Assemblyman Costa Cited on Solicitation

SACRAMENTO — Assemblyman Jim Costa (D-Fresno) has been cited on a charge of soliciting a woman working as a Sacramento police operative for an act of prostitution, Sacramento police say.

Officers said the legislator, driving in his state-leased car with a known prostitute, approached another woman and solicited her for an act of prostitution.

The woman Costa allegedly solicited shortly after the Legislature adjourned Saturday night was carrying a hidden police transmitter, police revealed Monday.

The 34-year-old lawmaker, who chairs the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee, could not be reached for comment. But one of his aides, Bill Brewster, said: “A mistake has been made. He will have no comment until after he speaks with his attorney.”

Capt. Sam Somers said vice officers moved in for the arrest after Costa allegedly agreed to pay the undercover operative $50 to perform a sex act.

Somers said the curb-side conversation was relayed to officers waiting nearby via a hidden radio transmitter worn by the undercover operative, whose identity was not released.

The incident occurred at 8:50 p.m. at an intersection in a business district about five miles north of the Capitol. The area is known to be frequented by prostitutes.

Costa, who has represented Fresno in the Legislature for eight years, was issued a citation and ordered to appear in Municipal Court on Sept. 22.

His companion, a 19-year-old woman who goes by the names of Crystal Menick and Stacy Ann Brooks and has been convicted of prostitution in the past, was booked into County Jail because she was on probation on another charge, police said.