Spokane- State Rep. Richard Curtis had sex with a man he met in Spokane last week who subsequently tried to blackmail him for $1,000 and threatened to expose the incident, according to court records filed Tuesday morning.
The incident is being investigated as an extortion attempt against Curtis, authorities said.
The court filings say Curtis, R-La Center, met Cody M. Castagna at the Hollywood Erotic Boutique at about 12:45 a.m. Friday morning and the men returned together to Curtis’ room at the Davenport Tower Hotel at about 3:35 a.m.
Curtis, a two-term legislator and retired fire department captain, has denied that he had sex with the man or is gay. He told police he gave Castagna $100 for gas money.
However, Detective Mark Burbridge of the Spokane Police Department, in a signed affidavit, concluded that Curtis and Castagna engaged in mutual sexual activities, after which Curtis fell asleep. Burbridge's affadavit is based on interviews with both men.
The affidavit alleges Castagna left the hotel room with Curtis’ wallet. He later called the state lawmaker and offered to return it in exchange for money, Burbridge said in his affidavit.
“Cody Castagna also threatened to publicly expose Richard Curtis’ gay lifestyle to his wife,” the detective wrote. “Richard Curtis said he said he only had $200, which Cody Castagna demanded Richard Curtis give to him. Richard Curtis left an envelope at the front desk of the Davenport Towers Hotel containing the $200.”
The court filing says that Castagna later contacted Curtis again and demanded another $800. Another Spokane police detective, Tim Madsen, was present and heard the phone call when a male demanded money from Curtis.
Curtis was in Spokane last week for a retreat with fellow Republican lawmakers in preparation for the 2008 Legislature.
Burbridge’s court filing offers a far different account from the brief interview that Curtis gave to Columbian Editor Lou Brancaccio Monday afternoon.
During that phone interview, Curtis emphatically said he is not gay and has not had sex with a man. He said he was only “trying to help someone out.”
“Richard Curtis was adamant he never agreed to give Cody Castagna any money for sex, especially $1,000,” the court filing says.
Castagna told the same detective that he met Curtis at the adult business and that Curtis agreed to pay him $1,000 for sex, the court papers say.
Castagna told police they purchased two adult movies from the Davenport to watch in Curtis’ room, the papers say. After the two men had sex, Castagna told police that Curtis gave him his wallet to hold as collateral for payment, the affidavit says.
“Cody Castagna admitted threatening to publicly expose Richard Curtis’ gay lifestyle to his wife unless Richard Curtis provided the disputed money,” the affidavit says.
The affidavits were filed to obtain two search warrants. One is for videotape of public areas at the Hollywood Erotic Boutique, shot from midnight to 6 a.m. Friday.
The other is for room registry information for Curtis at the Davenport, along with surveillance video, photographs from the video, room purchases and room access information. The hotel has a computer system which records when individual room doors are opened.
Burbridge’s affidavit said he met with a clerk at the adult video store who identified Curtis as a customer who had been in the store and met a young white male.
A search for Castagna in court records turned up a number of cases in Spokane and King County on a variety of charges. Most cases were in juvenile court and involved charges of assault, theft, burglary and malicious mischief.
In adult court, court records showed that Castagna pleaded guilty in 2001 to a forgery charge and was sentenced to two months in jail and 12 months in community custody.
