Jerome Block Jr. has pleaded guilty to embezzlement and other felonies and resigned from the Public Regulation Commission, while former Sheriff Greg Solano is in jail for selling county property on eBay.

But several scandals involving New Mexico political figures are far from resolution. Some cases are dragging through the courts, while others, still in the investigative process, might never see the inside of a courtroom.

Here's a look at the status of several scandals that have haunted the state in recent years.

Rebecca Vigil-Giron: The former secretary of state, who left office in 2006, and three co-defendants were indicted in 2009 on multiple counts of fraud, money laundering and other charges alleging misuse of federal money in a voter-education campaign. All have pleaded not guilty.

The defense was successful earlier this year in persuading a state judge to rule that the Attorney General's Office can't prosecute the case because of a conflict of interest. In July, a special prosecutor, Joseph Campbell, who worked for many years in the Santa Fe District Attorney's Office, was appointed to take over the case, which is still pending in state court.

But there's been very little movement in the case since then. At least part of the problem is that the state district judge who was presiding over that case, Pat Murdoch of Albuquerque, resigned after being arrested on charges that he'd raped a prostitute.

Meanwhile, the U.S. attorney got involved. Late last year, two of Vigil-Giron's co-defendants, Joe Kupfer, a former lobbyist, and his wife, Elizabeth "Daisy" Kupfer — who formerly worked for the state Attorney General's Office — were indicted on federal tax evasion charges.

In July, a federal grand jury indicted another co-defendant, political consultant Armando Gutierrez, currently of Corpus Christi, Texas, and Joe Kupfer. They are accused of stealing more than $2.5 million in federal funds that had been earmarked for the voter-education project — the same ill-fated project at the center of the state charges.

Vigil-Giron was not charged in the federal case. Gutierrez and the Kupfers have pleaded not guilty.

The trial for the federal case is scheduled for April 11, according to an order signed Friday by U.S. District Judge William Johnson.

Vincent "Smiley" Gallegos: Former state Rep. Gallegos and three others were indicted in 2009 on felony charges including fraud, money laundering and conspiracy in connection with a defunct Albuquerque-based state housing program. Gallegos was executive director of the Region III Housing Authority, which failed to repay $5 million in bonds sold to the State Investment Council.

Gallegos and the others have pleaded not guilty.

In March, the state Supreme Court denied the appeals of Gallegos and his co-defendants to reverse lower court rulings that found no reasons why Attorney General Gary King's office should be barred from prosecuting them.

The charges against Gallegos are divided between two cases — one dealing with alleged offenses that took place in 2003 and 2004, the other for charges that allegedly took place in 2004 and 2005.

Both cases are still pending. There is a status hearing scheduled next month for one of the cases and a pre-trial conference scheduled for the other in December.

State Investment Council scandals: Federal investigators for more than two years have been looking into possible wrongdoing involving millions of dollars in third-party marketer fees paid to political friends and supporters of former Gov. Bill Richardson.

The scandal prompted a reorganization of the State Investment Council and led to the resignation of State Investment Officer Gary Bland two years ago, but no criminal charges have ever been filed.

The State Investment Council in May filed two civil lawsuits in an attempt to recover some of the money. In addition to Bland, other defendants include Anthony Correra and his son Marc Correra, who shared in $22 million in fees working as a third-party marketer. Anthony Correra was a political backer of and adviser to Richardson.

Another defendant is Saul Meyer, a former state investment adviser who pleaded guilty to fraud charges in New York in 2009.

Also named in one of the suits was Guy Riordan, a former state Game and Fish Commission chairman and Richardson friend who was banned by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from the securities industry in 2009.

Richardson was not named in the suit. When the story about the Correras broke, Richardson insisted he knew nothing about it.

In June, the two cases were merged into one, which is pending  in state court.

Judge Mike Murphy: Earlier this year, a grand jury indicted this Las Cruces district judge, charging him with soliciting bribes from a prospective judge, allegedly to be paid to Richardson for a judicial appointment.

An affidavit released by special prosecutor Matt Chandler indicated that the practice of paying for judicial appointments was common in the state.

Last month, a judge in Las Cruces dismissed Murphy's indictment.

The Associated Press reported that Judge Leslie Smith, a retired federal magistrate, ordered that a witness be given immunity to come back and tell a grand jury what happened at a lunch at which Murphy allegedly solicited the bribes. That witness is Judge Jim Martin, who cited Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination in refusing to testify.

Chandler argues that it's illegal for a judge to grant a grand jury witness immunity without any say from the state.

Chandler could take the case against Murphy to another grand jury.

Richardson has called the allegations that he took bribes for appointments "outrageous and defamatory."

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.

UPDATE 9:10 am The original version of this said there were still two State Investment Council lawsuits, one in federal court, one in state court. The current text reflects the fact that the two suits have been merged into one case in state court.