"Confessed Mobster's Motive for Stealing 'Wizard of Oz' Ruby Slippers Revealed"

Terry Martin, the ex-mobster who stole the iconic ruby slippers from the Judy Garland Museum in 2005, claims he had no idea of their cultural value and had never even seen "The Wizard of Oz." Motivated by the belief that the gemstones on the shoes were real and valuable, he intended to sell them on the black market, only to discover they were made of glass and worthless. After the FBI recovered the shoes in 2018, Martin, now 76 and living quietly in Minnesota, was charged and pled guilty to the theft, but refuses to name his criminal associates. The slippers, now valued at $3.5 million, were found with fake red gems still attached.