Jerome Block Sr. said Wednesday that he hopes a golf tournament fundraiser next week in Pojoaque can help him put at least a dent in legal bills stemming from the elections-related criminal case pending against him and his son.

Block, a 61-year-old former member of state regulatory bodies, said he has paid $65,000 in legal fees since his indictment earlier this year.

"What we raise at the fundraiser won't cover even a fraction of the costs," he said Wednesday.

Block and his son, Jerome Block Jr., 31, were indicted in April on election-related charges after Block Jr. was elected last fall to the state Public Regulation Commission.

The younger Block, a Democrat, represents a district that includes Santa Fe on the commission that regulates utilities, insurance and other industries.

Charges against the younger Block include two counts of embezzlement of over $500 but not more than $2,500. Charges against both Blocks include election-code violations, conspiracy to commit a violation of the elections code, tampering with evidence and conspiracy to commit tampering with evidence.

Block Sr. has said he helped his son during the campaign, but contends he did nothing wrong.

He said he had no idea his bills would be so high.

Maurice Bonal, a former Santa Fe city councilor and chairman of the 400th Anniversary Committee, is the director of the fundraising event. The golf tournament takes place next Thursday at the Towa Golf Resort in Pojoaque.

In an e-mail obtained by political blogger Heath Haussamen, Bonal wrote:

"Folks: with this warm weather that is now upon us, it is time to go out and hit some golf balls."

Block Sr. said the event is open to "anyone that wants to come."

The legal bills are just for Block Sr.'s defense and don't include those of his son. Block Sr. said he's got another payment to his lawyers due in July.

Bonal, a friend of Block Sr., is listed on the Secretary of State's Office Web site as a registered lobbyist for the Nambé Pueblo Tribe of Tewa Indians, the Santa Fe 400th Anniversary Inc., and SFLL Inc. A 2008 New Mexican story says that company owns retail liquor licenses.

During the campaign, for which Block Jr. got more than $101,000 in taxpayer money to run for office, Block Jr. admitted to lying about a $2,500 expenditure, but it's unclear if that is the same money referenced in the indictment. He at first said he gave the $2,500 in public funds to San Miguel County Clerk Paul Maez's band, Wyld Country, to perform at a May rally. But he later changed his story after two band members said no such performance occurred. In an e-mail exchange with Las Vegas Optic reporter David Giuliani, Block Jr. admitted lying.

Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog at www.greenchilechatter.com.