Cobble Hill

Brooklyn author to discuss ‘Heist’ in Cobble Hill

Brooklyn BookBeat

July 22, 2015 Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Brooklyn author Jeff Diamant will appear at BookCourt in Cobble Hill on Aug. 7 to discuss his book “Heist.” Photo by Gayle Shomer
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“Heist,” by Brooklyn author Jeff Diamant, was originally published in 2002 and is the basis of the forthcoming major motion picture “Masterminds, starring Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson and Kristin Wiig.

Now, Diamant’s revised and updated edition chronicles the incredible true story of a cast of irresistibly colorful, down-on-their-luck characters in a small, poor town in North Carolina, who manage to pull off the second-biggest heist ever on American soil — stealing $17 million.

Diamant, an award-winning journalist, will discuss “Heist” and the oddball crew at BookCourt at 163 Court St. in Cobble Hill on Aug. 7 at 7 p.m.

Initially, the “Heist” robbery seemed like an easy one to solve. After all, the actual perpetrator, Loomis Fargo driver David Ghantt, was captured on tape as he methodically wheeled money from the vault into a van for a whole hour.

But it would be four years before Ghantt — and the bizarre crew who convinced this family man to commit such a massive crime —would finally be brought to justice by the FBI.

Diamant covered one of the largest heists in U.S. history for the Charlotte Observer. He also worked as a reporter for the Palm Beach Post and Newark Star Ledger, and his writing has appeared in numerous other publications, including the Washington Post, Toronto Star, and The New York Times. A graduate of Yale College, he researches American religious history at the City University of New York and has taught at Lehman College and Rutgers University-Newark.

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