2nd Man Charged in Theft of Judy Garland’s Ruby Slippers

A second man has been charged in reference to the 2005 theft of a pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz,” in response to the authorities, who mentioned that he had threatened to a launch a intercourse tape of a girl if she instructed the authorities concerning the theft.

The person, Jerry Hal Saliterman, 76, of Hennepin County, Minn., was charged on Friday with one rely of theft of main paintings and one rely of witness tampering, in response to courtroom information that had been launched on Sunday. He didn’t enter a plea when he appeared within the U.S. District Court docket in St. Paul on Friday.

The famed red-sequined pumps, considered one of a number of pairs that Garland wore in filming “The Wizard of Oz,” had been stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minn., in 2005. The whereabouts of the slippers was a thriller for years till 2018, when the F.B.I. introduced that they’d been recovered.

In keeping with the indictment, between August 2005 and July 2018, Mr. Saliterman “acquired, hid, and disposed of an object of cultural heritage,” referring to the ruby slippers, which the indictment says he knew had been stolen. Final yr, Mr. Saliterman tried to intimidate an unidentified girl by threatening to disclose a intercourse tape of her to her household if “she didn’t hold her mouth shut” and spoke with the F.B.I. concerning the theft, the indictment mentioned.

Mr. Saliterman was launched on Friday on his personal recognizance, in response to courtroom paperwork. He was photographed leaving the courthouse in a wheelchair, carrying a transportable respiratory machine. His subsequent courtroom look had not been scheduled as of Monday afternoon.

It was unclear whether or not another arrests in reference to the theft had been anticipated.

John Brink, a lawyer for Mr. Saliterman, mentioned on Monday that Mr. Saliterman deliberate to plead not responsible when he’s arraigned.

“He’s accomplished nothing fallacious,” Mr. Brink mentioned.

Prosecutors declined to remark concerning the case whereas it’s pending.

The primary man charged within the case, Terry Martin, 76, of Minnesota, pleaded responsible in October 2023 to at least one rely of theft of main paintings. He was spared time in jail and was as an alternative sentenced in January to at least one yr of supervised launch. Mr. Martin was additionally ordered to pay $23,5000 in restitution to the Judy Garland Museum.

Federal prosecutors and Mr. Martin’s attorneys had agreed that he shouldn’t face time in jail as a result of he had power obstructive pulmonary illness, requires oxygen and is in hospice care. Prosecutors mentioned in January that Mr. Martin was not anticipated to stay past the following six months.

Dane DeKrey, a lawyer for Mr. Martin, wrote in courtroom paperwork that Mr. Martin had “no thought” that the ruby slippers had been such well-known cultural objects in American movie and that he believed the sneakers had been made with “actual rubies” that he might peel off and promote on the black market. Mr. Martin mentioned that his plan had been foiled when he discovered the gems had been fabricated from glass.

Mr. Martin had earlier expertise with stolen jewels, and he had frolicked in jail for housebreaking, in response to Mr. DeKrey. In 2005, Mr. Martin had been out of jail for 10 years when he was contacted by an “outdated mob affiliate” about “a job,” Mr. DeKrey wrote in courtroom paperwork.

It was unclear whether or not the authorities had been contending that Mr. Saliterman had solicited Mr. Martin to steal the ruby slippers. Public information present that Mr. Saliterman has a prolonged legal historical past, with earlier costs of fraud, theft and shoplifting.

Mr. Saliterman was sentenced to 10 years in jail in April 1988 after he pleaded responsible to conspiracy to defraud the federal authorities and bank card fraud, The Star Tribune in Minneapolis reported on the time. Mr. Saliterman was considered one of two individuals who had been part of “a complicated fencing ring that traded in costly furs, artworks and sports activities vehicles,” the newspaper reported.