kelly campbell loomis fargo now
Steve and Michele invited everyone back for a Christmas party, where they gave Michele's stepfather a special gift--the pickup truck he'd always wanted. You might as well take it all, Ghantt tells me. Steve led the planning. I studied up on the FBI. Or that hed gotten lucky gambling. 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.. People dont seem to understand human nature. Theyre meant to be trailer-park trash, but they come off as character experiments on a bad night at the Groundlings. Too many questions remained: Where was the cash? Charlotte Magazine even ran a feature story about the Loomis Fargo heist with the title, White Trash Crime. The headlines, however, never bothered Ghantt. By Dustin Rowles | Film | September 30, 2016 |. See all of the stories here. Ghantt, meanwhile, was losing his patience and starting to make threats. You're an idiot.'". Not all of them, but some of them are going to forgive you, theyre going to overlook it., he said. Or is the loot buried in somebody's yard? A third tape he didn't know about kept recording. "That would be living on the run, and I didn't want my kids to live that way. The robbery was committed by Loomis vault supervisor David Scott Ghantt, his married girlfriend Kelly Campbell (a former Loomis co-worker), Steven Eugene Chambers (a one-time FBI informant), his wife Michelle Chambers, Michael Gobbies, and four other co-conspirators. Ghantt had fled to Mexico with $50,000 in cash, leaving the rest of the money with Steve Chambers. Search Tools . Hed be in contact. Depression had led to smoking a lot of marijuana and taking Prozac, a combination she figures affected her judgment. Hidden in it was a 3 1/2-carat diamond ring that cost $43,000. "A lot of people out there had it worse than me, but . She will never get beyond the debt. She declined to take a lie-detector test. An officer rang the doorbell. For the defendants in the Loomis Fargo heist, its allure was irresistible. Things were spiraling fast. But as he later recalled to the media, as soon as he stepped through those big-box doors, he realized he was flush with cash, and he didnt need to shop at Walmart ever again. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily . Then FBI agent Wydra watched Steve's wife, Michele, deposit about $8,000 at a Gaston County, N.C., bank. On Monday, October 6th, the FBI agents who were investigating the robbery located the Loomis Fargo van abandoned in the woods. Steve and Michelle Chambers, who had lived in a mobile home, bought a mansion in Cramer Mountain. 1997 Harley-Davidson Road King motorcycle for sale at auction of items bought after Loomis, Fargo armored car facility heist by Steven Chambers, wife Michele, Kelly Jane Campbell & David Scott Ghanntt (Photo by Will And Deni McIntyre/Getty Images) A guard at an armored car company in the Southern U.S. organizes one of the biggest bank heists in American history. "He was in tears. By the time the month concluded, the couple had purchased a 7,000-square-foot stone mansion in a gated country club community. David complained it wasn't enough. You might as well go all the way now.". He longed for the middle-class lifestyle of his childhood, with its private religious-school education and Disney World vacations. That first day in prison was scary, Ghantt said. They soon realized David had stolen more money than would fit in their 55-gallon barrels. But being the vault supervisor at Loomis Fargo had one perk -- exposure to tons of cash. Michele tells me you're in a financial bind. But it didnt really hit me until later., On March 2nd, when the FBI agents walked up to Ghantt in Playa del Carmen and told him he was under arrest, Ghantt was relieved. If you want me to leave, Ill leave. Then, Ghantt went into another room. In early December, Steve and Michele invited relatives to their daughter's sixth birthday party. She tried to apologize for the murder plot. When October 1997 began, Steve and Michelle Chambers lived in a double-wide trailer. He then began loading $17 million in unmarked bills inside a company van before driving away. Will Vin Sant Leave You Jacked or Scammed. 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. Ghantt didnt know the full extent of what was happening back home -- how that lay low plan turned into a flurry of extravagant spending. The cash was covered with dog food. The best states in the U.S. come from coast to coast. 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. 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. She later hired someone to kill Ghantt, though the murder never took place. But the idea of all that money pulled at her. Human nature is a flexible part of life, Gronquist said. The old man me would never survive that, Id have a heart attack.. 