"I've learned that I'm a fortunate . More than 20 people ended up in the FBI's dragnet. shes now Miss USA. 2023 www.gastongazette.com. Its the small things like that. David Ghantt discovers the true meaning of adventure far beyond his wildest dreams. Chambers had no intention of following those rules, believing the FBI would never connect him to Ghantt. LRM: [Laughter] Now the movie portrayed that they sent someone to kill you in Mexico. David Ghantt : [voice-over] Steve was a petty thief, mostly known for stealing tiny wheelchairs from pediatric hospitals. A: When I first got in, I thought, "What in my life has led me to this?" Search warrants also were executed at Ghantts home in North Carolina, federal officials said. I just wanted to restart. ``Thats always something that sends up a red flag, she said. On March 12, a Charlotte grand jury indicted the eight co-conspirators for bank larceny and money laundering; the latter offense was included because of how they spent the stolen money. Did you really only go to Mexico with 50k? DeSantis: Youre a History Grad. It has a lot of things youll look for in a storya little romance, money, adventure and travel. Most of the money was in $20 bills, according to the FBI. David Ghantt: My standard answer now is [to say] that the person I was thenI am certainly not that person now. It's the little things like that that gnaw on you. Heist! He was angry a lot. Ghantt and seven others eventually pleaded guilty in federal court to charges directly related to one of the largest cash heists in history while more than a dozen other family members, friends and associates of those involved in the theft were found guilty of related charges, including money laundering. . ', He explained the glorification and glamour often associated with bank heists and bank robberies in Hollywood films is far from reality. Ghantt was in fact hiding out in Mexico using McKinneys I.D., which had been sold to Chambers months earlier. CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Kelly Campbell, the woman who helped plan the $17 million robbery of armored-car company Loomis, Fargo was sentenced yesterday to nearly six years in prison and ordered to pay back more than $4 million. Court documents said an informant who was not identified tipped off federal agents about the couples suspicious spending habits. How Bridgerton restarted buzz about her ancestry. A guard at an armored car company in the Southern U.S. organizes one of the biggest bank heists in American history. Although the FBI investigation was able to quickly connect Ghantt to Campbell, connecting Ghantt to Chambers was a more difficult task. So what exactly did you do for this production? He is an uncomplicated man stuck in a monotonous life. She was a graduate of Ashley High School and attended Gaston Co Ghantt was apprehended in Mexico and returned to the United States in custody. Heres How We Fix That. An additional tip reached the FBI when Michelle Chambers made a large deposit at a bank. She was born in Gaston County, a daughter of the late Scott and Sue Ghantt. The police then called the FBI because most of the money handled at the facility belonged to banks, which technically made it a bank robbery a federal offense.[5]. Thats going to be your life for quite some time, typically. If I hadnt of done that, Id probably still be in North Carolina and I would not have got to meet a lot of the interesting people that Ive got to meet. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Then you end up in a eight by ten cube and youre going to share that cube with two other people. I did get to spend a good amount of time on the set in North Carolina and having a movie based on my story was a bit surreal and a bit funny to be honest. Just the ability to come and go as I please and walk barefooted in the backyard means so much. A: I hate to think about what I'd be doing if I hadn't gotten caught. Were you really hailed as a hero? Chambers finished serving his prison sentence in November 2006 and told the Associated Press in 2009 he was "changed.". How? Ghantt was. We're always making new tools to help you discover, save, and share your favorite books. A: I like the 47-year-old David Ghantt more than I did the 20-something David Ghantt. Answer: The painful one is getting caught. All David Ghantt ever really wanted was adventure, and he takes the audience along with him for an hour-and-a-half of side-splitting comedy in Masterminds. He made his own self miserable. But it was Ghantt, now 47 and living with his wife and daughter in Jacksonville, Florida,who actually took more than 2,000 pounds of cash and just drove away from his job. Also famous for (at least with his friends and family) finally getting his first book finished.Current Life: Wooer of the Wife, Drinker of Coffee, Father, Gamer, Photographer, Fisherman, Gentleman, Mastermind of this book ;-). In November 1990, David married Margaret in San Diego, California. Spending years in prison, he said, gave him time to re-invent himself. Authorities found Ghantts unlocked red pickup truck near the Loomis building. Grants brother, Eric Scott Grant, also was in federal custody but it could not be determined late Monday whether he was charged in the scheme. Director Jared Hess Writers Chris Bowman (screenplay) Hubbel Palmer (screenplay) Emily Spivey (screenplay) Stars Zach Galifianakis Kristen Wiig Owen Wilson Ghantt got arrested by the Mexican police at Playa del Carmen on March 1, 1988. The British spy group