San Diego

A man suspected of attempting to bilk about 100 women out of $20 each when he tried to pass himself off as a recruiter for an airline was arrested Monday, police said.

Nicholas Walpert, 25, who ran for mayor of San Diego in the February special election, was arrested Monday at the Embarcadero Holiday Inn, police spokesman Bill Robinson said. Hotel employees identified him as the same man who rented a room over the weekend and claimed to be a flight attendant recruiter for World Airlines, Robinson said.

The victims of the attempted swindle told police that the con man dressed in a three-piece, pinstripe suit and charged the women $20 each Saturday, but his scheme unraveled when several women became suspicious and demanded to see his identification. The women had answered a newspaper ad announcing that interviews for flight attendants would be conducted at the Embarcadero Holiday Inn.

During the mayoral campaign, Walpert identified himself as a charter pilot and former owner of fast-food restaurants.

He was booked into County Jail on suspicion of attempted grand theft and conducting a business without a license. He was being held on $2,046 bail.