Early one July morning in 2019, Bexar County sheriff’s deputies rolled down the quiet residential streets of Castle Hills with a pair of bombshell arrest warrants. The San Antonio-area bedroom community was in the throes of one of the biggest political scandals in its history. The deputies had warrants to arrest two of its major players.
Sylvia Gonzalez, a 72-year-old newcomer to Castle Hills’ city council, was at her eye doctor’s office when she received terrifying news. Her friend and fellow council member, 77-year-old Lesley Wenger, had already been rousted from her bed and carted off to jail. Now, deputies were looking for Gonzalez.
Gonzalez turned herself in at the county jail, and both women spent the day handcuffed, sitting on a cold metal bench. Their mugshots were splashed across local media. “Castle Hills councilwomen arrested in alleged plot to oust city manager,” reported one TV station.
