Heist

June 15, 2015

On October 4, 1997, an amateurish gang robbed Loomis, Fargo & Co. in Charlotte, NC of $17 million, the second largest heist in U.S. history. Diamant, a journalist who reported on the case at the time, goes into meticulous detail on how the heist was pulled off and its aftermath. The principals here are David Ghantt, a driver for Loomis, Fargo and Co.; Kelly Campbell, the woman Ghantt had a crush on, and who convinced him to commit the crime; and Steve and Michele Chambers. Ghantt studied how to rob his employer and advised the others not to spend the money lavishly. They succeeded in removing $17 million from the safe. Afterward, everything became comical. Ghantt went to Mexico leaving the money with his cohorts, thinking that he could get his share back when he needed it. Instead he became paranoid, especially after Steve Chambers put a contract out on his life. Meanwhile, Ghantt's gang spent wildly and paid their family members and friends to hide money. In the end, the FBI was able to capture the original gang in five months, snaring 21 individuals for their participation in the crime. VERDICT The first edition of this work was published in 2002. Libraries without that edition should consider purchasing this entertaining and lightly edited version, which reads like a fast-paced novel. Sure to be in demand as the book has been made into a movie, Masterminds, to be released in August.--Michael Sawyer, Pine Bluff, AR

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2015
One night in 1997, after his day's work at the Loomis Fargo armored-car company, David Ghantt instead took a couple of hours to load about $17 million into a van. He then drove to his hoped-for girlfriend's house, where she and others unloaded as much as they could before sending Ghantt off to Mexico to await his share of the dough. The FBI spent weeks searching for clues, while the formerly poor accomplices left their trailer-park homes for the good life: trips, new cars, even a McMansion stuffed with statues and artworks. Meanwhile, hiding in Cancun, Ghantt began to wonder where his share of the money and his new girlfriend were. And thereby did this odd, marvelous heist begin to unravel. Diamant's slim book, a great and true caper tale (an update of the 1997 version), may have been reissued in part because of the 2015 movie, Masterminds, inspired by the heist. Regardless, it's 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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)