Thirty-seven people or companies are listed as defendants in the alleged pay-to-play scheme at the heart of a state District Court lawsuit unsealed Wednesday.

In addition to the 37 defendants, the suit lists 50 John Does, whose identities are not revealed.

Here are the alleged key players:

State Investment Officer Gary Bland: Appointed by Gov. Bill Richardson and confirmed by the state Senate in 2003, Bland is a former vice president of trust investments at Boeing Co., where he worked for 28 years. He oversees the operations of the State Investment Office and manages the state's permanent funds. He's a member of the New Mexico Finance Authority. Bland earns more than $300,000 in his state job.

Bruce Malott: Since 1999, Malott has served on the Educational Retirement Board and has been chairman since 2004. He also is a governor's appointee to the New Mexico Health Care Retiree Authority. He is the managing principal of Meyners and Co., an Albuquerque accounting firm also named as a defendant. Malott currently is listed as the treasurer of the Committee to Renew The University of New Mexico Hospital Mil Levy and the Citizens for ABQ Government, according to the Secretary of State's Office Web site.

Vanderbilt Capital Advisors, Vanderbilt Financial LLC and Vanderbilt Financial Trust: Vanderbilt, a Chicago-based company, is a subsidiary of Pioneer Investments of Boston, which is owned by Unicredito Italiana, a large European bank.

Pioneer Investment Management is named in the suit as well as Unicredito.

Other defendants include Citigroup, UBS and JPMorgan Chase.

Plaintiffs: Frank and Suzanne Foy, who say they are bringing the suit on behalf of taxpayers. Frank Foy is a former chief investment officer at the Education Retirement Board who worked there from 1996 to 2007. According to information released with the lawsuit Wednesday by lawyer Victor Marshall, Foy "instituted a strict policy against political contributions by people doing business with the ERB" and opposed the state's investment in Vanderbilt.

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