A Colorado delegate to this year’s Republican National Convention has told police in Minnesota that a woman drugged him and stole tens of thousands of dollars worth of items from him during the convention.
Gabriel Schwartz, a 29-year-old attorney from Denver, told police that on Sept. 3, he met the woman at a party in Minneapolis that was related to the Republican convention held in nearby St. Paul.
Sgt. William Palmer, a Minneapolis police spokesman, said Schwartz told investigators he and the woman had drinks together and, by the early morning hours, ended up in a room at Hotel Ivy, a posh hotel in downtown Minneapolis, where Palmer said Schwartz was drugged.
“A number of items of fairly substantial value was taken from him,” Palmer said.
Those items included a watch, jewelry, a cellphone and cash. Palmer said the value of the items was between $50,000 and $150,000, depending on how and where they were bought.
In a statement released Tuesday, Schwartz put the value at about $50,000.
“It’s embarrassing to admit that I was a target of a crime,” Schwartz said. “… As a single man, I was flattered by the attention of a beautiful woman who introduced herself to me. I used poor judgment. If there is any good that can come from this humiliation, it is to caution others that date- rape drugs can be used on men, too.”
Reached Tuesday afternoon, Schwartz said he did not want to comment further.
Palmer said the incident was not prostitution-related and instead said the suspect was likely looking to prey on wealthy-looking individuals. He said police have physical evidence they hope will lead them to the suspect and praised Schwartz for helping with the investigation.
“This case, we don’t have a lot to go on,” Palmer said. “But what we do, we have because he’s been very cooperative with us.”
David Hanners of the St. Paul Pioneer Press contributed to this report.
John Ingold: 303-954-1068 or jingold@denverpost.com
