BY NATHAN BYRNE

 

Mexican police have a suspended soccer goalie in the net, accused of helping kidnappers pick their wealthy victims. Omar Ortiz confessed to doing this at least twice. According to CNN, he’s now accused of...

"...using his social status to help a kidnapping gang track down information about potential victims..."

Ortiz hasn’t played since he failed a steroid test in 2010. Known as "El Gato," or the cat for his bright eyes and quick reflexes, Ortiz didn’t land on his feet here. Al Jazeera explains.

REPORTER: "His job was to select victims for kidnap and ransom, allegedly on behalf of the Gulf drug cartel."

JORGE DOMENE, NUEVO LEON GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: (translated from Spanish to English): "He confesses to having known these people for some time, more than a year. And he became an accomplice of this gang for pinpointing the victims to be kidnapped."

Expensive targets, allegedly including the husband of pop-star Gloria Trevi, would equal bigger paydays for the former footballer, says NBC Sports.

"The 35-year-old Ortiz admitted helping to pick out rich victims for the kidnappers … The gang sought an average of 1 million pesos ($73,000) per victim, of which Ortiz received a cut of more than 100,000 pesos."

Some more numbers: BBC News reports Ortiz could face up to 50 years in jail for his role in helping the gang responsible for more than 20 abductions.