An independent congressional ethics watchdog is investigating Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) over an alleged affair with one of his aides who fatally set herself on fire last September.
The Office of Congressional Conduct launched the probe last year against the Texas Republican, according to the late aide’s husband Adrian Aviles and his lawyer Bobby Barrera.
Aviles, who was married to Gonzales’ regional director in the state, Regina Santos-Aviles, received a written notice from OCC in November 2025.
House rules prohibit sexual relationships between members and staffers.
Santos-Aviles, 35, died in a hospital on Sept. 14 from injuries sustained the day before when she doused herself in gasoline and lit it.
Her husband, his attorney and a former Gonzales staffer have all said the congressman, who is a married father of six children, engaged in an extramarital affair with Santos-Aviles in May 2024.
The couple separated later that August after attending marriage counseling for several months.
Aviles and Barrera have since filed a separate claim under the Congressional Accountability Act seeking up to $300,000 in damages related to the congressman’s alleged sexual harassment and workplace retaliation against the widower’s spouse.
In exchange, the husband would sign a non-disclosure agreement related to the purported trysts with his late wife.
Gonzales accused both of seeking to “blackmail” him on Thursday.
The three-term lawmaker is facing a challenge from GOP candidate and YouTuber Brandon Herrera in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, with early voting already underway.
The primary is scheduled for March 3.
If substantiated, the OCC could eventually refer its findings to the House Ethics Committee for further investigation.
Reps for Gonzales’ congressional office and campaign, as well as the OCC, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
