NFL security officials return to Mexico for a second time, to provide any last-minute assistance before the plan to recover the shirt is executed. They leave before the raid, handing the operation to Mexican authorities.

On the Ortegas’ front door, a decorative letter O hung slightly askew, joined by a cartoon bunny in overalls, carrots dangling from its right hand. When a reporter knocked, there was no answer. A next-door neighbor said she had not seen Ortega in many days (and was promptly scolded by a male companion for talking to the press). Phone calls to Ortega’s home were answered by a housekeeper who promised to relay messages. Ortega did not respond to numerous emails and voicemails.

To those who know him and worked with him, his love of football and the pageantry of the Super Bowl was no secret.

Every year for at least a decade Ortega took time off during Super Bowl week and applied for a game credential. A former employee at La Prensa who often wrote articles about the Super Bowl said those pieces typically ran with a generic staff byline until a couple of years ago when, despite the fact that the actual author was writing off the TV feed in Mexico City, the stories began to appear under Ortega’s name.

“I think he feared scrutiny from the NFL,” says the former employee, “so he started having the staff put his name on the articles.” Ortega was credited with 12 bylines in La Prensa’s Super Bowl LI coverage.

But to those who know [Ortega] and worked with him, his love of football and the pageantry of the Super Bowl was no secret.

A current employee of OEM, described a structure of lax supervision at the highest levels of the company. As director, Ortega oversaw La Prensa’s newsroom and editorial budget. He did not have an immediate boss in the same building.

His OEM superiors did not know Ortega was at the Super Bowl. A spokesperson points out that because Ortega paid his own way for Super Bowl travel they only had to approve his vacation request, and adds that he likely wasn’t exposed by his employees because he was so well liked. Indeed, Ortega was described by the former La Prensa employee as an effective manager who delved into editorial matters when they concerned high-profile political news, though his background was in accounting.

“He was very calm,” says Gabriel Pacheco, another former sportswriter at La Prensa. “He would make jokes, say hi to everyone. He made it a good working environment. He wouldn’t get mad easily or explode.”

Ortega had little taste for Mexico’s national pastime, soccer, but he loved American football.

Ortega kept a simple office, light on decor aside from a few miniature NFL helmets and pictures of his wife and two daughters. He had little taste for Mexico’s national pastime, soccer, but he loved American football. Occasionally he would bring in memorabilia items to show to the few staffers who shared his passion for the NFL. He brought jerseys and cleats and footballs autographed by Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman and other NFL legends, and showed his employees selfies he’d taken with those players. Sometimes he’d print the selfies out and have them signed upon a return visit to the U.S. As a Cowboys fan, he’d attend the occasional regular-season game, a colleague says, gaining media access to the bowels of the stadium where he could more easily approach franchise legends for autographs. He was also credentialed for the NFL’s regular-season game in Mexico City between the Raiders and the Texans, played last November.

Ortega maintained an eBay account, registered on Jan. 10, 2002. His username paid homage to the 16th century Aztec ruler Moctezuma II. Through the online auction site, Ortega has bought at least 100 items. His most recent registered purchase: a game-used Mark Sanchez Jets jersey, for $405, last May.

While La Prensa’s Mauricio Ortega was, as far as the paper’s readers could tell, attending Super Bowl press conferences hosted by the commissioner and interviewing Tom Brady at the podium, the real Ortega was lugging around a bag filled with memorabilia and hanging around radio row and the Super Bowl’s various outdoor venues, discreetly seeking autographs and photos with players.

Palafox, sports editor of the Mexico City newspaper 24 Horas, says he struck up a friendship with Ortega during rides from their hotel to the Houston convention center (Ortega stayed at the Holiday Inn while Palafox stayed at the Hilton, which had been reserved for media by the NFL). Palafox says Ortega was clear in that he was not there to cover the game or the festivities, but to collect autographs and enjoy the week as a fan. He carried a book authored by Emmitt Smith that he’d planned to have signed by the Hall of Famer so he could bring it back to Mexico City as a gift for his priest. He’d shown Palafox a Kurt Warner jersey without a signature, then came back the next day with the jersey signed by Warner. He said he’d collected plenty of similar NFL memorabilia. He carried with him a silver helmet wrapped in plastic that included the signatures were from all but two of the 50 Super Bowl MVPs. He told other journalists he’d bought the helmet for $2,000 several years ago with 10 autographs; now it was worth more than $15,000, he said. The price stunned the journalists, who knew newspaper directors in Mexico City to typically earn in the ballpark of 70,000 pesos a month, about $3,700 U.S. dollars.

“He would not mingle with the reporters,” said one longtime Mexican sportswriter. “And he looks white, with very light eyes, so we didn’t know if he was Mexican at first. We were surprised to hear him speak Spanish.”

When Ortega approached Marshall Faulk during the week, the Hall of Famer and NFL Network analyst turned him away, citing the policy disallowing credentialed media to seek autographs. “He was a little angry, but he understood the rules,” Palafox says.

Ortega had begun his career “covering” Super Bowls quietly, and with little interaction with fellow members of the international media. “He would not mingle with the reporters,” said one longtime Mexican sportswriter, who asked not to be named. “And he looks white, with very light eyes, so we didn’t know if he was Mexican at first. We were surprised to hear him speak Spanish.”

At some point over the years Ortega came out of his shell. Palafox described Ortega as “seductively charming,” having a confident and outgoing manner. He talked about his extensive memorabilia collection, and his two daughters, and how everything he had was for them and their inheritance.

Ortega was described as “seductively charming,” having a confident and outgoing manner.

The night of the Super Bowl in Houston, Palafox conducted interviews in both teams’ locker rooms and in the postgame press conference area, then ventured outside to search for Spanish-speaking fans to interview. After conducting interviews with three groups of Mexican fans, he boarded the shuttle that would take him back to the Hilton. And there on the bus was Ortega, carrying the same black shoulder bag he’d lugged around all week.

Palafox was energized; he’d just covered his first Super Bowl, and it had been arguably the greatest comeback in league history, conducted by one of its all-time great quarterbacks. He plopped down next to Ortega on the shuttle and began cycling through the pictures on his phone. He leaned in to Ortega and showed him several shots he’d taken of Brady looking perturbed and searching for his missing jersey. Ortega didn’t flinch. He pulled out his own smartphone and one-upped Palafox—he’d taken a selfie with Brady in the moments after the win.

When Palafox heard the news of the jersey the next day, he thought nothing of the memorabilia hound who had finagled his way into a Super Bowl. After all, Ortega had brought with him a gift for his priest, “so he’s a religious guy,” Palafox says.

“I don’t mind telling this story, because this man put me at great risk,” Palafox says. “I was sitting a meter away from Tom Brady’s Super Bowl jersey. If the police had boarded that bus and found that jersey between the two of us, we’d both be in handcuffs.”

“I was sitting a meter away from Tom Brady’s Super Bowl jersey,” Palafox says. “If the police had boarded that bus and found that jersey between the two of us, we’d both be in handcuffs.”

Sitting safely at his desk in the high-rise newsroom of 24 Horas, Palafox pulled up Ortega’s Whatsapp messaging contact on his computer and chuckled. Under his name and contact info, the caption read: “Por la gracia de Dios soy lo que soy,” a quote from Corinthians 15:10.

By the grace of God, I am what I am.

“Ironic,” Palafox said with a laugh.