CASTLE HILLS, Texas — Two Castle Hills city councilwomen were arrested Thursday in connection to an alleged plot to oust the city manager.
Lesley Wenger, 77, faces felony charges of tampering evidence and fraudulent use or possession of identifying information. Sylvia Gonzalez, 72, faces a misdemeanor charge of Tampering with Government Record - Obstructing Investigation.
Wenger was elected to her council position in May 2018. According to allegations brought by City Manager Ryan Rapelye detailed in an arrest affidavit, Wenger used her position since election to "get rid of..Rapelye at all costs," with the intention of giving that job to her friend.
Rapelye charges that Wenger "improperly used her influence as a city councilperson" to copy his identification information and personnel file into a notebook. Included in that information were Rapelye's name and date of birth, social security number, an driver license number.
Police say that while Wenger was doing this, Gonzalez attempted to distract Rapelye by motioning him away from Wenger and talking about other matters.
Rapelye told police he discovered that Wenger had duplicated his information, he confronted the councilwoman. She initially denied the accusation, but "reluctantly" verbally admitted to the act, according to the arrest affidavit.
Wenger then allegedly took the pages from her notebook containing Rapelye's information and tore them into pieces.
Police say Rapelye's account of the incident is consistent with information given by two other witnesses.
Castle Hills mayor JR Trevino told police that Wenger also used "untruthful statements" to harass the city manager.
Wenger and Gonzalez were pending magistration as of Thursday afternoon.