Man accused of hiding stolen ‘Wizard of Oz’ ruby slippers plans to plead responsible, legal professional says

The slippers have been stolen in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in her hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Their whereabouts remained a thriller for almost 13 years till the FBI recovered them in 2018. They fetched a document worth for film memorabilia once they have been auctioned off for $32.5 million final month, based on Heritage Auctions, which carried out the sale. The client nonetheless has not been revealed.

Jerry Hal Saliterman, now 77, of Crystal, Minnesota, was charged final March with theft of a significant art work and witness tampering.

He’s anticipated to plead not responsible when he’s arraigned Monday earlier than a federal Justice of the Peace decide, a formality as a result of Justice of the Peace judges can’t settle for responsible pleas in felony instances in Minnesota. However the district decide overseeing the case on Friday scheduled a change of plea listening to for Jan. 10.

Saliterman’s legal professional, John C. Brink, confirmed to The Related Press that his consumer will change his plea then to responsible, however he declined to provide particulars about any potential plea settlement. The U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for North Dakota, which is prosecuting the case, declined to remark.

The person who stole the slippers, Terry Jon Martin, now 77, pleaded responsible in 2023 to theft of a significant art work, admitting to what his legal professional stated was an try to drag off “one final rating” after turning from a lifetime of crime. He was sentenced final January to time served due to his poor well being.

The indictment in opposition to Saliterman says that from August 2005 to July 2018, he “obtained, hid, and disposed of an object of cultural heritage,” and that Saliterman knew the slippers have been stolen.

Saliterman can be unwell. He was in a wheelchair and on supplemental oxygen final March throughout his first court docket look.

Authorities haven’t stated how Martin and Saliterman might need been linked. Martin, who lives close to Grand Rapids, stated at his plea listening to in October 2023 that he hoped to promote what he thought have been actual rubies from the sneakers. However an individual who offers in stolen items, often called a fence, knowledgeable him the rubies weren’t actual, he stated. Martin stated he then removed the slippers, however declined to say how he did so.

Garland’s character, Dorothy, wore a number of pairs whereas filming the traditional 1939 musical, however solely 4 pairs are identified to stay. Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Shaw had loaned his pair to the museum earlier than Martin stole them. Shaw finally obtained them again, and had them auctioned final month.

Garland was born Frances Gumm in 1922. She lived in Grand Rapids, about 200 miles north of Minneapolis, till she was 4 years previous. She died in 1969. The Judy Garland Museum says it has the world’s largest assortment of Garland and “Wizard of Oz” memorabilia.

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