Sen. Bob Deuell

A veteran aide to a state senator has resigned after allegedly impersonating first a state representative, then a newspaper reporter in politically motivated schemes.
Todd Gallaher resigned yesterday after acknowledging that he’d called an ethics watchdog and identified himself as a reporter. He then asked about an ethics complaint the group had filed against Gallaher’s employer, Republican state Senator Bob Deuell.
Gallaher was already on leave since February. That’s when he admitted to Deuell that he’d used an e-mail address that apparently belong to a Democratic lawmaker to send out embarrassing, 20-year-old photos of a South Texas sheriff who was up for re-election.
The sheriff’s opponent has a connection to Gallaher. The sheriff lost his primary election race and is asking the state to investigate whether Gallaher broke state law.