ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A federal choose dismissed the costs Monday in opposition to a Minnesota man accused of hiding a stolen pair of ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore within the 1939 musical “The Wizard of Oz” after prosecutors knowledgeable the court docket that he died on Sunday.
Jerry Hal Saliterman, 77, of Crystal, who had been unwell with lung illness and different illnesses, had been scheduled to vary his plea to responsible in January however that listening to was postponed indefinitely after he was hospitalized.
Federal prosecutor Matthew Greenley notified the court docket in a one-page movement Monday that Saliterman died Sunday however didn’t say how or the place. U.S. District Decide Patrick Schiltz granted the request and dropped the costs.
Protection legal professional John Brink confirmed Monday that his consumer had died however declined to present particulars. A spokesman for the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace in Fargo, North Dakota, which is dealing with the case, didn’t instantly return a telephone name in search of additional info.
In keeping with court docket filings, Saliterman was hospitalized in early January “for incapability to stroll and sepsis,” an an infection that may be life-threatening. He attended his arraignment three days later by way of video from what seemed like a hospital room. In an replace to the court docket late final month, Brink informed the court docket that his consumer had been discharged to a hospice facility and that his prognosis was poor. An accompanying letter from his physician listed extreme continual obstructive pulmonary illness requiring supplemental oxygen and Parkinson’s illness.
Saliterman was in a wheelchair and on oxygen final March when he made his first court docket look. He was charged then with theft of a serious art work and witness tampering for his position within the ruby slippers case.
The sequined crimson slippers had been stolen in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in her hometown of Grand Rapids. Their whereabouts remained a thriller for almost 13 years till the FBI recovered them in 2018. They fetched a document for film memorabilia of $32.5 million in December, in line with Heritage Auctions. The slippers had been one among a number of pairs Garland wore throughout the filming. Solely three different pairs stay.
Terry Jon Martin, now 78, of Grand Rapids, used a hammer to smash the glass of the museum’s door and show case to steal them. In keeping with his legal professional, an previous affiliate with connections to the mob informed him the footwear needed to be adorned with actual jewels to justify their $1 million insured worth. However he removed the slippers when he discovered they had been pretend, they usually ended up with Saliterman. Martin pleaded responsible in 2023 and was sentenced final January to time served due to his poor well being.
