The Wizard of Oz was an all-time favorite growing up for many people. The ruby slippers were popular “and became the symbol of the film.” A second man named Jerry Hal Saliterman, 76, of Crystal, Minnesota was charged with theft of major artwork and witness tampering. Jerry Hal Saliterman stole the ruby slippers that Judy Garlands wore in The Wizard of Oz. He did not enter a plea when he made his first court appearance. The slippers that were adorned with sequins and glass beads were stolen from the Judy Garland museum in the late actor’s hometown of Minnesota 20 years ago. Their whereabouts remained unknown until the FBI discovered them in 2018.
According to the indictment from August 2005 to July 2018, Saliterman “received, concealed, and disposed of an object of cultural heritage”. Specifically a pair of “authentic ruby slippers” according to CBS news. According to the indictment, Saliterman knew they were stolen. The case was not openly discussed in court. His lawyer said he wasn’t guilty. However, the man who stole the slippers, Terry Jon Martin, 76, pleaded guilty in October. To theft of a major artwork. He admitted to using a hammer to smash the glass of the museum’s door and display the case in what his attorney said pulling off “one last score”. He was sentenced in January to time served because of his poor health.
Martin’s lawyer said in court documents that ”an old associate of Martins with connections to the mob told him the shoes had to be adorned with real jewels to justify their $1 million insured value”, according to APnews. Martin said he was told that the rubies were real and that he thought they were real until he found out that the rubies weren’t real so he got rid of the slippers. The slippers were returned to Shaw and are being held by an auction house that plans to sell them.
