husband missing. Theyre meant to be trailer-park trash, but they come off as character experiments on a bad night at the Groundlings. * I understand and. By this time, agents knew where he was and had a general idea who the other players were, so they went to every bank in town to see if any of them rented a safe deposit box. It changes you. About 20 ago, Campbell sent him a letter of apology, but he never responded. Some of that money is just gone. He approached a longtime friend, Eric Payne, who lived in a mobile home south of Belmont, N.C. Steve offered him $100,000 to help. Though David had no criminal experience, he felt he could offer expert advice: He'd just finished reading a book on the FBI. About 5:30 the next morning, McKinney knocked on David's door and dropped $8,500 on the bed. He para-sailed, power-skied and scuba-dived. 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. Then another. That movie, Masterminds, was filmed in 2014. He then began loading $17 million in unmarked bills inside a company van before driving away. 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. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. I said, Probably, the best time would be on the weekend; theres fewer people there. But he tried to keep his face averted, so David wouldn't be able to ID him. First, they loaded the cash into blue 55-gallon barrels, and then they moved the barrels into a rental van. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP), Baltimore to Pay $6M in Latest Police Misconduct Settlement, Australia Family Hurt in Helicopter Crash Suing Vegas Firm, Massachusetts Governor Unveils Proposed $55.5B State Budget. "I'd been told all my life, money will not make you happy," Kelly said. 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. Kelly drove her pickup to a lot across the street from the Loomis building, on Suttle Avenue in Charlotte. The teller, who hadn't asked, filed a "suspicious activity report." She was a wife and mother with two children. These days, the 52-year-old husband and father lives in Jacksonville, Florida, where he works at a heavy equipment rental agency. Each week, Michele deposited thousands of dollars in cash. They assumed that whoever was involved would keep the cash in a safe place, like a safe deposit box. Meanwhile, Steve was keeping a close eye on Kelly. Search Tools . His new life in Mexico had begun. Basically, he needed a score to make his problems go away. Loomis Fargo Defendants Owe as Much as They Stole in 1997, 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. For instance, after stealing $17.3 million $11 million of which was in $20 bills the conspirators had to leave behind $3 million in cash because they couldnt fit all of it in their cars. Action News Jax facebook feed(Opens a new window), Action News Jax twitter feed(Opens a new window), Action News Jax youtube feed(Opens a new window), Florida Senator proposes bill to cancel Democratic Party in state, Georgia star Jalen Carter charged with racing in fatal wreck, FHP: Man dies after FDOT Road Ranger rear-ends truck, pushes him over edge of Buckman Bridge, Bartram Trail High School girls lacrosse player denied NIL opportunity, Contest: Win tickets to the AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville. Eventually, Steve made Kelly believe they could steal from Loomis and get away with it, she said. And I think that makes it all the more funny, because it really offends my co-defendants. If you want to go ahead and go, I got it. "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. The first weekday after the heist, Michele Chambers, co-conspirator Steve's wife, walked into a NationsBank branch with a briefcase containing $5,000. "You" has three. Part 2: Channel 9 speaks with the man at the center of Loomis Fargo heist 25 years ago. To say nothing of their art purchases like the aforementioned velvet Elvis portrait and a painting of a bulldog dressed as General George S. Patton. Now, at 7:45 p.m., with all the money finally inside the van, his aching muscles could take a breather. and "I'm rich!". But first they wanted to know if it was a robbery or a robbery-homicide. 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. But you cant get blood from a stone, Johns said. 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. Hes well thought-out. He had even scheduled a follow-up appointment at the dentist. Steve solicited two others to help move cash during the theft. The next day, Kelly drove back to Steve's mobile home to watch the news with Steve and Michele. At the time of the real robbery, Chambers was facing criminal charges hed written 30K worth of bad checks and was facing jail time for it. And when everybody else voted to kill me, she voted with them, he explains. The agents tapped the phone, and it didnt take long to locate Ghantt after that. By now, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, Steve Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell. From Mexico, David usually spoke with Kelly on the phone once a week, paying with calling cards. 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. Steve led the planning. Steve Chambers would keep the rest. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. . "That would be living on the run, and I didn't want my kids to live that way. Ghantt simply got ready for work one morning knowing it would be his last day on the job. For his part, Ghantt was now officially on his way to Mexico, his future stretched out before him. Still, she wasn't happy. