Public money spent on legal fees in an alleged pay-to-play case involving the State Investment Office and the Educational Retirement Board tops $778,000, records show.

Some of the costliest months came last fall. September payments included $16,567 to the Narvaez Law Firm for representing Bruce Malott, the resigned chairman of the Educational Retirement Board.

Of the six firms involved in the case since January 2009, the Narvaez firm has billed the state for the most money — $266,775.

Other big payments in recent months include $10,889 in September to the Simone, Roberts and Weiss firm for representing Dave Contarino, who was former Gov. Bill Richardson's chief of staff. That firm also got $9,005 in May of last year.

The accused men all have denied wrongdoing.

Frank Foy, a former Educational Retirement Board investment officer, alleges in the lawsuit that taxpayers were defrauded of $90 million by a host of financial companies and two state officials. Foy's lawyer recently said the total amount the state lost in investments with Vanderbilt Financial is about $243 million.

In addition to Malott, defendants include Gary Bland, the former State Investment Officer. The suit alleges Contarino instructed Bland and Malott to invest with Vanderbilt and associated companies in exchange for political contributions from the financial firm's employees.

A second lawsuit by Foy alleges that political considerations by Richardson's administration improperly influenced decisions on investment of state funds. The complaint, which lists 75 defendants, makes broad allegations that investment decisions by the State Investment Council and Educational Retirement Board were made to reward Richardson allies and political supporters.

The lawsuit alleges that in some cases the State Investment Council would invest "with those who were willing to 'pay to play,' and then Bland and Malott would press the (Educational Retirement Board) to make the same investments."

Lawmakers have blasted the state's spending on legal fees in the court fight and have looked for ways to curb them.

Gov. Susana Martinez is "committed to recovering public money lost through pay-to-play scandals without overburdening taxpayers," spokesman Scott Darnell said. "She has taken steps to limit the burden on taxpayers as the state seeks to recover those funds."

Darnell cited the governor's recent signature on a measure approved by the Legislature to give the State Investment Council the ability to enter into future contracts with law firms on a contingency fee basis instead of hourly rates.

"This will not only save taxpayer dollars in litigation costs, it will allow the State Investment Council to more effectively move forward in its pursuit to recover New Mexico's losses associated with the recent financial scandals," he said.

Records obtained by The New Mexican show two firms are representing the former governor's office. The Long, Pound and Komer firm has billed the state $16,269 to date in the case and the Walz and Associates firm has billed the state for $106,837.

The lawsuit was filed in July 2008 under the Fraud Against Taxpayers Act. The case, unsealed in January 2009, was filed in state District Court but later transferred to federal court.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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