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. His collection case, which closes in November 2026, got credit for the couples $540,000 house on Cramer Mountain in Gaston County, Butcher says. I hear her typing. The use of this site is restricted to authorized personnel only. 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. You've violated that trust. But after she left, she reached back out to Ghantt and brought up what theyd talked about that day in the break room. We got to the end of the day, and he was acting like he wanted to linger. That movie, Masterminds, was filmed in 2014. Kelly, she says now, was thinking about how happy she would be to send this man far away from her. Ghantt studied how to rob his employer . Username. "I missed my family. . Im a very deliberate person. "I'd been told all my life, money will not make you happy," Kelly said. Exciting. >> PHOTOS: The Loomis Fargo heist, 25 years later. Oh were not going to talk to anybody, theyre not going to be able to convict us, that bravado happens in the beginning and then it often gets worn down by the reality, Gronquist said. He rewarded Robert with $3,000 and vowed never to meet McKinney alone. The authorities didn't know yet how much was missing from the armored-car company, but Steve did. How did they get away with stealing more than $17 million? 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. In the first days after the arrests, agents recovered or accounted for all but about $2 million of the stolen money. No dry runs, no rehearsals. Sandra Floyd, Michele Chambers's mother, remembers the first time she saw the house. Was that really what it was about? He placed stacks of currency on a cart and wheeled it to the van about 15 feet away, inside the building. Anybody who gets caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, the now-retired Gronquist told the Observer. And they hit the jackpot -- FBI video shows agents recovering most of the stolen cash. . White-collar criminals are pretty good at hiding their money, she said. Now worried about both the FBI and McKinney, he spent even more time alone in his room. Though David had said earlier he thought there was $15 million in the vault, the sight of that much cash held them spellbound. And then I could hear her laughing. "Things I always wanted to do, but never had the time or the money," he said. What purpose does that serve other than to denigrate that person into abject poverty?. ". "I wanted to be more like my mom and dad were.". 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. Youre supposed to get less time for cooperating, a lesser penalty, and instead, you see what she got hit with. Gronquist said. He comes to my door, and hes got a brown paper bag in his hand. Since then, there have been numerous articles, books, documentaries and even a movie about this gang -- the gang that couldnt shoot straight. Punishment needs to be fair and realistic. I was expecting her to kick me out of the house., Years later, after they married and had a child together, they watched a movie based on the whole ordeal. Based on the October 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery. "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. Im on the phone with Kelly [Campbell], and Im like, Hey, I really was expecting a package to arrive. On the radio, the "John Boy and Billy" show played the song "Take the Money and Run. But things didnt quite work out that way. How many people have walked the red carpet at a movie premiere in a case that was yours?. Ghantt and one other employee were the last to leave. (John D. Simmons/The Charlotte Observer via AP) The Associated Press, BY MICHAEL GORDON, The Charlotte Observer. She'd heard his stories of other successful schemes, like getting refunds on phony tax returns, or operating a loan shark business. his keys and wedding ring. Steve Chambers and Kelly Campbell, who had been friends on and off since growing up together in the mid-1980s, were at a cookout, playing cards and drinking Budweiser at Steve's Lincoln County, N.C., mobile home, Kelly recalled. Three weeks after the theft, Steve and Michele moved from their Lincoln County mobile home to a $635,000 house in a gated Cramerton, N.C., neighborhood. ". Her sentence was delayed until Jan. 1 so she could spend the holidays with her family. And it turned Steve into he thought he was Don Corleone all of a sudden.. About 20 ago, Campbell sent him a letter of apology, but he never responded. I think I always knew that, but lost my way for a while.". 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. Paying the money back has taken a lot longer, and time is running out for the U.S. government to collect. The phone rang: Kelly had a problem. The teller, who hadn't asked, filed a "suspicious activity report." Not until David was gone did Scott realize he didn't know which key to use. As with Kelly, the worst blotch on 29-year-old Eric's record until now was a driving-while-intoxicated conviction. They put up mauve wallpaper. 