Heist: The Oddball Crew Behind the $17 Million Loomis Fargo Theft

by Jeff Diamant

Overview

The inspiration behind the major motion picture Masterminds starring Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, and Jason Sudeikis!

The bizarre true story of the criminals behind the second-largest bank heist in American history.

One night in a small North Carolina town, a down-on-his-luck guard at Loomis Fargo manages to steal $17 million—literally more than one ton of cash. Despite being caught on camera wheeling the money from the vault to the getaway van, David Ghantt makes off to Mexico before the FBI can blink.

There's just one hitch: Ghantt has entrusted the money to an oddball crew of accomplices who had wooed him into committing this massive theft in the first place—and who, he soon learns, are trying to take him out. 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.

In this outrageously entertaining book, Jeff Diamant, the Charlotte Observer's lead reporter on the case, offers the definitive inside account of this astonishing

true story that has captivated American audiences on the news and now on the big screen in the major motion picture, Masterminds.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781492625162
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	08/04/2015
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Jeff Diamant was a reporter for the Charlotte Observer when the heist took place. He is a graduate of Yale and has worked for the Connecticut Post, the Associated Press, and the Palm Beach Post. He has been a staff writer for the Star-Ledger in New Jersey since 2000.

Table of Contents

	Teamwork	5
	How to Launder $150,000	21
	How Baseball Hindered the FBI	34
	High Times, Home and Abroad	52
	Living the Life	65
	Tercel to BMW	81
	Dead Man in Mexico?	90
	Parties in the Big House	101
	A Careful David	114
	Coming Together	120
	Taking Care of Business	129
	The Final Touches	141
	The Shit Comes Down	152
	The M&M's Contest	168
	Of Brain Size and Bust Size	180
	A Revealing Trial	193
	Selling Elvis, and the Colorado Connection	207
	Epilogue	226
	Acknowledgments	237
	Index	239

Editorial Reviews

"…it’s a great read—suspenseful, 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. " — Booklist

"Libraries…should consider purchasing this entertaining and lightly edited version, which reads like a fast-paced novel." — Library Journal

"highly entertaining." — Charlotte Observer

"...more than a crime story, and one that's worth reading." — The Star-Ledger

From the Publisher

The 1997 Loomis Fargo theft in Charlotte, NC was the second-largest theft in U.S. history. Currently a staff writer for in New Jersey, Diamant covered the crime for the . Here, Diamant combines information from interviews, trial testimony, field trips, FBI documents, and court papers to provide a full account of this notoriously bungled robbery, the investigation of the crime and capture of the criminals, and the trials that followed. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews