Jerome Block, Jr. was only "negligent" when he told reporters that he'd spent public campaign money to pay a band led by a Las Vegas political figure to play at a rally which never took place, and his "intent was not to mislead, confuse or disguise any expenditure" on the part of his campaign.

That's what Block, who is running for the 3rd District Public Regulation Commission, told the Secretary of State's Office in an official response to questions last week from the office about the expenditure.

The Secretary of State's Office released Block's response on Saturday.

Here's what happened, according to Block:

"In April of 2008 I entered into an agreement with Mr. Paul Maez of the Wyld Country Band to play at a campaign event scheduled for May in Las Vegas, N.M. Our campaign was to pay $2,500 for this performance. In accordance with the New Mexico Campaign Reporting Act ... the payment for this performance was reported on Form C of the Report of Expenditures & Contributions as campaign expenditure for "Rally Entertainment." This form was filed with your office on July 3rd, 2008."

Maez is county clerk of San Miguel County. Reporters in September were asking questions about the expenditure because of Maez's position and his relationship with Block.

"Due to a scheduling conflict Mr. Maez's band was unable to play on that date," Block wrote. "In light of this, we agreed that the band would play at another event before the June primary. Subsequent to making those arrangements, Mr. Maez informed me that his band would be unable to play an event by June 3rd. Based on our agreement, I decided to set aside those funds for the sole purpose of paying him for a later performance. Inasmuch, I reported the $2,500 as an expenditure on Form C as "Rally Entertainment" for the purpose of paying a band for its performance in the future.

"At some point I erroneously stated to Mr. David Giuliani of the Las Vegas Optic that the Wyld Country Band had in fact played at an event. I negligently made this statement. My negligence was due to the pressure and details of the campaign. My intent was not to mislead, confuse or disguise any expenditure on the part of my campaign."

The Optic isn't the only paper Block lied to about the May event that never really took place. At a Sept. 18 interview in Espanola, Block told a New Mexican reporter that the May event with Wyld Country attracted 75 to 100 people. Block admitted to reporters he wasn't telling the truth only after band members told newspapers they had never played at the Block rally.

"On Sept. 24th, 2008 I explained to Mr. Giuliani via e-mail that the band had not played, but was planning to at a later event," Block wrote. "Because of the attention given to this discrepancy, and to avoid the appearance of impropriety, I canceled a campaign rally scheduled for September 27th, 2008 in Las Vegas at which the band was scheduled to play. Upon canceling this event, Mr. Maez returned the $2,500 to my campaign. Because this money was unspent and unencumbered by any future debts it was returned to the Public Election Fund on September 26th in accordance with the New Mexico Election Code ..."

One question raised by Block's response is exactly when or why Block canceled his Sept. 27 rally.

In a Sept. 18 interview with The New Mexican — which took place when Block was sticking with his story that Wyld Country had played the May rally, Block said he was canceling the Sept. 27 event because of the possible perception of "impropriety" because of Maez's role as San Miguel County clerk.

Block's response to the Secretary of State appears to claim he canceled that rally because of the attention given to the "discrepancy" of the May rally never actually taking place. The response seems to indicate he canceled the Sept. 27 rally on or after Sept. 24.

Don Francisco Trujillo, deputy secretary of state, said in an e-mail Saturday, "... we will review and evaluate what we have been provided, in consultation with our legal counsel, and we will ensure that we have all of the information we need in order to move forward to complete the process in as timely a manner as possible."

Attorney General Gary King has said that the Block case is a "front-burner" issue for his office. Violation of the statutes mentioned in the secretary of state's letter to Block last week constitute a fourth-degree felony. If convicted Block could lose his right to vote. The law also says a candidate who violates the Voter Action Act could face a civil penalty of $10,000 per violation and could be required to pay back all campaign funds.

Block has received $101,000 in state money this year for his primary and general-election campaigns.

Block in June won a six-way primary with 23 percent of the vote and faces Green Party member Rick Lass in the Nov. 4 general election.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com.