‘Send Me a Sexy Pic’: Unearthed Texts Confirm Inappropriate Relationship Between Tony Gonzales and Staffer Who Set Herself on Fire

Tony Gonzales (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images)

Text messages obtained by Juliegrace Brufke of 24sight News appear to confirm that Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) had an inappropriate relationship with Regina Santos-Aviles, a former staffer who committed suicide by self-immolation last September.

Another former Gonzales staffer who described himself as Santos-Aviles’s “best friend” recently told the San Antonio Express-News that Santos-Aviles had admitted the affair to him, and that she had been battling depression ever since her husband found out about the relationship, causing the congressman to “abruptly cut her off.”

He also produced text messages in which Sant0s-Aviles admitted to the affair.

Gonzales denied the affair in November at a Texas Tribune festival, and said he would “NOT BE BLACKMAILED” after the publication of the Express-News story.

“Ms. Santos-Aviles was a kind soul who devoted her life to making the community a better place. Her efforts led to improvements in school safety, healthcare, and rural water like never before,” said Gonzales in a statement. “It’s shameful that Brandon Herrera [Gonzales’s primary opponent] is using a disgruntled former staffer to smear her memory and score political points, conveniently pushing this out the very day early voting started. I am not going to engage in these personal smears and instead will remain focused on helping President Trump secure the border and improve the lives of all Texans.”

But on Monday, Brufke produced “text messages obtained by 24Sight News from a forensic extraction of Santos-Aviles’ phone conducted as part of an active legal claim by her widower’s attorney” in which the congressman “made explicit sexual requests to his late congressional staffer who repeatedly resisted.”

In various messages addressed to Santos-Aviles, Gonzales wrote “send me a sexy pic,” fantasized about being “On top pinning your legs” before asking about her own sexual preferences, and, in one particularly crass message, wrote only, “Anal?”

Both Santos-Aviles’s widower’s lawyer and work friend have alleged that the affair between the lawmaker and his employee was known among other members of Gonzales’s staff.

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