The former president of the San Antonio firefighters' union allegedly sent a series of emails and texts to four fire department employees, threatening to release personal information about them if they applied for the open fire chief position, according to arrest records released Wednesday. 

Christopher A. Steele, 57, was arrested on suspicion of stalking, a third-degree felony, in San Marcos on Friday. He was released the next day on a $3,000 bond. 

Steele joined the San Antonio Fire Department in 1985. He served as the president of the firefighters' union for 17 years before retiring on July 31, 2021.

Under his leadership, the union and then-City Manager Sheryl Sculley engaged in a bruising political fight over the firefighters' labor contract. It culminated in the San Antonio Professional Firefighters' Association forcing several City Charter amendments onto the November 2018 ballot, including measures to cap the city manager’s pay and tenure. Voters approved both.

READ MORE: Former San Antonio firefighters union president accused of stalking

The blackmail investigation began March 17, after a fire department employee called police to report that she’d received two emails and a text message purportedly from a private investigator named Frank. Police later determined that the email and text message were linked to Steele, according to the records.

Steele did not respond to a request for comment.

In the first email, dated March 9, Steele said he had been hired by a potential applicant for the fire chief position to conduct an investigation of other prospective candidates, according to the arrest records. Fire Chief Charles Hood retired in January after repeatedly making vulgar comments about female genitalia, prompting a national search for the city’s next fire chief. 

Steele, under the guise of Frank, said in the email he had unearthed “concerning allegations” about the department employee during his investigation, the records say. He then allegedly accused her of retaliating against a person with whom she’d recently ended “a personal relationship” by trying to influence a fire inspection of the person’s place of business, with the aim of imposing “maximum fines.”

RELATED: Fire Chief Charles Hood retires after making inappropriate, vulgar comments about women

Steele allegedly wrote that such conduct could constitute a crime: official oppression, a felony in Texas.

He also accused the SAFD employee of physically abusing another person she’d been in a relationship with, the arrest records say. 

“Rest assured that any information provided and the nature of these allegations will be held in strict confidence and will not be disclosed unless you decide to pursue the Fire Chief position, at which point it may be necessary to further assess these matters,” Steele allegedly wrote. 

After receiving the first email, the employee reported the message to the City Attorney’s Office. The city then sent a cease-and-desist letter on March 13 to the email address attached to the purported private investigator, demanding that the sender stop purporting to work for a firm that conducts background checks. The letter said if the sender didn’t stop threatening the employee, there would be a criminal investigation.

Three days later, Steele allegedly sent a second email to the employee making similar claims.

“If you continue to evade or ignore these allegations, it will be interpreted as an admission of guilt and will result in my organization using all means and resources within our power to protect the citizens of San Antonio from a leader that is not fit for the position of Fire Chief,” the email stated. “I strongly advise you to reconsider your approach and take decisive action to resolve these matters.” 

RELATED: Fire Chief Charles Hood, before being forced out, had history of allegedly insensitive comments

The employee called police to report the emails and text message. 

On March 22, Steele allegedly sent another email, threatening to contact the media if the department employee did not respond. He sent a similar text five days later, the records state. 

During SAPD’s investigation, Detective David Snow discovered that three other SAFD employees were receiving similar messages from three separate email addresses and two separate phone numbers. 

“Your Affiant is aware persons sometime utilize methods such as creating multiple emails, aliases, using multiple digital and electronic devices, and computers when engaged in nefarious activity in an attempt to create layers of anonymity to avoid being identified,” Snow wrote in a search warrant affidavit dated May 30.

A Bexar County judge granted Snow’s request to search Steele’s home in Hays County. At the same time, the judge signed a warrant for Steele’s arrest.

So far, Steele has only been charged in connection with the emails and texts to the employee who contacted the City Attorney’s Office.