He Stole Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers. He Thought They Had Actual Rubies.

Almost twenty years after he broke into the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minn., and stole a pair of Dorothy’s ruby slippers utilized in “The Wizard of Oz,” the person who dedicated the theft has revealed why: He believed the slippers had been adorned with actual rubies.

Terry Martin, now 76, had by no means seen “The Wizard of Oz” and had “no idea” that the sneakers had been among the many most recognizable cultural objects in American movie when he stole them on the night of Aug. 27, 2005, his lawyer, Dane DeKrey, wrote in courtroom papers this month.

As an alternative, Mr. Martin believed that the slippers should have been made with “real rubies” to justify their $1 million insured worth, prosecutors stated. He believed he would be capable to peel off the gems and promote them on the black market — a plan that backfired when a person who traded in stolen jewels knowledgeable him that the gems had been fabricated from glass.

On Monday, Mr. Martin was sentenced in U.S. District Court docket in Duluth, Minn., to time served and a 12 months of probation for stealing the slippers after he pleaded guilty in October to 1 rely of theft of a significant art work, Mr. DeKrey stated. He was additionally ordered to pay about $23,000 in restitution to the museum, Mr. DeKrey stated.

Federal prosecutors and Mr. DeKrey had agreed that Mr. Martin ought to be spared jail time as a result of he has continual obstructive pulmonary illness, requires oxygen and is in hospice care. He isn’t anticipated to reside past the subsequent six months, prosecutors stated.

The motive for the theft was revealed in sentencing memos filed by Mr. DeKrey and by prosecutors this month that defined extra about Mr. Martin’s life story and his involvement within the heist.

Mr. Martin had dealt in stolen jewels and had frolicked in jail for housebreaking, his lawyer stated. However he had been out of jail for 10 years on the time of the theft in 2005 and was residing quietly in Grand Rapids, a small metropolis 80 miles northwest of Duluth, when an “old mob associate” contacted him about “a job,” his lawyer wrote.

Mr. Martin was initially reluctant to get entangled, Mr. DeKrey wrote. However “old Terry” beat out “new Terry,” and he gave in to the temptation for “one last score,” his lawyer stated.

“His intent was singular: He believed the gemstones affixed to the slippers were real rubies, and so he hoped to steal the slippers, remove the rubies, and sell them on the black market through a jewelry-fence,” an individual who buys and sells stolen jewels, Mr. DeKrey wrote.

Mr. Martin used a hammer to smash two window panes in a door of the Garland Museum and broke open a plexiglass case holding the sneakers, forsaking a single purple sequin and no fingerprints, courtroom paperwork stated.

However lower than two days later, when the unnamed one who traded in stolen jewels informed Mr. Martin that the gems had been nugatory replicas, “Terry angrily decided to simply cut his losses and move on,” Mr. DeKrey wrote. “He gave the slippers to the associate who had recruited him for the job and told the man that he never wanted to see them again.”

Investigators had no credible leads within the seek for the slippers till an unnamed individual contacted the Grand Rapids Police Division, promising to assist return the sneakers in trade for a $200,000 reward, prosecutors stated. Finally, folks linked to the theft sought to extort much more cash from the insurance coverage firm that owned the sneakers, saying if their calls for weren’t met, they’d maintain on to the slippers for 10 years and “explore other options,” prosecutors stated.

F.B.I. brokers arrange a sting operation that recovered the slippers in Minneapolis on July 10, 2018. Federal officers stated they’d a market worth of $3.5 million and had been one in every of 4 recognized surviving pairs from “The Wizard of Oz.”

Prosecutors haven’t recognized or charged anybody else in reference to the theft, together with the mob affiliate who Mr. Martin claimed solicited the heist or the folks accused of attempting to extort the insurance coverage firm. Mr. Martin has refused to cooperate with investigators in any means aside from admitting his personal conduct, Mr. DeKrey wrote.

However Mr. DeKrey wrote that individuals who had tried to capitalize on the theft weren’t “some cast of low-rent criminals trying to get paid. It was people with real juice, whose associations included organized crime and the federal government.”

If Mr. Martin “wanted a piece of this action, he easily could have reached out to the man who recruited him for the job and demanded a taste,” Mr. DeKrey wrote. “He’s the one who stole the slippers, after all. But he didn’t.”

As an alternative, Mr. Martin went again to residing quietly in Grand Rapids, Mr. DeKrey wrote. He reconnected along with his kids and started a brand new romance, he wrote.

“Terry Martin never meant to be a criminal celebrity,” Mr. DeKrey wrote. “He happened upon it when he broke two panes of glass in a museum and stole a pair of red sequined slippers. He deeply regrets this decision and is ready to accept his punishment. But he’s no monster. He’s a dying man ready to meet his maker.”