“Breaking Bad” star Steven Michael Quezada claims he’s the victim of a political blackmail plot.
In a video posted to Facebook on Wednesday, the actor said he received an email which threatened to expose an old DWI conviction and publish his booking mugshots if he didn’t quit the race for a seat on the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Quezada, who played DEA agent Steven Gomez in the hit AMC series, also revealed details of the menacing message:
The 53-year-old Democrat, who won a seat on the Albuquerque Board of Education shortly after the show finished, described the note as "blackmail" and said he was fine with his criminal history being in the public domain. Two of his DWI cases were dismissed in 2002 and he pled guilty to one in 1998, KRQE News 13 reported.
"To be bullied and blackmailed to stop me from helping my community, well that's not going to happen. I've made mistakes, I've paid for those mistakes," he said.
"So if you want to show those mugshots, then you're welcome to do that. Because I'm OK with that, because the person in those mugshots, he doesn't exist anymore," he added.
Quezada said the email was sent from RobertSanchez1972@outlook.com, but he was unsure whether it was an actual person or a fake account. The Huffington Post has reached out to the email address for comment.
Last year, Quezada said he joined the race for county commissioner to "make a difference."
"I think I bring a new face to the Democratic Party," Quezada told The Associated Press. "We need to reach out to our young people -- the young Chicanos, the young Latinos -- and get them involved in this process and let them know this is important."
