KSFR Local
(2008-08-06)
The candidate for the northern New Mexico seat on the Public Regulation Commission has already faced questions about whether he had been truthful about his educational accomplishments. They also included questions about prior-arrest citations he apparently didn't fully disclose.
Court records show a set of allegations that have not come out publicly until now. They're reported in this week's Santa Fe Reporter newspaper. David Maas is the newspaper's investigative reporter and joins us. (His comments are in audio).
When we first learned of these allegations, KSFR once again tried to contact Jerome Block by phone for a comment, either on tape or not. But he has never responded to our phone calls. We learned from other reporters that Block does respond to emails, so we emailed him, asking for a comment.
The reply he sent KSFR was the same he sent the Santa Fe Reporter. Block admits the fact of the restraining order and that he was on the UNM campus at the time of the incident. He claims, however, he had never seen the young man before. Block also says he has never been affiliated with gangs and has never been exposed to one.
As for being able to contact block, before getting his email address, this reporter did try a number of times to reach Block by phone to get his side of several stories about him in the news. But no return call.
Then, we discovered on his own website a signature petition form set up when he was first gathering signatures to be put on the ballot. The form stated that Jerome Block Jr is a resident at a certain address in Santa Fe. We decided one stormy afternoon this week to pay a call at that residence. (Door-step conversation in audio)
The woman at the door did not identify herself, although Jerome Block wrote by email that she was his mother and that she was upset by the surprise visit -- to the address that Jerome Block Jr. represents as the address where he resides. © Copyright 2013, KSFR
