Man accused of hiding stolen "Wizard of Oz" ruby slippers plans to plead guilty, attorney says

A man accused of long hiding a stolen pair of sequined ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore in "The Wizard of Oz" plans to plead guilty, his attorney confirmed Friday.The slippers were stolen in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in her hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota.Their whereabouts remained a mystery for nearly 13 years until the FBI recovered them in Minneapolis in 2018. They fetched a record price for movie memorabilia when they were auctioned off for $32.5 million last month, according to Heritage Auctions, which conducted the sale.

The buyer still has not been revealed.Jerry Hal Saliterman, now 77, of Crystal, Minnesota, was charged last March with theft of a major artwork and witness tampering.He's expected to plead not guilty when he's arraigned Monday before a federal magistrate judge, a formality because magistrate judges can't accept guilty pleas in felony cases in Minnesota.

But the district judge overseeing the case on Friday scheduled a change of plea hearing for Jan.10.

Saliterman's attorney, John C.Brink, confirmed to The Associated Press that his client will change his plea then to guilty, but he declined to give details about any potential plea agreement.

The U.S.Attorney's Office for North Dakota, which is prosecuting the case, declined to comment.The man who stole the slippers, Terry Jon Martin, now 77, pleaded guilty in 2023 to theft of a major artwork, admitting to what his attorney said was an attempt to pull off "one last score" after turning from a life of crime.

The 76-year-old Grand Rapids man was sentenced to time served, one year of supervised release and $23,000 in restitution to the museum.   The indictment against Saliterman says that from August 2005 to July 2018, he "received, concealed, and disposed of an object of cultural heritage." Saliterman, according to the indictment, knew they were stolen, and that he threatened to release a sex tape of a woman and "take her down with him" if she did keep her mouth ...