HOUSTON, TX - FEBRUARY 05: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Atlanta Falcons during Super Bowl 51 at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. The Patriots defeated the Falcons 34-28. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Mexican media have named Mauricio Ortega as the journalist – and memorabilia collector – thought to have stolen Tom Brady’s 2017 Super Bowl jersey.
What Happened?
As many sports fans know, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady revealed that his game-worn jersey went missing from the locker room shortly after the game. How this happened has remained a mystery…until now.
The below tweet alleges in Spanish, “Mauricio Ortega ‘former director’ of La Prensa was who stole #Brady jerseys and more! #Rata #Lardon #NFL.” A Mexican news site reports that he’s an active NFL memorabilia collector who has been present at auctions. La Prensa is a national Mexican publication.
https://twitter.com/JoeSportsUK/status/843872389717016576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Houston police and the NFL confirmed on March 20 that they had identified the thief after finding two of Brady’s Super Bowl jerseys. Ortega is also accused of stealing Von Miller’s helmet, according to TMZ.
https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/843885017747132417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
“Mauricio Ortega was dismissed a few days ago when they learned that he stole the Tom Brady jersey,” reported Beatriz Pereyra, who works for Proceso. Pereyra identified the suspect as “the director of the newspaper La Prensa, Mauricio Ortega. He had Brady jersey.”
Who Is Mauricio Ortega?
Ortega is an editorial writer who worked with La Prensa, a prominent Mexican publication. La Prensa released the following tweet (translated below).
https://twitter.com/laprensaoem/status/843869485731905541?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
“We are informed that the one involved in the case of #TomBrady’s stolen jersey’s is the former director of @laprensaoem soon a statement.”
Ortega is an NFL memorabilia collector. Maximo Avance, a Mexican news site, said he “had several products that had to be signed, something not allowed under the policies of means of the NFL. A helmet with MVP’s of all super bowls, excluding two, whose value was more than $15,000…Among the products he had was a book signed by Emmit Smith and a sweater by Kurt Warner.”
The NFL reports that the FBI and NFL security teams recovered two jerseys from Ortega: the one Brady wore during the 2017 Super Bowl and a Brady Super Bowl jersey from 2015 in addition to equipment belonging to Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller.
https://twitter.com/AlbertBreer/status/843845730334851074?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The gear was reportedly recovered in possession of credentialed member of the media.
https://twitter.com/NFLprguy/status/843813278677696512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
