Just before 8 a.m. on May 17, 2010, Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block Jr. pulled away from the three-way stop at Pacheco Street and Camino de Monte Rey in his 2006 Mercedes-Benz sport utility vehicle and passed another vehicle, a city traffic citation shows.

Reports state a city police officer pulled over Block and issued a ticket for careless driving, noting that the "roadway after the 3 way stop has a slope with a curve making it hard to see traffic."

Block never responded to the ticket, ignoring a summons to show up at Santa Fe Municipal Court. As a result, on July 6, 2010, Block's driver's license was suspended for failure to appear, according to court documents filed recently by the New Mexico Attorney General's Office.

More than a year later, Block still hasn't taken care of the careless-driving citation, adding yet another challenge to the troubles piling up on the 34-year-old elected official, who this week publicly acknowledged he's struggling with a prescription-drug addiction.

"All he needs to do is come on in and appear before the judge," Santa Fe Municipal Court records custodian Sharon Romero said Wednesday. "But he hasn't done that."

It's unclear why Block, who also has missed about a third of the Public Regulation Commission's meetings this year, never responded to the summons to appear in court or why he never took care of the ticket in the months following. Block couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.

To be sure, Block confronts much larger problems. The Northern New Mexico Democrat, already under indictment for alleged misusing public funds in his 2008 election campaign, has come under pressure from both major political parties to resign his $90,000-a-year post as his troubles have snowballed.

Most recently, investigators from the state Attorney General's Office searched vehicles used by Block amid allegations that he had abused his state-issued gasoline purchase card.

State records show that between January and June, Block racked up more than $8,000 on his state gas account, the most of any member of the state regulatory body. Irregularities include multiple purchases on the same day, including seven times within less than half an hour. Those factors and the varying types of fuels purchased led state investigators to conclude he bought fuel for multiple vehicles.

In addition, outside agencies are looking at questionable spending on gas-card accounts belonging to two state Public Regulation Commission employees who have said documented spending wasn't theirs.

Meanwhile, Block and his father, former state Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block Sr., still face an indictment on charges related to use of public campaign funds.

If that weren't enough, Block Jr. has been identified by Santa Fe police as a suspect in a stolen-vehicle investigation after he took a car on a test-drive and for weeks didn't return the car or respond to efforts by the car dealer to contact him.

Despite the numerous challenges, Block Jr. remains steadfast that he will serve out his term. There have been numerous calls for his resignation, and some state lawmakers have talked openly about trying to start an impeachment process that ultimately could push him from office.

Cost estimates for such a process in the Legislature have varied widely, from $250,000 to $1 million. It's unclear how those estimates were calculated. But the last time the Legislature began the process of impeaching an elected state official, in the fall of 2005, it cost $128,000, according to the Legislative Council Service.

The House of Representatives impaneled a subcommittee to investigate corruption allegations against then-State Treasurer Robert Vigil. That committee hired a staff lawyer, former Supreme Court Justice Paul Kennedy, and was considering specific charges against Vigil when the treasurer decided to resign. Vigil later was convicted and sentenced to federal prison time.

Just over $87,000 of the $128,000 went to pay Kennedy for his services and costs he had accrued, such as travel and copying, John Yeager of the Legislative Council Service said Wednesday.

Another $16,000 was paid to then-University of New Mexico law professor Michael Browde, who advised state lawmakers on the impeachment process.

Experts contracted by the panel earned around $10,800, while three temporary legislative staffers were paid $6,400, Yeager said. State lawmakers filed roughly $7,500 for per diem and travel, he added.

It is unclear how much a full-blown impeachment process against Vigil would have cost.

Had the panel approved the impeachment articles in Vigil's case, the full House of Representatives would have had to vote on and approve the articles of impeachment to trigger a trial in the Senate. Members in the Senate would then have had to hear evidence and decide whether to take a vote to convict Vigil of the charges in the impeachment articles.

An official is removed by impeachment if the Senate votes to convict him or her.

Contact Trip Jennings at 986-3050 or at tjennings@sfnewmexican.com.