(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The scandal involving Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, and a now-deceased staffer has taken a shocking new turn, with allegations that he coerced her into an affair.
The staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, a beloved congressional aide, died last year after setting herself on fire. Both she and Gonzales were married at the time.
Attorney Bobby Barrera, representing Santos-Aviles’s widow, Adrien Aviles, told CBS News on Friday the affair was “an open, shielded secret” kept that way at Gonzales’s request.
“It was shielded at the request of Tony Gonzales that his staff all continue to work together for the good and benefit of everybody, working together and getting through this thing and past the election,” Barrera said.
Text messages reportedly obtained from the late staffer’s phone show Gonzales pushing Santos-Aviles into the relationship, though she resisted at times. Barrera accused Gonzales of “going too far.”
“Coercion is an interpretive issue, depending upon who’s sending the message and who’s receiving it,” Barrera said. “What one person may say is a simple question, someone else may interpret as coercion — because, guess what, it’s coming from your boss requesting that you do something that is not particularly proper, as in, send him pictures or meet him at particular locations.”
According to Aviles and Barrera, Santos-Aviles’s death followed an emotional spiral after the alleged affair became public.
Gonzales’s office also reportedly sidelined her in an apparent attempt to pressure her into quitting.
Recent text messages exchanged with another congressional staffer show Santos-Aviles admitting she had an affair with Gonzales.
Meanwhile, Gonzales has denied wrongdoing and accused Barrera of attempting to extort him. Barrera says he sought to settle a potential lawsuit under the Congressional Accountability Act for $300,000.
The CAA is federal legislation that governs workplace rights for congressional employees, including protections against harassment and discrimination.
