Washington State Representative Richard Curtis, a conservative Republican who represents an area near the Oregon border, has had a very bad two weeks. Attending a conference of GOP state legislators last week in Spokane, Curtis went to an erotic video store in nearby Medical Lake. There, dressed in women's lingerie and after participating in lewd behavior, Curtis met Cody Castagna, and a short while later the two met at one of Spokane's fanciest hotels to have sex. Curtis later fell asleep, and Castagna, according to court documents, stole his wallet.

Later that morning, Castagna called Curtis and threatened to blackmail him unless Curtis turned over $1000. Curtis then contacted the Washington State Patrol, who in turn contacted the Spokane Police Department. According to Castagna, Curtis offered the man the money in exchange for sex, and later gave him the wallet as collateral.

Newspaper reports in Washington State show Castagna has faced criminal charges in Spokane, near the Idaho border, and King County. He will likely face blackmail charges in the incident, but despite his less than stellar reputation, Curtis, who during his legislative career compiled an extensive anti-gay voting record, is going to have a difficult time explaining his way out of wearing women's lingerie on camera. While it is unlikely that Curtis will face any criminal charges, yesterday he resigned from the legislature, a move House Republican Leader Richard DeBolt praised. Curtis' website has already been removed from the state legislature's server.

The incident is not the first time Spokane has found itself near Republicans who get in trouble for gay sex while publicly speaking out against homosexuality. Former Spokane Mayor Jim West, another conservative Republican who served in the legislature before winning election to the hometown post, allegedly offered internships to young men through a gay website using city resources. West was kicked out of office in a recall election in 2005. And, of course, Spokane is also just minutes from the Idaho border, where Sen. Larry Craig has found himself in trouble over the summer.

For more on the case, Spokane TV station KXLY has a round-up of the case as it was developing, while the Seattle Times' David Postman wrote his thoughts yesterday.