A 76-year-old man admitted to stealing the iconic ruby red slippers worn by Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” from a museum in 2005.
Terry Jon Martin pleaded guilty to one count of stealing a major artwork in federal court in Duluth, Minnesota.
Martin admitted to using a hammer to break glass doors and display cases at the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minn., and loot the memorabilia.
But when he realized there were no real rubies on the slippers to sell, he said he immediately got rid of them.
“His involvement was a two-day period in 2005,” Martin’s attorney, Dane DeKrey, said, according to reports.
The FBI did not recover the shoes until a sting operation in 2018 in Minneapolis.
Martin didn’t say what he did with them so where exactly they were during their years away from home remains unknown.
Judy Garland’s character Dorothy Gale wore the iconic ruby slippers in the 1939 film musical “The Wizard of Oz.” It is among the most valuable pieces of movie memorabilia. Everett Collection / Everett Col Terry Jon Martin pleaded guilty Friday to one count of stealing a major artwork.AP
No one was arrested until Martin, who lives near Garland’s hometown of Grand Rapids, was charged earlier this year.
Martin likely will not spend time in prison due to his poor health.
He appeared in court in a wheelchair and was connected to an oxygen tank related to chronic lung disease and difficulty breathing, DeKrey said.
In 1988, Martin was convicted of receiving stolen goods.
Questions remain over the theft of Dorothy’s iconic ruby slippers, which were stolen from the museum in 2005 and not found until 2018. Everett Collection / Everett Col
The lifted slippers were insured for $1 million, but prosecutors estimate the current value at about $3.5 million.
They remain in FBI custody, according to reports.
The props belonged to Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Shaw, who loaned them to the museum, and he said they were in “pristine condition” when he got them back in 2018, CBS reported at the time.
With Postal wire
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
