A thief involved with the stolen ruby slippers Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz” has died before going to trial.
Jerry Hal Saliterman, 77, of Crystal, Minnesota was due to plead guilty in January, but his hearing was postponed indefinitely because of major health conditions, including lung damage, sepsis and Parkinson’s disease.
Saliterman died Sunday, federal prosecutor Matthew Greenley notified the court in a one-page motion Monday that did not give extra detail.
Judge Patrick Schiltz granted the request to drop the charges of theft of a major artwork and witness tampering.
Saliterman was already in a wheelchair and on oxygen last March when he was charged for his role in stealing the conic sequined red slippers from the Judy Garland Museum in her hometown of Grand Rapids in 2005.
Terry Jon Martin, now 78, of Grand Rapids, who pleaded guilty in 2023 to using a hammer to smash the glass of the museum’s door and display case to steal them — assuming they were addorned with real rubies.
When he realized they were fake, he passed the slippers to Saltiman, who helped keep them hidden for nearly 13 years until the FBI recovered them in 2018. They fetched a record for movie memorabilia of $32.5 million in December, according to Heritage Auctions.
Defense attorney John Brink confirmed Monday that his client had died but declined to give details.
With Post wires
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