Overview
- San Antonio Express-News says it obtained and verified an April 2025 message from Regina Santos-Aviles stating she had an "affair with our boss," corroborated by a former staffer who later resigned.
- Widower Adrian Aviles confirmed the relationship in interviews, described finding sexually explicit texts, accused Rep. Tony Gonzales of abusing his power, and urged accountability.
- Gonzales denies the allegations and posted a lawyer’s $300,000 settlement email as alleged blackmail; the attorney says no claim was filed, calls the disclosure a mischaracterization, and says the outreach was confidential.
- Authorities ruled Santos-Aviles’s September 2025 death a suicide with no evidence of foul play, and the Texas Attorney General’s office sealed 911 calls, police reports, and video in December; the husband says the move protects their child from graphic footage.
- The San Antonio Express-News withdrew its endorsement of Gonzales before the March 3 primary, challenger Brandon Herrera called for his resignation, and no public House Ethics investigation has been announced.