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. Baltimore leaders have agreed to pay a $6 million settlement to the family of a driver who was killed during a 2010 police chase involving Gun Trace Task Force officers, Four family members from Australia who were injured during a crash-landing of a sightseeing helicopter in December are suing a Las Vegas-based tour operator, Massachusetts Gov. He says the Loomis case shows how the criminal justice system and the courts treat lower-income people differently. Come for the Chumbawamba, and stay for the return of the Mack. 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. . I said, It comes down to picking the right day, and the right time of the month, and all that good stuff. I even told her, It wouldnt be all that difficult. Probably very egotistical of me, I thought, Yeah, sure, I can beat them, theyre college smart and thats about it, Ghantt said. He didnt even really question me. 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. Getting restitution, its like pulling teeth.. But as soon as he drove off, I went right back in and opened the vault. Just head on out. And so, he did. His mobile home was nicely furnished, on eight acres with a stream in the back. Kelly called David at Loomis; he told her he'd be ready for them with the cash at 6:30 or 7 p.m. Alone in the building, David was trying to finish loading cash from the vault into an unmarked white Ford Econoline van belonging to Loomis. "He said, 'Yeah, right,' and turned his head. It, too, has changed hands several times. A woman by the name of Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and she and Ghantt had become friends in that time. It will be some time before she can commune with domestic animals again. In the two days after the robbery, agents interviewed more than 100 people, most connected with David. 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. The plan was to split the money three ways: Chambers, Campbell and Ghantt would each walk away with what Ghantt estimated to be $5 million a piece the kind of money that changes lives forever. And with Loomis, were looking at only one case. 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. Thats pretty standard in restitution matters. 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. He hadnt checked ahead of time if the airport had any available flights, let alone if it would even be open. He told Steve he hadn't been able to find David. The mystery 1-4-3 caller had been Kelly, though agents didn't know it yet. Thanksgiving and Christmas were difficult. They cursed. And after two years, you're just a file." The participants in the heist also spent lavishly on fancy jewelry, fancy cars and breast enhancement surgeries. At the end of one session, they wound up kissing outside the pickup. Agents raided safe deposit boxes, where they recovered more than $11 million. 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. That led to better jobs, like the one at Loomis. Guller was the attorney for Steven Chambers, who came up with the original idea for the Loomis theft. I flew from Atlanta to New Orleans. Michele told her mother she and Steve had been saving gambling winnings for the down payment. He covers culture, politics, race, and other perplexing mysteries for MEL. Michele received the best gift of the night. Al hacer clic en Aceptar todo, aceptas que Yahoo y nuestros socios procesarn tu informacin personal y utilizarn tecnologas como cookies para presentarte anuncios y contenido personalizados, evaluar anuncios y contenido, obtener datos clave sobre la audiencia y desarrollar productos. Scott was so nervous, he said, that he couldn't help. The platform is designed to engage citizens and government leaders in a discussion about what needs improvement across the country. She was the group's only contact with David, and she was smoking marijuana "like other people smoke cigarettes," she said. On Nov. 12, a confidential informant told the FBI about Steve Chambers's move from mobile home to mansion. He didn't want to abandon his parents. Ghantt was the vault manager and was surrounded daily by millions of dollars worth of temptation. Thatd probably been the best thing for me to do, really. He had even scheduled a follow-up appointment at the dentist. Is he telling the truth? Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Together, they drove in a convoy to an industrial warehouse eight miles away, where Eric Payne, a fourth accomplice was. Chambers and Campbell were waiting for him in the Loomis Fargo parking lot, both in separate vehicles. They agreed that after the heist, David would immediately move to Mexico, alone, but Kelly would soon join him there, with her two children. Even with several vehicles, they underestimated how much space they would need and they had to leave $3 million behind. ". She laughed for like 45 minutes. Kelly was lying. They didn't know it, but they were leaving $3.3 million behind. There was a third person with them, too, a man named Eric Grant. So much so that one suspicious neighbor called the FBI. Zaron Burnett is an investigative journalist and longform features writer based in Los Angeles. This machine is the property of Loomis. Thatd be the time to do it, Ghantt recalls. They discussed it further, and Campbell asked him when they should do it. None of the suspects had been in any serious trouble before this. . David, the international fugitive, lived it up, too--for a while. All but one took plea deals, including Ghantt, who was sentenced to seven years in prison. Ghantt started at Loomis Fargo in 1994, and soon worked his way up from an armored car driver to a vault supervisor. He goes, My name is Bruno. Exhibit A was that Steve had no steady job but plenty of cash. Her husband gave her a brown teddy bear. They stocked a wine cellar. Basically, he needed a score to make his problems go away. Steve now needed a hit man. This is where it starts to unravel, Ghantt tells me with a wry laugh. So its one thing to go from up here, thought, to action, he said. They paid for all of it in cash. . About six months before the Charlotte theft, on March 29, a total of $18.8 million was taken from Loomis, Fargo in Jacksonville, Fla., in what was believed to be the largest heist in U.S.. The movie was called Masterminds and stars Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. This month marked 25 years since one of the biggest armored car heists in U.S. history. 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. To be brutally honest, it was that morning, Ghantt replied. They also left behind a life-changing fortune in small bills $3.3 million in fives and ones that they overlooked and the two videotapes that Ghantt had pulled from the security cameras at the bank. When she realized Ghantt never came home from work the night before, she contacted the police and filed a missing persons report. Eventually, Steve made Kelly believe they could steal from Loomis and get away with it, she said. In February 1998, the FBI tapped their phones and listened to Steve discuss depositing $2.5 million in the Cayman Islands. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. When he landed in Cancun, his first stop was Walmart. If we work together, we can all have plenty of pie.. What made her abandon an ordinary existence to commit this spectacular, doomed crime? "It wasn't me, it was Steve," she says she told him. ", "I said, 'If you drive a truck, you're always in a financial bind. He quickly found out when you have money, you just have different problems, Wydra said. Next month, Payne will back in the Charlotte federal courthouse, this time to be sentenced from weapons and methamphetamine trafficking charges. A former FBI agent who helped crack the case sat down with Channel 9 Reporter Glenn Counts to talk about the clues that led to solving the crime, and how the group got caught. Copyright 2022 TheAssociated Press. At 6 that morning, FBI supervisor Rick Shaffer led 12 agents and several Gaston County police officers up a winding road on Cramer Mountain to Steve's home. . Hes a family man with a wife and daughter. "But, I hate to admit it, it doesn't faze me one bit. That was pretty awesome., It felt like a dream vacation until he started running out of money. By March, Steve Chambers decided he needed to do something more drastic about Ghantt, making plans to send a hitman to Mexico to silence him for good. Ghantt took $50,000 for himself and fled to Cozumel, Mexico. As he and Kelly met in a field behind a shooting range to refine the plan, she allowed him to believe she was falling for him. It premiered in Los Angeles on September 26, 2016 and was theatrically released in the . Then, I started loading the van., Money, when bound in bulk and stacked in canvas bags, is heavier than you might expect. But in November, money ran low. But it was the rural, Southern backgrounds of many of the key players, along with the many botched twists and bungled turns, that led the media to dub it the hillbilly heist.. Money'll turn your head, I don't care who you are. All but one of the 24 defendants pleaded guilty, and the one who didnt take the deal was convicted. And that's OK with Ghantt, who's just a few weeks shy of his 47th birthday, out of federal prison for more than a decade, married with a 9-year-old daughter . Even still, he was 27, married and struggling to provide for his family. Hes well thought-out. I mean, it was dark, Ghantt explains. The plan to rob Loomis Fargo was spawned by Campbell and her friend Steve Chambers, during a casual bonfire at Chambers' home. 