The getting older reformed mobster who has admitted stealing a pair of ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz” gave into the temptation of “one last score” after an outdated mob affiliate led him to imagine the well-known sneakers have to be adorned with actual jewels to justify their $1 million insured worth.
Terry Jon Martin’s protection lawyer lastly revealed the 76-year-old’s motive for the 2005 theft from the Judy Garland Museum within the late actor’s hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, in a brand new memo filed forward of his Jan. 29 sentencing in Duluth, Minnesota.
The FBI recovered the sneakers in 2018 when another person tried to say an insurance coverage reward on them, however Martin wasn’t charged with stealing them till final 12 months.
Martin pleaded responsible in October to utilizing a hammer to smash the glass of the museum door and show case to take the slippers. He had hoped to reap actual rubies from the sneakers and promote them. However a fence, an individual who offers in stolen items, knowledgeable him the rubies have been glass and Martin removed the slippers lower than two days after he took them, he mentioned.
Protection lawyer Dane DeKrey mentioned in his memo that an unidentified former mob affiliate tempted Martin to steal the sneakers, though he hadn’t dedicated a criminal offense in practically 10 years after his final jail stint.
“At first, Terry declined the invitation to participate in the heist. But old habits die hard, and the thought of a ‘final score’ kept him up at night,” DeKrey wrote. “After much contemplation, Terry had a criminal relapse and decided to participate in the theft.”
DeKrey and prosecutors are recommending the choose sentence Martin to time served as a result of he’s bodily incapable of presenting a risk to society. Martin is in hospice care with a life expectancy of lower than six months. He wants oxygen always due to his persistent obstructive pulmonary dysfunction and was in a wheelchair at his most up-to-date court docket look. Even when he have been sentenced to jail, his poor well being could be grounds for a compassionate launch.
Martin had no concept concerning the cultural significance of the ruby slippers and had by no means seen the film. As a substitute, DeKrey mentioned he was simply in search of one final massive rating, and the “old Terry” with a lifelong historical past of crimes like housebreaking and receiving stolen property beat out the “new Terry” who appeared to “finally put his demons to rest” after being launched from jail in 1996 and have become “a contributing member of society.”
DeKrey urged the choose to think about the key occasions of Martin’s life when deciding whether or not a lenient sentence is suitable.
Martin suffered underneath a merciless stepmother who mistreated him and his three brothers so badly for a number of years that he left dwelling on the age of 16 and started ingesting and stealing.
Whereas on parole from jail, Martin’s girlfriend grew to become pregnant with twins, however he missed their delivery after his parole was revoked. Proper after his girlfriend introduced the 1-month-old twins to jail to satisfy him, they died after a practice struck her car.
“This was truly the turning point in Terry’s life — his villain origin story — and the reason he not only went down his dark path but accelerated towards it,” DeKrey wrote. “His son said it best: ‘the twins’ death made (my dad) just give up on life; he decided on a life of crime.’”
Martin’s lawyer additionally mentioned the choose ought to contemplate that Martin had not dedicated some other crimes in practically a decade earlier than stealing the slippers nor within the years since then. DeKrey mentioned Martin didn’t even attempt to declare a slice of the insurance coverage reward cash when a few of his former associates tried to gather.
Garland wore a number of pairs of ruby slippers throughout filming of the basic 1939 musical, however solely 4 genuine pairs are identified to stay. The stolen slippers have been insured for $1 million, however federal prosecutors put the present market worth at about $3.5 million.
The FBI mentioned a person approached the insurer in 2017 and claimed he may assist get well them however demanded greater than the $200,000 reward being supplied. The slippers have been recovered during an FBI sting in Minneapolis. The FBI has by no means disclosed the way it tracked down the slippers, which stay within the company’s custody.
The slippers have been on mortgage to the museum from Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Shaw when Martin stole them. Three different pairs worn by Garland within the film are held by the Academy of Movement Image Arts and Sciences, the Smithsonian Museum of American History and a non-public collector.
A number of rewards were offered through the years in hopes of determining who stole the slippers, which have been key props within the movie. Garland’s character, Dorothy, has to click on the heels of the slippers thrice and repeat, “There’s no place like home,” to return to Kansas.
Garland was born Frances Gumm in 1922. She lived in Grand Rapids, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of Minneapolis, till she was 4, when her household moved to Los Angeles. She died in 1969.
The Judy Garland Museum, situated in the home the place she lived, says it has the world’s largest assortment of Garland and Wizard of Oz memorabilia.
