Earlier this month, a send-off party held for Manny Aragon, the prison-bound former president of the New Mexico Senate, created controversy. Now, a golf tournament is being held to raise money for the legal defense of former Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Bock Sr., who is facing felony charges related to the 2008 election.
“With this warm weather that is now upon us, it is time to go out and hit some golf balls,” states an e-mail from lobbyist Maurice Bonal about the event, which, according to the e-mail, is being held June 25 in Pojoaque “in honor of Jerome D. Block, Sr.”
Registration forms and sponsorships are to be mailed to a post office box in Santa Fe listed under the name “Legal Defense Fund Committee.”
Block Sr. and his son Jerome Block Jr., a current public regulation commissioner, were indicted by a grand jury in April. They’re charged with violating the elections code, conspiring to violate the elections code, tampering with evidence and conspiring to tamper with evidence. The charges against the younger Block also include embezzlement of between $500 and $2,500.
Block Jr. was indicted on eight felony counts. Block Sr. is facing four felony charges. Both have pleaded not guilty.
The charges stem from the younger Block’s publicly funded campaign for office last year. Block Jr., who is in his first term on the PRC, paid a band to play at a rally that never took place. He later had to pay a fine and return $10,000 of the more than $100,000 in taxpayer money he received for his campaign after admitting to filing false reports.
He was also fined for making a contribution to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, which is an invalid use of the public funds.