Second man charged in 2005 theft of ruby ​​slippers worn in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ | Hollywood

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A second man has been charged in the 2005 theft of a pair of ruby ​​slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz,” according to an indictment unsealed Sunday.

Jerry Hal Saliterman, 76, of Crystal, was charged with theft of a major work of art and witness tampering. He did not enter a plea during his first court appearance Friday.

The slippers, decorated with sequins and glass beads, were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, the late actor’s hometown, nearly 20 years ago and their fate remained a mystery until ‘until the FBI found them in 2018.

The indictment states that between August 2005 and July 2018, Saliterman “received, concealed and disposed of an item of cultural heritage” — specifically “an authentic pair of ‘ruby slippers’ worn by Judy Garland in the film from 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz.” .'” The indictment says Saliterman knew they were stolen and threatened to release a sex tape of a woman and “take her with him” if she kept her mouth shut at About slippers.

Saliterman was in a wheelchair and on supplemental oxygen when he appeared in court Friday. His oxygen machine buzzed throughout the hearing and he nervously bounced his knee during breaks in the hearing. He answered “yes” when asked by U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright if he understood the charges against him, but he said nothing about the allegations.

The case was not openly discussed in court and the accusations were only made public when court documents were unsealed on Sunday.

Saliterman’s attorney, John Brink, said after Friday’s hearing that he couldn’t say much about the case, but: “He’s not guilty.” He didn’t do anything wrong. Saliterman, who was released on his own recognizance, declined to comment on the case to The Associated Press outside the courthouse.

The man who stole the slippers, Terry Jon Martin, 76, pleaded guilty in October to stealing a major work of art, admitting to using a hammer to break the glass of the museum’s door and display case , what his lawyer called an attempt to get “one last score” after turning away from a life of crime. He was sentenced in January to prison due to his poor health.

Martin’s attorney said in court papers that a former Martin associate with Mafia ties told him the shoes had to be adorned with real jewelry to justify their $1 million insured value.

Martin, who lives near Grand Rapids, said at a hearing in October that he hoped to recover what he thought were real rubies from the shoes and sell them. But a person who trafficked in stolen goods, known as a fence, informed him that the rubies were not real, Martin said. So he got rid of the slippers.

Defense attorney Dane DeKrey wrote in court papers that Martin’s unidentified former associate persuaded him to steal the slippers as “one last score,” even though Martin appeared to have “finally put his demons to rest.” » after serving his last prison sentence of almost 10 years. earlier.

“But old habits die hard, and the idea of ​​a ‘final score’ kept him up at night,” DeKrey wrote.

According to DeKrey’s memo, Martin had no idea of ​​the cultural significance of ruby ​​slippers and had never seen “The Wizard of Oz.”

The documents released Sunday do not indicate how Martin and Saliterman may have been connected.

In the classic 1939 musical, Garland’s character Dorothy had to click the heels of her ruby ​​slippers three times and repeat, “There’s no place like home” to get back from Oz to Kansas. She wore several pairs during filming, but only four authentic pairs are known to exist.

The FBI never revealed exactly how it found the slippers. The office said a man contacted the insurer in 2017 and claimed he could help get them back, but demanded more than the $200,000 reward offered. The slippers were recovered during an FBI operation in Minneapolis the following year. Federal prosecutors estimated the street value of the slippers at around $3.5 million.

Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Shaw had loaned the pair to the museum before Martin stole them. The other pairs are held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Smithsonian Museum of American History and a private collector. According to John Kelsh, the museum’s founding director, the slippers have been returned to Shaw and are being held by an auction house that plans to sell them.

Garland was born Frances Gumm in 1922. She lived in Grand Rapids, about 200 miles north of Minneapolis, until age 4, when her family moved to Los Angeles. She died in 1969. The Judy Garland Museum, which includes the house where she lived, claims to have the world’s largest collection of Garland and “The Wizard of Oz” memorabilia.

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