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

A person accused of lengthy hiding a stolen pair of sequined ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz” plans to plead responsible, his legal professional confirmed Friday.

The slippers had been stolen in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in her hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Their whereabouts remained a thriller for practically 13 years till the FBI recovered them in Minneapolis in 2018. 

They fetched a document value for film memorabilia once they had been auctioned off for $32.5 million final month, in response to 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 serious paintings and witness tampering.

He is anticipated to plead not responsible when he is arraigned Monday earlier than a federal Justice of the Peace choose, a formality as a result of Justice of the Peace judges cannot settle for responsible pleas in felony instances in Minnesota. However the district choose 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 present 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 serious paintings, admitting to what his legal professional mentioned was an try to drag off “one final rating” after turning from a lifetime of crime. The 76-year-old Grand Rapids man was sentenced to time served, one yr of supervised launch and $23,000 in restitution to the museum.   

The indictment towards Saliterman says that from August 2005 to July 2018, he “acquired, hid, and disposed of an object of cultural heritage.” Saliterman, in response to the indictment, knew they had been stolen, and that he threatened to launch a intercourse tape of a girl and “take her down with him” if she did hold her mouth shut concerning the slippers.

Saliterman can be ill. He was in a wheelchair and on supplemental oxygen final March throughout his first courtroom look.

Authorities haven’t mentioned how Martin and Saliterman might need been related. Martin, who lives close to Grand Rapids, mentioned at his plea listening to in October 2023 that he hoped to promote what he thought had been actual rubies from the sneakers. However an individual who offers in stolen items, often known as a fence, knowledgeable him the rubies weren’t actual, he mentioned. Martin mentioned 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 recognized 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 (320 kilometers) 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.

Notice: The above video first aired on March 17, 2024