PRC Commissioner Jerome Block

The New Mexico Court of Appeals has reinstated criminal charges against Public Regulation Commission (PRC) vice-chair Jerome Block Jr. and his father and former PRC commissioner, Jerome Block, Sr.

The charges stem from Block Jr.’s misuse of public campaign funds during his 2008 bid for a seat on the powerful regulatory commission.

The three-judge appeals court sided with Attorney General Gary King, who had appealed a lower court’s ruling that criminal charges represented “double jeopardy” — and therefore a violation of the Blocks’ constitutional rights — because Block, Jr. had previously paid a civil penalty in the case.

“(T)he civil penalty … is not considered punishment for double jeopardy purposes and, thus, it does not preclude subsequent criminal prosecution for the same conduct against which the civil penalty was assessed,” the court wrote in an opinion released Tuesday. “Accordingly, we reverse the district court’s order of dismissal and remand with instructions to reinstate all charges brought under the (Voter Action) Act against Defendants.”

District Court Judge Michael Vigil had dismissed six criminal charges against the Blocks, ruling they represented double jeopardy because Former Secretary of State Mary Herrera had already fined Jerome Block, Jr. $11,700 for his misuse of taxpayer campaign money.

The Blocks now face 12 criminal counts including embezzlement, evidence tampering and election code violations.

Their case is the first prosecution under New Mexico’s public campaign finance Voter Action Act.

The appeals court also agreed with Assistant Attorney General Andrew Montgomery, who had argued at a May 19 hearing, that the Attorney General’s Office does not have to await the Secretary of State’s referral to bring criminal charges under the Voter Action Act, as the Blocks’ attorneys had argued.

“We hold that the Act does not limit the attorney general’s authority to initiate criminal proceedings for violations of the act,” the appeals court opinion states. “The attorney general is not required to first receive a referral from the secretary of state before he or she can initiate criminal proceedings.”

Block, Jr. received more than $101,000 in taxpayer money to run for the office, which pays $90,000 a year.

The Blocks were indicted in 2009.

The Blocks’ appeal hinged largely on the legislature’s intended meaning of the word “or” in a provision of the law allowing the Secretary of State to assess fines for violations of the Voter Action Act, or refer a case to the AG for prosecution.

The AG’s office may not choose to prosecute a case under the Voter Action Act without first receiving a referral from the Secretary of State, the Blocks’ defense attorneys argued — and then-Secretary of State Mary Herrera assessed a fine against Commissioner Block, Jr. rather than referring a criminal case to the AG.

“The legislature set her up as gatekeeper,” defense attorney Theresa Duncan had argued, likening the Voter Action Act’s fines and criminal prosecution provisions to a mother that allows a child a “cookie or a Popsicle, but not both.”

The Court of Appeals rejected that reasoning Tuesday.

In 2008 public campaign finance reports, Block had reported spending $2,500 in taxpayer funds on a performance by San Miguel County Clerk Paul Maez’s country-western band “Wyld Country” — a campaign concert that both men later admitted had never occurred.

As county clerk, Maez oversaw the San Miguel County polls in which Block beat five other candidates for the northern N.M. PRC district seat.

Attorney General Gary King and PRC Commissioner Block Jr. could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

“The AG is in transit to a law enforcement meeting out of town,” AG spokesman Phil Sisneros said by e-mail Tuesday evening. “I can say that we are pleased with the ruling. What the court says is validation for the arguments we made in our appeal.”

It is unclear whether or not the Blocks will now appeal the case to the state Supreme Court, or proceed with mounting a defense in district court.

The Blocks have paid $400,000 in legal fees in the case, Block Jr. told a journalist late last year.

The PRC oversees utilities, insurance, transportation, pipeline and other industries. Commissioner Block, Jr. voted last week in favor of the Commission’s decision to cut PNM’s planned electricity service rate hike by $13 million.