Former Weiner chief of staff's husband embroiled in his own sexting scandal

Anthony Weiner isn't the only politician in New York who is facing a scandal for sending inappropriate text messages.

Democratic state Assembly member Micah Kellner, who is married to Weiner's former chief of staff, admitted this week that he sent "flirtatious messages" to a staffer in 2009.

According to The New York Times, a junior aide to Kellner first complained to her supervisor about the messages four years ago. At the time, she provided 15 pages of Internet chat transcripts to majority party counsel Bill Collins.

In one message, Kellner reportedly told the woman that she had been hired because "you were cute during the interview."

"I guess secretly I didn’t want you to have [a boyfriend]," Kellner wrote. He added that he liked "being the only man in your life" and she shouldn't "cheat on me."

"I wouldn’t mind falling asleep with you but not remotely," another message said. "Did I offend?"

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced on Tuesday that Collins would be stepping down after failing to investigate the case.

For his part, Kellner apologized in a statement to the Times.

"Over four years ago, for a few weeks while I was still single, I exchanged instant messages with a female member of my staff that were flirtatious," he explained. "It was inappropriate. I was wrong and it was stupid. When I was told that my staffer felt the messages were unprofessional, I immediately stopped and regretted placing her in that position. I was sorry then and I am sorry now."

A source who worked in Kellner's officer told The New York Daily News that that the Assembly member had made life difficult for the young woman after she reported the messages.

"It was a terrible poisonous situation," the source said. "She was treated very badly after she told him to stop."

“He completely changed the way he treated her in the office ... He picked apart everything she did ... It was the definition of a hostile environment.”

The Daily News reported that that Kellner had also made a female staffer uncomfortable while he was working as an intern for Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY). That woman was eventually transferred to another office.

Watch this video from WRGB, broadcast July 24, 2013.