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The New York Times
U.S.
Sleepy Spokane Shows
Its Sordid Side
By AP from
nytimes.com on the Web, February 5, 2008
SPOKANE, Wash. -- The
resignation of a conservative politician who claims he was shaken down by a gay
hustler has again exposed the seamy underside of this ostensibly staid city.
Former state Rep. Richard Curtis, who went to Spokane in late October for a
Republican conference, got into trouble when he also stopped at an adult
bookstore, picked up a man named Cody Castagna, and brought him to his hotel
room for sex.
Castagna, 26, later demanded $1,000. Curtis refused to pay, and claims
Castagna and his associates tried to blackmail him by threatening to reveal the
married lawmaker's sexual practices.
Witnesses told police that Curtis was a regular patron of the adult bookstore,
liked to dress in women's lingerie, and was observed having sex in an upstairs
room with a man with a cane.
It was the latest scandal in a lurid decade for Spokane, an outwardly
conservative city of 200,000 residents about 270 miles east of liberal Seattle.
Since 2000, the city has been rocked by a family man who killed 10 prostitutes
and had sex with some of their corpses; the outing of former mayor Jim West as a
closeted homosexual who offered city jobs to young men in exchange for sex; and
the bankruptcy of the Roman Catholic diocese over lawsuits brought by victims of
sexual abuse by priests.
Curtis is a married father who voted against gay-rights bills in the Legislature
while representing suburban Vancouver. He told a newspaper in his
southwest Washington district shortly after the story broke that sex was not
involved in the alleged extortion attempt, and said he was not gay.
But police reports showed that Curtis told investigators he had in fact had sex
with Castagna.
Curtis resigned in October, soon after the reports were released.
Police theorized that the alleged extortion scheme must also have snared other
prominent men who indulged their private passions while visiting the city.
But no additional victims appeared after a public plea from police, spokeswoman
Jennifer DeRuwe said. ''We still believe there are other victims out
there,'' DeRuwe said. ''But nobody is willing to come forward.''
Castagna, 27, has pleaded innocent to three counts of theft, two counts of
extortion and one court of conspiracy to commit extortion for the late October
incident.
In a separate case, he admitted stealing $1,700 in winnings from a woman at a
casino near Worley, Idaho, last March 2. He has not been sentenced in that
case. He has also been implicated in a male escort ring in Spokane.
Also charged were Robert H. Fletcher, 20, Joseph L. Castagna, 25, and Brandon
Burchell, 24. All are charged with second-degree extortion and conspiracy
to commit second-degree extortion.
Fletcher is accused of picking up extortion money from Curtis in exchange for a
share of the cash. Joseph Castagna, Cody Castagna's brother, and Burchell
are alleged to have conspired with Cody Castagna to pick up more money at a
second drop-off.
Castagna's attorney has contended that his client took money from Curtis on the
spur-of-the-moment, after the politician offered to pay $1,000 for unprotected
sex. Authorities say Castagna began blackmailing Curtis when the
politician reneged on the full payment.
''I don't think Cody does that,'' attorney David Partovi said, when asked if
Castagna had tried to blackmail others. Partovi declined a request for an
interview with his client.
The city's gay community has not exactly rushed to Castagna's defense, if
postings on the Internet are a fair indication. Many of the postings refer
to him as a thief and extortionist who presented a poor picture of gays.
Some even expressed support for Curtis for exposing Castagna's extortion
attempt.
Curtis, 48, is cooperating with investigators and will not be charged with
soliciting prostitution, prosecutors have said. Curtis will have to
testify if there is a trial, which is set for April 7, prosecutor Rachel Sterett
said.
Bonnie Aspen, a gay activist in Spokane, said the bigger story is the large
number of gay men who lead closeted lives and are vulnerable to extortion.
''It's very, very sad, having to deny who you are,'' Aspen said.
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