A second man has been charged in connection with the 2005 theft of a pair of ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore in "The Wizard of Oz," according to an indictment unsealed Sunday.
Jerry Hal Saliterman, 76, of Crystal, was charged with theft of a major artwork and witness tampering. He did not enter a plea when he made his first court appearance Friday.
The slippers, adorned with sequins and glass beads, were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in the late actor's hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, nearly 20 years ago and their whereabouts remained a mystery until the FBI recovered them in 2018.
The indictment says that from August 2005 to July 2018 Saliterman "received, concealed, and disposed of an object of cultural heritage" — specifically, "an authentic pair of 'ruby slippers' worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 movie 'The Wizard of Oz.'" The indictment says Saliterman knew they were stolen, and that he threatened to release a sex tape of a woman and "take her down with him" if she did keep her mouth shut about the slippers.
Saliterman appeared in court on Friday in a wheelchair and with supplemental oxygen. Throughout the hearing, his oxygen machine hummed and he nervously bounced his knee during breaks. When asked if he understood the charges against him, he simply responded with "yes," without commenting on the allegations.
The details of the case were not openly discussed in court, and the charges were only revealed when the court documents were unsealed on Sunday.
Saliterman's lawyer, John Brink, mentioned after the hearing that he couldn't provide much information about the case but stated: "He's not guilty. He hasn't done anything wrong." Saliterman, who was released on his own recognizance, declined to speak to The Associated Press outside the courthouse.
The individual responsible for stealing the slippers, Terry Jon Martin, 76, pleaded guilty in October to theft of a major artwork. He admitted to using a hammer to break the glass of the museum's door and display case in an attempt to pull off "one last score" after leaving a life of crime. Martin was sentenced in January to time served due to his poor health.
Martin's attorney stated in court documents that an old associate of Martin's, who had ties to the mob, informed him that the shoes needed to be decorated with real jewels to justify their insured value of $1 million.
During an October hearing, Martin, a resident near Grand Rapids, expressed his intention to take what he believed were genuine rubies from the shoes and sell them. However, after consulting with a fence, a person involved in dealing with stolen goods, Martin discovered that the rubies were not authentic and decided to dispose of the slippers.
Defense lawyer Dane DeKrey stated in court filings that an unidentified former associate of Martin's convinced him to steal the slippers as a "final score," despite Martin seemingly having overcome his past struggles after completing a previous prison sentence almost a decade ago.
"But old habits are hard to break, and the allure of a 'final score' haunted him," DeKrey wrote.
According to DeKrey's memorandum, Martin was unaware of the historical and cultural significance of the ruby slippers and had never watched "The Wizard of Oz."
The recently unsealed documents do not reveal the connection between Martin and Saliterman.
In the iconic 1939 musical, Dorothy, played by Garland, had to tap her ruby slippers three times while reciting, "There's no place like home," to return from Oz to Kansas. Although multiple pairs were used during filming, only four authentic pairs are known to exist today.
The FBI never disclosed exactly how it tracked down the slippers. The bureau said a man approached the insurer in 2017 and claimed he could help recover them but demanded more than the $200,000 reward being offered. The slippers were recovered during an FBI sting in Minneapolis the next year. Federal prosecutors have put the slippers' market value at about $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, founding director of the museum, the slippers were 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 she was 4, when her family moved to Los Angeles. She died in 1969. The Judy Garland Museum, which includes the house where she lived, says it has the world's largest collection of Garland and "Wizard of Oz" memorabilia.
NOTE: The video above originally aired on Jan. 22, 2024.
