San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener foiled a would-be mugging over the holidays — with the kind of quick thinking that has made him the city’s most respected openly gay elected representative.
Walking to the subway from his Castro District home, he was checking messages on his iPhone — and suddenly found himself surrounded by a woman and two large men.
The woman swiped his phone while the men menaced him and demanded five hundred bucks for its return.
Wiener managed to negotiate the price down to $200, and then led them to the nearby Wells Fargo ATM, where the perpetrators were caught on security camera.
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After a bank guard gave chase, the female bandit was apprehended by police.
Wiener, who is running for California State Senate, downplayed his role in outmaneuvering the thieves.
“It’s not a pleasant situation to go through,” he said. “This is the first time in my life that I’ve been victimized like this, but I wanted to get my phone back, and I wanted to get them on video.
The two men are still at large.
Wiener might not have been the best target. Not only is he known for his smarts, but at 6’5, he doesn’t exactly fit the profile of a vulnerable victim.