The Mexican attorney general provided photographic evidence Tuesday of Tom Brady’s recovered Super Bowl jersey, which is reportedly back in Boston and being verified for authenticity, after authorities tracked down the stolen item in Mexico.
The alleged thief is a “credentialed member of the international media” Martin Mauricio Ortega Camberos, an executive at the Mexican newspaper La Prensa. Ortega Camberos had reportedly resigned last week, citing “family reasons,” before he became the prime suspect in Jerseygate. The outlet publicly apologized Monday.
Police in Houston — who were initially not thrilled about the assignment — first picked up on Ortega Camberos’s trail after pouring over footage from Fox Sports. They noticed Ortega Camberos, who had a big leather bag, entering through a side door behind Patriots coach Bill Belichick, and heading toward the players’ area. According to ESPN:
On the video provided by Fox Sports, investigators could still see part of the jersey sticking out just enough to be grabbed. That’s when a man authorities say is Ortega is seen approaching the bag, and with his back to the camera, reaches down for the jersey, removes it from the black leather bag, puts it in a black plastic bag and walks out with it under his left arm, according to a source who saw the video.
Here’s a brief supercut of that alleged robbery:
ESPN has full play-by-play here, and according to their reporting, FBI investigators and NFL and Patriots security narrowed down the possible suspects to 1,400 credentialed press members (from about 20,000) based on the Fox footage. About halfway through, they zoned in on Ortega Camberos, who also apparently posted — and then deleted — something on social media about having a Super Bowl XLIX jersey.
And, in a weird twist, Ortega Camberos may be a serial Super Bowl–memorabilia pilferer. Also allegedly in his possession: Tom Brady’s Super Bowl jersey from his victory against the Seahawks in 2015, and a Denver Broncos helmet believed to belong to Von Miller, a member of the 2016 Super Bowl L championship team.
Ortega Camberos is not in custody, and has not yet been charged. The U.S. Attorney’s office will likely get involved once the FBI in Boston finishes its authentication process, though it should be noted that director James Comey did testify under oath that he hates the New England Patriots.
