Minnesota man accused of hiding stolen ruby slippers from “Wizard of Oz” is useless, prosecutors say

A federal decide dismissed the fees Monday in opposition to a Minnesota man accused of hiding a stolen pair of ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore within the 1939 musical “The Wizard of Oz” after prosecutors knowledgeable the court docket that he died on Sunday.

Jerry Hal Saliterman, 77, of Crystal, who had been ill with lung illness and different illnesses, had been scheduled to alter his plea to responsible in January however that listening to was postponed indefinitely after he was hospitalized.

Federal prosecutor Matthew Greenley notified the court docket in a one-page movement Monday that Saliterman died Sunday however didn’t say how or the place. U.S. District Decide Patrick Schiltz granted the request and dropped the fees.

Protection legal professional John Brink confirmed Monday that his consumer had died however declined to offer particulars. A spokesman for the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace in Fargo, North Dakota, which is dealing with the case, didn’t instantly return a telephone name looking for additional data.

In keeping with court docket filings, Saliterman was hospitalized in early January “for incapability to stroll and sepsis,” an an infection that may be life-threatening. He attended his arraignment three days later by way of video from what seemed like a hospital room. In an replace to the court docket late final month, Brink informed the court docket that his consumer had been discharged to a hospice facility and that his prognosis was poor. An accompanying letter from his physician listed extreme persistent obstructive pulmonary illness requiring supplemental oxygen and Parkinson’s illness.

Saliterman was in a wheelchair and on oxygen final March when he made his first court docket look. He was charged then with theft of a significant paintings and witness tampering for his function within the ruby slippers case.

The sequined pink slippers have been stolen in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in her hometown of Grand Rapids. Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Shaw had loaned his pair to the museum earlier than Terry Jon Martin stole them. Their whereabouts remained a thriller for almost 13 years till the FBI recovered them in 2018. They fetched a document for film memorabilia of $32.5 million in December, in response to Heritage Auctions. 

The Judy Garland Museum’s efforts to purchase again the slippers at public sale finally failed, regardless of being bolstered by $100,000 put aside by state lawmakers.

The slippers have been considered one of a number of pairs Garland wore throughout the filming. Solely three different pairs stay.

Martin, now 78, of Grand Rapids, used a hammer to smash the glass of the museum’s door and show case to steal them. In keeping with his legal professional, an outdated affiliate with connections to the mob informed him the footwear needed to be adorned with actual jewels to justify their $1 million insured worth. Martin’s attorneys described the theft as “one final rating” for the growing older reformed mobster. However Martin removed the slippers when he realized they have been pretend, and so they ended up with Saliterman. Martin pleaded responsible in 2023 and was sentenced final January to time served due to his poor well being.

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