Teenage Patriots fan helped FBI track down Brady's jerseys

The FBI got help from an unusual source in their recovery of Tom Brady's Super Bowl jerseys in the form of Dylan Wagner, a 19-year-old New England Patriots fan and avid sports memorabilia collector from Seattle.

Wagner said he knew "exactly who had it" after hearing that not only had Brady's jersey from Super Bowl LI been stolen, but also the quarterback's one from the 2015 Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks.

Turns out the man who stole Tom Brady's Superbowl jersey was Martin Mauricio Ortega, a credentialed reporter for the Mexican publication La Prensa. Ortega also stole Brady's Superbowl 49 jersey, Von Millers helmet and other items.

A teenaged Patriot fan led ATF and FBI to Ortega and the jersey's were recovered.

Great story! An interesting case. I know a lot of ppl think a stolen game jersey is too trivial for the FBI or LEOs to bother with, but if we consider just the estimated monetary value (reportedly $500K for just the SuperBowl LI jersey, though no one knows for sure since the item has never been offered for sale) it is a valuable piece of property.

If there is interstate or international theft of jewelry or art worth $500K I would expect the FBI to appropriately be involved. It certainly shouldn’t be their top priority, but it’s an appropriate matter of investigation.

I’m not interested in sports memorabilia myself, but if the two jerseys (SuperBowl XLIX and LI) were offered at auction as a package they could easily fetch $1M or perhaps more.

So I have no problem with the FBI and LEOs devoting some modest attention to this problem. It was a felony across state and national lines, involving property of major value. I wouldn’t care (personally) about someone’s $500K worth of jewels or art, either, but I would like the FBI to try to solve a similar case.

Kudos to the young man who seems to have provided the vital info leading to the search warrant!

Thank God for these Patriotic Americans. They served their country beautifully. I hope Tom gives them a small financial token for their heroic efforts. God Bless America, America’s team The Patriots, The President Of the United States and all of us.

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