New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft rewarded the devoted fan who helped retrieve Tom Brady’s stolen Super Bowl 51 and 49 jerseys with front row seats to the team’s regular-season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night.
Kraft met with Seattle native Dylan Wagner, 19, on Thursday morning to deliver the tickets, a signed Brady jersey, and a pair of Air Force 1s, which cost around $140, according to TMZ. And as if that wasn’t enough, Wagner also gets to sit in seat No. 12, which happens to be Brady’s number.
Wagner helped to track down the culprit, Mauricio Ortega, by tipping off the FBI about the former Mexican tabloid director who absconded with Brady’s jersey after the Patriots’ Super Bowl victory over the Atlanta Falcons in February.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft (left) gives tickets to fan who helped retrieve Tom Brady’s stolen Super Bowl 51 and 49 jerseys, 19-year-old Seattle native Dylan Wagner
Patriots QB Tom Brady finds that his game-worn jersey from Super Bowl 51 is missing soon after New England’s win over Atlanta
‘This would be the young man who helped us get the jersey from the Super Bowl in Mexico,’ Kraft said Thursday. ‘He’s from Seattle, so we’re honored to have him there. We have a special celebration tonight.’
The Patriots will be playing in their first game since winning the franchise’s fifth Super Bowl back in February.
After a month-long investigation, it was confirmed by the FBI that Ortega, a former executive at newspaper company Diario La Prensa, stole the priceless pieces of sports history. Ortega had been credentialed for the game through La Prensa.
In an interview with WBZ-TV in Boston, Wagner said that he sold a jersey to Ortega on eBay last year, and that after the deal, the two exchanged photos of their collections.
‘He sent me 30 photos of his collection. Front and center was Tom Brady’s Super Bowl 49 Jersey. I asked him outright, ‘How did you get that?’ and he says ‘I’ll tell you later,” Wagner explained.
The theft was not reported at the time, so Wagner didn’t think too much about it.
But he instantly remembered the jersey after the second theft.
When reports surfaced that Brady’s jersey had been stolen after the Patriots’ victory, stories said that his Super Bowl 49 jersey had also been missing.
Wagner then sent his pictures of Ortega’s collection to a fellow collector at the Boston ATF, who forwarded them to the FBI. He also sent the authorities two addresses he had for Ortega, from their transactions on eBay.
The FBI had already zeroed in on Ortega, thanks to surveillance footage that showed him leaving the Patriots locker room after the game with something tucked under his arm.
But Wagner says that it was his photos of the previous stolen jersey that gave investigators enough evidence to raid Ortega’s collection.
Mauricio Ortega can be seen on camera leaving the Patriots locker room after Super Bowl 51
The FBI returned the stolen jerseys to Patriots owner Robert Kraft and took time to pose with the team’s five Super Bowl trophies
Wagner says the agent at the Boston ATF ‘said the video doesn’t prove anything. Without the photos I sent him they wouldn’t have been able to get a search warrant to go into Ortega’s basement and get the jerseys.’
Footage showed Ortega back in February as he walked into the locker room behind Bill Belichick at 10:04pm with a bag on his shoulder and appearing as if he were a member of the team.
He did not exit the locker room until 14 minutes later at 10:18pm, at which point he could be seen with a shirt under his arm.
Tom Brady’s jerseys from Super Bowl 51 and 49 were both authenticated by the NFL after it was retrieved from Mexico by the FBI
The FBI reportedly became involved in the hunt due to the fact that the jersey was located in Mexico.
It was revealed at the same time that the jersey Brady wore in the 2015 Super Bowl was also recovered by the FBI, with the same individual accused of stealing the quarterback’s uniform on both occasions.
The FBI has not made any announcement regarding the arrest of Ortega, but according to the Associated Press, charges are not expected to be filed. La Prensa has since fired Ortega.