Former San Miguel County Clerk Paul Maez received immunity in the state investigations into whether Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block embezzled public funds, court documents filed Aug. 4 reveal.

Maez has been central in the case against Block after Maez admitted that Block had paid his country-western band Wyld Country $2,500 in public campaign funds for a concert event that never actually happened. SFR recently reported that Maez had accepted another $1,700 for a Wyld Country performance, which he later refunded to Block. Maez, who was paid several hundred dollars by Block for "campaign coordination," was also the top elections official for the only county that Block carried in the six-way Democratic primary.

The Aug. 4 "certificate of compliance" filed by the Attorney General's office states that it handed Maez' "application and order of immunity" over to defense attorneys

Block and his father, former PRC Commissioner Jerome Block Sr, face criminal charges related to violations of election law, tampering with evidence and conspiracy.

On Sept 4, the Blocks' counsel will argue in court for the clerk to the release of grand jury recordings from Oct 30, 2008 and Jan 8, 2009.

For more on the Block case, check out SFR's Blockgate archive.