MI5 is interested in a safety deposit box in this highly fictionalized version of an actual London robbery. David Ghantt was the vault supervisor for Loomis, Fargo & Co. armored cars, which managed the transportation of large sums of cash between banks in North Carolina. Some people screw up big like you, some people screw up small.". Authorities say Steve. A: I'm in dire need for some RO's barbecue and some Tony's Ice Cream. Its comedy. David Ghantt: When I first met Zach and sat down to talk about it, he said, You realize Im going to be playing a dumber, clumsier version of you. Its all being part as a comedy and its Hollywood. He then proceeded to load about $17.3 million in cash (approximately $11 million of which was in $20 bills) into the back of a company van. But even though he worked for a company that regularly moved millions of dollars, David Ghantt himself was underpaid. My name is David Scott Ghantt. 44:33. While Ghantt spent more than 6 1/2 years in federal prison, he said he usedthat time to"re-invent" himself. The movie was overly silly and, based on a post-screening conversation with former Observer reporter Jeff Diamant who wrote a detailed 279-page book about the occasionally funny but mostly just-plain fascinating crime, titled Heist much of what wound up in the film is fiction. An FBI criminal investigation ultimately resulted in the arrest and conviction of eight people directly involved in the heist, as well as sixteen others who had indirectly helped them, and the recovery of approximately 88% of the stolen money. LRM: Oh, that is an interesting question. Did you get to spend much time on set? He discovers that it's pretty boring stuff, and he often fantasizes about getting robbed. My Proof: https://twitter.com/DavidGhantt/status/827476087596789760, My AMA time is up now, but thank you all for your participation in the Ask Me Anything session :-). This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 16:45. From there, the money was moved from the company vehicle to private vehicles. For the New York State assemblyman, see. Additionally, we also discussed about his life in Mexico, the discoveries, and his life today after all this fame. And most importantly, talking with Zach. No one could just pull off the crime of the decade. You might as well take part in the conversation. [citation needed], It was later confirmed by the FBI that more than 88% of the stolen cash had been located or otherwise accounted for. Fried chicken, cornbread and cake what brings you back to this Charlotte restaurant. According to court documents, federal agents began looking at the spending habits of Steven and Michelle Chambers after being tipped by a confidential informant about their "sudden wealth." Ghantt, a U.S. Army veteran, was living a relatively "boring" life working as the vault superintendent at a Loomis Fargo armored car warehouse just outside Charlotte, North Carolina making a. LRM: Were you actually concerned that you were one of the most wanted man in the United States while you were in Mexico? Chambers declines to comment on the events that made him notorious. David Scott Ghantt: Vault Supervisor David Scott Ghantt was the vault supervisor at the regional branch of Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte, North Carolina. In the meantime, Ghantt's wife reported him missing and the CMPD had found his . $7 Million by Air. Growing Backlash to Montanas GOP-Controlled Legislature, Gee Its Nice Your State is Blue, the War on Abortions Still Coming for You. 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.. That was probably the first thing. Q: You came to the North Carolina mountains during Hurricane Irma, but what do you miss about Gastonia? When I interviewed for this job about three years ago, I told (my boss) that I had some dirt in my background, and if he went digging for it, he would find it. Jandice : In any case, we got to talkin' afterwards, and I thought, well, that one's dead, this one's alive. Chambers promised to wire him money in Mexico until the investigation blew over and Ghantt could return to . Question: Which do you regret more, stealing the money or getting caught? [1], This robbery was the second-largest cash robbery on U.S. soil at the time, as only seven months earlier, on March 29, 1997 in Jacksonville, Florida, Philip Noel Johnson stole $18.8 million from the Loomis Fargo armored vehicle he was driving.[2]. Mrs. I pretty much let them have their way with it, as you say. Do you still have contact with him? When McKinney realized Ghantt was wanted for the Loomis Fargo robbery, he backed off personally because he didnt want to be anywhere near a federal investigation. GASTONIA - Nancy Carolyn Ghantt, 71, died September 6, 2018. by Jeff Diamant (left) and Steven Chambers (left) and David Scott Ghantt leave federal court. You've decided to give up on a part of your life. At first, David Ghantt said, "I didn't take her seriously. Yes! He now has a wife, a construction job, and a child. All but one of the defendants pleaded guilty. Back in 1997, David Ghantt, a resident of Kings Mountain and Gulf War veteran, was finishing up his shift as a vault supervisor for Loomis Fargo when he started to load nearly $17 million into a company van and drove away. Charlotte restaurant far beyond his wildest dreams officials said answer now is [ to say ] that the I., federal officials said a bank chicken, cornbread and cake what brings you to! 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