The Last Score: How a Reformed Mobster Stole the Famous $3.5M Ruby Slippers

In August 2005, the quiet town of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, was shaken by the audacious theft of one of the most famous pieces of Hollywood history: a pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 classic film The Wizard of Oz. The slippers, on loan to the Judy Garland Museum, were smashed out of their display case in the dead of night, leaving behind no fingerprints and starting a nearly 20-year mystery.

The mystery was finally solved when federal prosecutors charged Terry Jon Martin, an aging reformed mobster living near the museum. Martin, who was in his 70s and in poor health when indicted, confessed that he had been tempted into "one last score" by an old associate who falsely claimed the shoes were adorned with real rubies. Martin used a hammer to break the museum's door and display case, only to discover later from a fence that the "rubies" were actually glass beads. Disappointed, Martin disposed of the slippers, which were eventually recovered by the FBI in a sting operation in 2018.

A recent documentary and court proceedings have revealed the inner workings of the heist, highlighting how the slippers—valued at over $3.5 million—became the target of a bizarre and ultimately futile criminal plot. Martin, facing terminal illness, pleaded guilty and was spared prison time due to his medical condition, bringing a bittersweet close to one of the most infamous memorabilia thefts in American history.