UNITED STATES—Tom Brady’s stolen jersey from Super Bowl LI, was recovered in Mexico last week following an investigation led by the FBI.
On March 21, the NFL disclosed to reporters that Brady’s jersey estimated to be worth $500,000, along with another went missing following the Super Bowl XLIX “were found in the possession of a credentialed member of the international media.”
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo noted that Mexican authorities teamed up with the FBI to locate the jerseys. The publishing company Mexican Editorial Organization (OEM) identified the suspect as Mauricio Ortega, a journalist for Diario La Prensa, one of the organization’s newspapers. The jerseys were reportedly discovered at his residence.
Ortega, who has resigned from the newspaper, was not a ticket holder, but had access to the February 5, 2017 game, Acevedo indicated. Authorities disclosed they anticipate the suspect to face charges. Ortega was reportedly caught on camera entering the locker room after the game, and taking Brady’s jersey from his bag and putting it into one of his own. Alan Springer of Yahoo Sports tweeted a video of Brady in the locker room after the game, noticing that his jersey was missing.
Harold Naughton, a politician and state representative from Massachusetts who was traveling in Texas, praised the Houston police for their “valiant efforts” in locating the missing jersey, ABC News reported.
“When that jersey went missing, all of Patriots Nation was concerned. But we had tremendous faith in the people here, in the law enforcement. We take our politics and our sports pretty seriously up in Massachusetts and in New England. These things mean a lot to us were very nostalgic about our sports teams,” said Naughton.