The short, troubled political career of Jerome Block Jr. ended Wednesday as he pleaded guilty to multiple felonies and agreed to resign from the state Public Regulation Commission and never again seek elected office.

The 34-year-old La Puebla resident was expressionless through a court hearing in Santa Fe. Other than answering brief questions from District Judge Michael Vigil, he made no statement or apology after admitting to fraudulent use of a state-issued gasoline card, embezzlement, identity theft and other charges.

Although he potentially faces up to 4 1/2 years in prison as part of a deal with the state Attorney General's Office, he can avoid serving time behind bars if he completes a drug court program and meets other requirements, including repaying the state for all improper spending on state charge cards.

Block has admitted he has a problem with addiction to prescription drugs.

He also is pleading guilty to three felony charges for violating campaign-finance laws and embezzling public funds during his 2008 campaign. He will appear in court later on that part of the plea arrangement because indictments against Block in the election-laws case currently are on appeal. The plea deal ends that appeal, and the case will be sent back to the District Court.

The Democrat, who initially rejected bipartisan calls for him to step down, recently has been the subject of an impeachment investigation by the New Mexico Legislature, which set aside $1 million for potential costs of removing him from office.

However, his lawyer, Cammie Nichols, said Wednesday that Block will send a letter "in the next few days" resigning from his $90,000-a-year elected post on the Public Regulation Commission, which oversees utilities, insurance and other industries in the state.

He will be the second member of the commission to resign in a little more than a year because of a felony conviction. Commissioner Carol Sloan of Gallup stepped down in April 2010 after a conviction for battery.

In addition to credit-card fraud for his illegal charges on a state gasoline card, the identity-theft count involved falsely using a state credit card issued to another PRC employee.

He pleaded no contest to a charge of embezzlement for taking a car from a Santa Fe auto dealer for a test-drive in July and never returning it.

Block's father, Jerome Block Sr., a former member of the Public Regulation Commission, also was charged in the election fraud case. However, prosecutors told the judge Wednesday that the charges against the elder Block will be dropped because his son took responsibility for falsifying a campaign-finance report.

Rocky campaign

Block Jr. made his first bid for public office with his 2008 campaign for the commission seat then held by Ben Ray Luján, who didn't seek re-election in order to make his successful run for Congress.

Block Jr., who at the time was working as a title-insurance sales manager, surprised many when he squeaked out a 23 percent plurality in a crowded Democratic Party primary race for the commission in District 3, which includes Santa Fe and much of north-central and northeastern New Mexico. Some speculated that name recognition — thanks to his father's years on the Public Regulation Commission, state Corporation Commission and Santa Fe County Commission — pulled the junior Block through.

His detractors noted that Block's campaign signs didn't include "Jr." after his name.

But soon after his primary victory, the younger Block began making headlines. A 1998 drunken-driving charge came to light, as did a charge of disorderly conduct.

Court records show Block beat his 1998 DWI citation by delaying court hearings until the six-month period for prosecution had passed.

When asked about his record prior to the party primary, Block admitted to the DWI but didn't mention the disorderly-conduct case. Asked after the primary, Block said he'd forgotten about that case.

He also never mentioned in pre-primary interviews a later arrest and conviction for riding with a drunken driver. Block also gave misleading information in pre-primary interviews about his educational background.

Block had said he attended classes at New Mexico State University but never graduated. But, he said, he went on to earn "the equivalent of an associate's degree" from "the Anderson School of Management at The University of New Mexico." It turned out he had the name of the school wrong, and that the Western States School of Banking, which once was associated with The Robert O. Anderson School of Management, doesn't offer academic credit or any "degree."

While these revelations raised eyebrows and caused some area Democrats to jump ship on his candidacy and instead support Green Party challenger Rick Lass, the real damage occurred later in the campaign. Block, who received public funds for his campaign, reported that he'd spent $2,500 for a band called Wyld Country to play at a San Miguel County rally in May.

However, members of that band told reporters that they never played at any Block rally and never were paid. Block had given the money to the band leader, Paul Maez, who happened to be San Miguel County's clerk, responsible for running elections in that county.

After initially insisting to reporters there actually had been a rally with Maez's band, Block later acknowledged he had lied.

Block had to pay a total of $21,700 in fines and reimbursements. And Attorney General Gary King began an investigation that eventually led to indictments.

Nonetheless, in the November 2008 general election, Block defeated Lass. There was no Republican candidate.

Four months after he took office, the attorney general announced that Block Jr. had been indicted on eight felony counts in the public-campaign-funds case. His father was indicted on four charges. The elder Block, who prepared his son's campaign-finance reports, was charged with helping his son commit the violations.

Those cases dragged through the courts for more than two years. Judge Vigil in February 2010 dropped many of the charges, ruling that the fact that Block Jr. had paid a substantial fine for the violation violated the double jeopardy doctrine.

However, the state Court of Appeals unanimously overturned Vigil's ruling in August. Vigil said Wednesday that he expects to formally adjudicate the election code charges within 10 days. Five of the eight counts were dropped in the plea deal.

Troubles compounded

By the end of August this year, Block Jr. was in even more trouble.

Records showed that he made numerous transactions on state accounts, sometimes only minutes apart, at gasoline stations and convenience stores. Expenses totaled about $7,000 for the first six months of the year, according to Public Regulation Commission records.

Some of his fuel purchases exceeded the tank capacity of his state vehicle, according to an affidavit for a search warrant by an investigator for the attorney general. And, the document said, he charged nonfuel items like chimichangas, cigarettes and Gatorade on the state card.

Block Jr. this summer had to give up using a state-owned vehicle he had been driving after commission staff learned that his driver's license was suspended in 2010 for failure to appear in Santa Fe Municipal Court on a reckless-driving citation.

In the midst of this, Santa Fe police announced they were investigating Block Jr. in connection with a 2006 Honda Accord he took from a Santa Fe dealer in July, supposedly to have it inspected by a mechanic. After it was reported stolen, police located the vehicle downtown in August.

All of his fellow commissioners, along with state Democratic Party Chairman Javier Gonzales and Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, called on him to resign. But it wasn't until Wednesday's court appearance that it became certain he would.

If Block Jr. successfully completes a drug court program providing treatment, random drug testing and supervision, and complies with other terms of his plea agreement, he's eligible for a "conditional dismissal" of his charges. That would leave him with no felony convictions, but a public record of the charges against him and the court proceedings would remain. That means someone doing a background check could see that charges were filed and later dismissed.

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