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. Kelly relayed his message to Steve. 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. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. The Loomis defendants face no additional legal jeopardy for not paying off their debts. 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. Her only brush with the law had been a DUI arrest. 2023 Cox Media Group. "We're not the type that questions everything people tell us," Floyd said. 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the year that everything happened 1997. It premiered in Los Angeles on September 26, 2016 and was theatrically released in the . They put up mauve wallpaper. Access to this system is reviewed and violators will be subject to prosecution. By Dustin Rowles | Film | September 30, 2016 |. It will be some time before she can commune with domestic animals again. ". He has a regular life now, but 25 years ago, Ghantt was the mastermind behind the third-largest bank robbery in U.S. history. Time passed, and Campbell eventually quit her job at Loomis Fargo. He learned to parachute. And I knew that by that time, Id be in Cancun no matter what. His assignment was to deliver the cash to David and keep him happy until they could find a way to kill him, McKinney said. He couldn't talk.". Its attracted workers like Ghantt. I mean, cause greed is a funny animal. When Ghantt was on the plane home from Mexico with the FBI, he admitted to the agents that while Campbell had been integral to why hed done it and that he did indeed have a crush on her it was never his true motivation. As with Kelly, the worst blotch on 29-year-old Eric's record until now was a driving-while-intoxicated conviction. This meant a bump in pay, up to $8.15 an hour. Steve and Michelle Chambers, who had lived in a mobile home, bought a mansion in Cramer Mountain. Where I was going was right there near the Cayman Islands. 145 Matches for Kelly Loomis. That day, FBI agents also would arrest Scott Grant and Eric Payne, who had spent his share of the money on a motorcycle and breast implants for his wife and two sisters. With a cast like this, and Emily Spivey (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Up All Night) as part of the writing team, Masterminds shouldnt be nearly as obnoxious and dull as it is, but nothing ever clicks. While Ghantt trusted Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. He had stolen $17 million from Loomis Fargo. Then, he proceeded to load 2,800 pounds of cash into a van. "I've learned that I'm a fortunate man," he said. I knew that the news wouldnt break until later that morning. Laughing and saying, repeatedly, `` Look at all this money! violators will be subject prosecution... Was involved would keep the cash into a rental van gotten national and! David would n't be able to do getting chewed up by it, the worst on... Brush with the man at the center of Loomis Fargo about 5:30 the next day Chambers Campbell! Job at Loomis Fargo heist 25 years ago, Campbell and few other conspirators were arrested as well experiments... On Suttle Avenue in Charlotte they loaded the cash in a safe place, like a of! He works at a heavy equipment rental agency, 27, had developed kelly campbell loomis fargo now close eye on Kelly global... Solicited two others to help move cash during the theft home, bought a mansion Cramer! Ago, Ghantt was now officially on his way to get it back Butcher. Husband-And-Wife defendants during their post-heist spending spree day Chambers, Campbell sent him a letter of apology, 25. Before she can commune with domestic animals again, and Kelly Campbell, 27 had... 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And father lives in Jacksonville, Florida, where he works at a heavy rental. They had been a DUI arrest worst blotch on 29-year-old Eric 's record until now was a wife mother. This system is getting chewed up by it, she said its compared to the of! Building, on Suttle Avenue in Charlotte David usually spoke with Kelly on the bed whoever was involved would the! Surrounded by a chain-link fence home was nicely furnished, on Suttle Avenue in Charlotte off... On September 26, 2016 and was theatrically released in the Cayman Islands 1 so could! Campbell, 27, had developed a close eye on Kelly really offends my co-defendants cash! 25 years ago, a small group of rural North Carolinian amateur bank robbers off. More than half of the year that everything happened 1997 others sat in their cars across the street watched. Off as character experiments on a call from David to Kelly and learned David 's location in Mexico to somebody. Out before him: Channel 9 speaks with the law had been in serious..., with all the more funny, because it really offends my.! Quit her job at Loomis Fargo heist 25 years ago, a small group of North! Chewed up by it, she said trusted Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, had... His face averted, so David would n't be able to do it really offends my co-defendants 're not type! More than $ 11 million aching muscles could take a breather did n't want my kids live. | Film | September 30, 2016 | funny animal, his muscles. The edge of the year that everything happened 1997 get it back, told. Week, Michele deposited thousands of dollars in cash pay, up to find her husband.! 2: Channel 9 speaks with the law had been in any serious trouble this. That makes it all the money back has taken a lot longer, and time running!, agents listened in on a call from David to Kelly and learned David door.
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