Warrant: Stolen ruby slippers were buried in suspect's backyard for seven years

DULUTH — A woman with ties to an organized retail theft ring told federal investigators that Jerry Hal Saliterman, the second man accused of stealing ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz," had the famous shoes buried in his backyard for at least seven years.

The unnamed woman, described as a "cooperating defendant," saw the slippers in a grocery bag, according to court documents. Instead of anonymously returning them, like she asked, they were put in a clear plastic container with a white lid and buried near a shed on the south side of Saliterman's lawn in Crystal.

They were treated in an ultraviolet sanitizer cabinet, the woman told officials, to remove traces of DNA.

Saliterman, who has a long history of stealing, was recently charged with the theft of a major artwork for his role in snatching the ruby slippers. The movie memorabilia was easily lifted in 2005 from a Grand Rapids, Minn., museum named for the actress who briefly lived in the town. The slippers were recovered in a sting operation in 2018.

But the case had been quiet for years, until Terry Jon Martin — who had long lived 15 miles away from the museum — pleaded guilty to the same charge in 2023.

Martin, who admitted to taking a sledgehammer to the slippers' display case during the museum's off-hours, testified that he believed the shoes were decorated with real gems. After his fence told him the rubies were just glass, he gave up the shoes and never saw them again.

Martin remains in his rural trailer home on hospice care after being sentenced in federal court to a year of probation. He must make restitution payments of $300 a month to the Judy Garland Museum.

Saliterman is scheduled for a jury trial that starts May 20 in Minneapolis.

According to court documents, when the FBI searched Saliterman's home in 2023 he did not deny there were stolen goods on his property — only that they weren't recent.

"I haven't done nothing for years," he reportedly told investigators, and: "Whatever's down there is so [expletive] old."

Federal investigators passed along photographs of their findings to the Crystal Police Department showing an area beneath Saliterman's staircase blocked off with a padlocked fence door. Among the visible items enclosed: a Nikon camera still in the box, Coravin 2 Elite Pro wine pourers, Wusthof knives, several Weber grills, artwork and crystal glass pieces.

More goods were found in a storage shed: original artwork and candelabras.

The FBI also found an estimated $30,000 bound with rubber bands and stored in disposable food containers wrapped with tinfoil. There were "booster coats" — apparel with additional large hidden pockets for ease of shoplifting.

The Crystal Police Department used this information from the FBI to secure its own search warrant in December 2023. Officers recovered 49 pieces of evidence related to an organized theft ring, according to court documents. The police department returned to the residence a second time in mid-March and chronicled 178 pieces of evidence ranging from urns to snowboards.

Both federal and local investigators met up with the woman who admitted to being involved in the theft ring with Saliterman. She chronicled hundreds of thefts at stores like Williams Sonoma, Gabbert's, Apple and more. The ring ran for more than a decade and they pulled in upward of $15,000 a year.

It all ended around 2022, she reportedly told investigators.