He may not have known it at the time, but the best decision Mauricio Ortega made after he stole Tom Brady’s game-worn jersey from Super Bowl LI was to fly back to Mexico. In doing so, the former newspaper director may have avoided serious criminal charges.
Robert Klemko and Jenny Vrentas of The MMQB published a fascinating story this week detailing how authorities managed to track down Brady’s jerseys from his last two Super Bowl wins — both of which had been stolen by Ortega. Although Ortega was eventually caught, Klemko and Vrentas describe his actions as “the perfect crime.”
The most significant factor working in Ortega’s favor is the value of Brady’s jersey, which is far different in the United States and Mexico. In the U.S., the value was estimated at $500,000 in a police report, though that number is probably a bit high. In Mexico, where American football is not all that popular, the jersey is basically viewed as a regular article of clothing.
“If I were his lawyer, I would say the value of the thing is $200,” Samuel González, a security analyst and former head of the organized crime unit in Mexico’s federal prosecutors office, told The MMQB. “Then [prosecutors] would have to prove the value is $500,000.”
In addition to the issue of value, there’s also a high standard for extraditing a Mexican criminal to the U.S., which is typically reserved for murderers, drug dealers and those accused of far more serious crimes than stealing memorabilia. As Klemko and Vrentas wrote, Ortega was likely safe from jail time or serious criminal charges “the moment he crossed the Rio Grande at 35,000 feet” on his flight the morning after Super Bowl LI.
Ortega’s actions were not without consequence. His visa has reportedly been revoked and he has been banned from NFL games for life, so we may never see him in the U.S. again. If Brady and/or the NFL wanted to press charges against Ortega, Gonzalez says Mexican authorities would pursue them “because of the pressure the U.S. media is putting on our government.”
For now, Ortega is safe. The man who so confidently strolled into the winner’s locker room at the Super Bowl not far behind Bill Belichick (video here) may not be welcome to follow his favorite sport the way he once did, but it could have ended much, much worse for him.