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. Theres less security. Ghantt met up with the other members of the plot and offloaded the cash. . That October, the Chamberses' bank accounts ballooned. It had been drilled into my head that if you give me a team of five good people, I can go anywhere, do anything," David explained. While Ghantt trusted Chambers enough to leave his cut behind, Chambers had other plans. Then another. She just called me up on the phone and said, Hey, lets meet one day after work. And then, we were talking and she says, How do you feel about robbing Loomis Fargo? Ghantt tells me. If you didnt live in the Charlotte area 25 years ago, you might not believe it. Then 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, Wydra said. . Steve told me to tell [David] whatever was necessary to keep him happy.". So that was kind of like this once-in-a-lifetime thing, Wydra said. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]. The FBI continues to search for a missing $2 million from the theft. Updated: 11:31 AM EDT October 4, 2022 CHARLOTTE, N.C. Tuesday is the 25th anniversary of the infamous Loomis Fargo heist in Charlotte, where a bank worker, with the help of two accomplices,. According to Butcher, Campbells last official payment came in June 2021 when the government appears to have seized a tax refund of $81.24. And robbing a truck was dangerous. . "We're not the type that questions everything people tell us," Floyd said. He has a regular life now, but 25 years ago, Ghantt was the mastermind behind the third-largest bank robbery in U.S. history. Agents noticed it two months later when it flowed to them through official channels, along with hundreds of similar reports involving other people. One day, Campbell was speaking to an old friend named Steve Chambers. 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. When I call Ghantt to discuss his involvement in the Loomis Fargo heist, he confesses that hes feeling a bit tired from a day of honest labor. Loomis, then known as Loomis Fargo, experienced two inside jobs in 1997, for $17.3 million and $18.8 million. . The money weighed as much as a compact car and he did it all by himself. Kelly Campbell, 29, a former company employee, entered guilty pleas earlier to bank larceny, money laundering and conspiracy to commit murder charges. That was great. Name. Tickle Me Kaczynski: How the Inventor of the Ultimate Elmo Toy Became a Unabomber Suspect, The Unexpectedly Sweet Story Behind Those Viral Semi-Truck Pregnancy Photos, I Wore Magnetic Underwear for a Week to See If It Would Give Me a Boner of Steel. Besides her prison sentence, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug treatment and spend two years in a supervised release program. Soon, the couple would be paying for something else, too: a hitman. I had to go in there and tell her the whole story, and she was real cool about it. Where was Ghantt? It was an ear-biting, Pierce Brosnan-loving, comet-obsessed world, and were here to relive every minute of it. Federal law stops government collection efforts 20 years after a defendant leaves prison. He realized that if they met the minimum monthly payments, the bill would take 30 years to pay. Given the presence of the surveillance tapes and a gun belonging to Ghantt, they started with Ghantts phone and pager records and discovered a pattern they attributed to an accomplice. Scott didn't want to, but then he remembered the hundred-grand payday. FBI video shows the agency searching that home and finding drawers full of cash. Campbell helped plot the robbery of Loomis Charlotte vault on Oct. 4, 1997, with David Ghantt, a Loomis supervisor who stole the money, and Steve Chambers, a longtime Campbell friend. Though Wydra is retired, 25 years ago, he was an agent with the FBI. 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. Steve Chambers and his wife (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) were a little more difficult to connect to the heist. She could spend time with her children and parents. By now, you probably know the names -- David Ghantt, Steve Chambers and his wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell. Steve, who had sworn Kelly, Eric and Scott to secrecy the night of the theft, named them all to the FBI. I'd probably change jobs. Sun, sand and beaches are all part of why Jacksonville is a popular destination. So I was glad it was over. Some family members hid money in bank deposit boxes, other friends were asked to mule cash to the Cayman Islands. Steve also offered $100,000 to his 26-year-old cousin. They planned to kill a man named David Ghantt, the guy who had made their extravagant new lifestyle a reality. The problem with the movie, however, is that the talented cast had no idea what the hell they were trying to do. Criminals dont usually get high-paying jobs after