So why did you steal Dorothy’s slippers? Because, because, because, says mobster
Wizard of Oz shoe thief admits he was tempted by ‘one last score’ – but was aghast rubies were fake
‘I think he wanted to be responsible and move on with his life – the little life he has left’
‘Since leaving prison in 1996 Mr Martin was a contributing member of society’
IN The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy clicks the heels of her ruby red slippers together three times to get whisked straight home to Kansas.
Ahead of his sentencing next week for stealing the shoes, an ageing mobster has appealed to a US court not to transport him to prison.
Terry Jon Martin, 76, who broke into the Judy Garland Museum in 2005, was lured into “one last score” by an associate who told him the shoes must have been festooned with real jewels to be worth the $1 million they were insured for.
Mr Martin, right, was convinced the slippers were encrusted with real rubies and kept them at a trailer next to his home. his lawyer said in a statement ahead of Mr Martin’s sentencing on January 29. But his hopes of seeing out his final days on the proceeds were thwarted when a fence said the rubies were, in fact, glass.
The mobster gave the slippers away within two days of stealing them. They were recovered by the FBI in 2018 and Mr Martin was charged with stealing them last year.
Dane Dekrey, defending, told the court Mr Martin had not committed a crime since being released from prison, nearly a decade ago.
“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.
“After much contemplation, Terry had a criminal relapse and decided to participate in the theft.”
He had never seen The Wizard of Oz and had no idea of the iconic significance of the slippers, Mr Dekrey added.
Now wheelchair-bound, requiring oxygen at all times and living in a hosit pice, Mr Martin has a life expectancy of less than six months.
“I think when someone is at the end of their life, they are making decisions that are right for their affairs, and this short answer is because he’s guilty,” he added. “I think he wanted to take responsibility and move on with his life – the little life he has left.”
Both Mr Dekrey and prosecutors are recommending that Mr Martin be sentenced to “time served”, rather than being returned to prison. In any case, they argue, his poor health might be grounds for release on compassionate grounds.
Mr Martin had a difficult life, his lawyer added, having been mistreated in childhood by a cruel stepmother and his three brothers.
Leaving home at 16, he embarked on a life of crime, being convicted of a string of offences including burglary and receiving stolen goods. But since leaving prison in 1996, Mr Martin had been a “contributing member of society”.
However, tragedy struck after his release: his month-old twins were killed when his girlfriend’s car was hit by a train after a prison visit. drove him back to his old ways. Mr Martin had never sought to claim a share of the $200,000 reward offered for the slippers.
It was claimed by an associate who approached the insurers in 2017 and the slippers were recovered following an FBI sting operation the following year. They were in “pristine” condition. The slippers had been loaned to the Garland Museum by Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Shaw.
They were one of four pairs worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 classic, which won five Oscars including Best Film.
Their authenticity was confirmed by comparing them to another pair which was held at the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History in Washington.
“The slippers are instantly recognisable,” Colin Gardner, professor emeritus of critical theory at the University of California Santa Barbara, said.
“The Wizard of Oz is absolutely central to the history of American cinema, much like Star Wars for the next generation,” he added.