While one teenager asked the Morris County Republican if he wanted to buy candy, another picked Frelinghuysen's pocket and fled with his wallet, police said Friday. Frelinghuysen chased after the pickpocket and was struggling with him when a patrol officer arrived after being hailed by a passing pizza delivery driver, according to police Cmdr. Andy Solberg of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Frelinghuysen recovered his wallet, which the suspect had flung into some bushes, and the 18-year-old man was charged with robbery. Solberg refused to name the victim or the suspect but said reporters could figure out the victim's identity from a statement the congressman released. "This was a random thing. I think it was coincidental that the paths of the victim and the suspect crossed," Solberg said. "It is great that the victim took the initiative, but we don't recommend it."
Frelinghuysen, who spent two years in Vietnam after graduating from Hobart College in 1969, comes from one of New Jersey' most prominent political families. Someone from the Frelinghuysen family has represented New Jersey in Congress on and off dating back to 1793.
Frelinghuysen, 61, is now in his seventh term as the representative for New Jersey's 11th Congressional District, beginning in 1994. Before that, he was a Morris County freeholder from 1974 to 1983 and served in the New Jersey General Assembly for eleven years beginning in 1983. He is known mainly in Republican circles as a fiscal conservative and budget hawk, Whitman said. "I've known him a very long time, and he's a very modest, fiscally conservative, conscientious, bright legislator," Whitman said. "He watches the budget a lot and is overwhelmingly popular in his district."
Thursday's robbery was not the first time Frelinghuysen has been targeted. In 2000, documentarian and liberal activist Michael Moore urged voters to elect a potted ficus plant to challenge Frelinghuysen's unopposed re-election. Moore's intent was to "point out to the Frelinghuysen family that we live in a democracy, not a dynasty," according to a statement released by Moore. "Rodney laughed it off at the time and thought it was kind of silly," said Tom Wilson, the state Republican Party chairman.
Frelinghuysen's office in Washington, D.C., said on Friday that he would not be speaking to the media about Thursday's incident. To some, it was not surprising that Frelinghuysen, a virtual unknown, wouldn't use the robbery for some free ink. "He's not a loud, backslapping politician who frequents the political parties and haunts," Wilson said. "He's just a workhorse who wears the title of public servant on his sleeve."
A statement his office released Friday reads: "Last evening, Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen was robbed while walking in the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C. The suspect was apprehended and the congressman wants to commend the Metropolitan Police Department for their quick and professional response. The congressman was not injured." | 
linghuysen may have looked like an easy mark to Georgetown street thugs, but a gang of muggers found out how tough he was Thursday night. 
h Frelinghuysen, R-Harding, chasing the robbers straight into the arms of nearby police. People might be surprised that he did what he did last night, but that's Rodney. No one takes advantage of him," former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman said. 
What cute muggers! They look awfully familiar....:)
Posted by:Anonymous | May 29, 2007 at 11:20 AM