DES MOINES - A Cedar Rapids man, apparently at the State Capitol Thursday with a union group, was arrested after a lobbyist allegedly caught him trying to steal women's wallets.

Marshall Clemons, 38, of Cedar Rapids, was arrested by the Iowa State Patrol and charged with two counts of fifth-degree theft.

Lt. Mark Logsdon of the Iowa State Patrol's Post 16 said lobbyist Jim Henter spied Clemons reaching into a woman's bag and retrieving a billfold.

Henter followed Clemons and stopped him, Logsdon said. Clemons gave the woman back the money that was in the billfold and then went to a recycling bin and pulled out the billfold he had discarded there, according to Logsdon.

Clemons then went to the men's restroom where he tried to flush away another woman's billfold, Logsdon said.

Both billfolds and their contents were recovered.

Such cases at the Capitol are rare even though lobbyists' belongings and displays from various groups are out in the open, Logsdon said.

"We're really pretty lucky. We have a good presence in there. We have troopers that are posted in the Capitol" as well as security officers that man the metal detectors, Logsdon said.

Logsdon said he was told that Clemons was a part of the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU.

"I think he did come down with a group of folks from Cedar Rapids," Logsdon said.

The union's Web site lists Clemons as a member of SEIU Local 199 and a custodian at a Cedar Rapids school. The local's Web site identifies him as a member of the local's executive board.

An announcement in August said Clemons would join now-Vice President Joe Biden and his family to watch the Democratic National Convention. The local's Web site shows a picture of Clemons with Biden at the White House during the January inauguration.

Biden also joined Clemons on the union's "Walk a Day in My Shoes" campaign, where the two repaired a boiler, swept floors and replaced air conditioning filters on school grounds.

Contact Charlotte Eby at (515) 422-9061 or chareby@aol.com.