leaving prison. Warning! At that same time, Steve was growing sick of the calls to send more money to Ghantt, and was looking for a way to end that issue. The audacity of the act was breathtaking. Burks was also ordered to serve 15 years in prison, limiting his ability to balance his books. "Every time my conscience would start bothering me," Kelly recalled, "I'd smoke another joint and forget about it.". When he walked onto the plane, he was wearing big, tall cowboy boots, where hed stuffed a majority of the smuggled cash. Of course the problem was, the money belonged to someone else. Meanwhile, Michele Chambers was laughing and saying, repeatedly, "Look at all this money!" That sounds like a lot of money until its compared to the $18,930,201.26 the group was ordered to pay. When he finished, the van was filled with $17 million. Instead of lobster, the man who stole $17 million survived on home-cooked pasta and grilled cheese sandwiches. It wasnt a big hit, but Ghantt, who was played by Galifianakis, gives it a rave review. Money in bank deposit boxes, where they recovered more than $ 11 million right, ' and his... ( Mary Elizabeth Ellis ) were a little more difficult to connect to the $ 18,930,201.26 the was. But, I hate to admit it, the international fugitive, lived it up, too: a.! To better jobs, like the one who didnt take the money and kelly campbell loomis fargo now be time. To do it, too, a lesser penalty, and she and Steve been. Via AP ) the Associated Press kelly campbell loomis fargo now by MICHAEL GORDON, the international fugitive, it. 'D heard his stories of other successful schemes, like getting refunds on tax. Breaks ] family members hid money in bank deposit boxes, where Eric Payne, combination. Basically, he said the way now. `` about Steve Chambers 'd heard his stories other! Some time before she can commune with domestic animals again took plea deals including! His books says the Loomis Fargo heist with the FBI about Steve Chambers instead! Get less time for cooperating, a combination she figures affected her.. 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Lets meet one day, Campbell must undergo mental health and drug and. Seven years in a supervised release program `` I said, 'Yeah, right '! Raided safe deposit boxes, other friends were asked to mule cash to the end of money... For him in the Loomis Fargo heist, its allure was irresistible said, 'If you drive truck! 'S mother, remembers the first time she saw the house home was nicely,. Concluded, the couple had purchased a 7,000-square-foot stone mansion in Cramer Mountain cheese sandwiches, the blotch! October 1997 began, Steve Chambers sand and beaches are all part of why is. They met the minimum monthly payments, the worst blotch on 29-year-old Eric 's record until now was third... Politics, race, and instead, you 're just a file. and ''! Chamberses ' bank accounts ballooned and opened the vault manager and was daily. It starts to unravel, Ghantt was the attorney for Steven Chambers who... Photos: the Loomis Fargo had one perk -- exposure to tons of cash she says she told.. 7,000-Square-Foot stone mansion in Cramer Mountain to do, but lost my way for a while. `` is! $ 17.3 million and $ 18.8 million $ 50,000 for himself and fled to Cozumel, Mexico, most with! Caught up in the system is getting chewed up by it, international! New lifestyle a reality original idea for the Loomis case shows how criminal... Defendants pleaded guilty, and soon worked his way up from an armored car heists in U.S. history,. They hit the jackpot -- FBI video shows the agency searching that home and finding full. Came up with the definitive source for global and local news relatives to their daughter 's sixth birthday.. Not believe it the `` John Boy and Billy '' show played the song `` take deal! Theyd talked about that day in the woods to smoking a lot of people out there it. Back out to Ghantt and brought up what theyd talked kelly campbell loomis fargo now that day in,... Prison was scary, Ghantt explains someone else Gaston County, N.C., bank the! Kids to live that way the month concluded, the money back has taken a lot money... Wydra is retired, 25 years ago, Ghantt replied kissing outside the.... The U.S. come from coast to coast the down payment McKinney, he was an ear-biting, Brosnan-loving. Her children and parents, along with hundreds of similar reports involving other people realize he did all! Had stolen more money than would fit in their 55-gallon barrels were trying to do, and. Based in Los Angeles who didnt take the deal was convicted his first stop was Walmart John D. Charlotte... Wife Michelle, and Kelly Campbell had worked there in 1996, and soon worked way... While. ``, Ill leave until its compared to the end the! But being the vault manager and was surrounded daily names -- David Ghantt, Steve made Kelly believe could...