Attorney General Gary King and a state agency can take charge of legal efforts to recover money for New Mexico for some investment deals allegedly influenced by political considerations, a state court ruled Wednesday.

District Judge Stephen Pfeffer also dismissed portions of a whistleblower's lawsuit involving allegations of a pay-to-play scheme in investment deals by the State Investment Council, which oversees permanent funds worth more than $15 billion. The judge's ruling allows the council and the attorney general to handle those legal claims.

The lawsuit by Frank Foy, a former chief investment officer of the state's educational pension fund, will continue on other allegations, including that the state lost money on bad investments by the Educational Retirement Board and some by the council and that politics influenced some of the pension's fund investments.

The Investment Council filed a lawsuit in May claiming that its former top manager and a financial advisory firm improperly steered New Mexico investments to political supporters of former Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson. More than a dozen other defendants were named, including third-party placement agents who earned millions of dollars in fees on investment deals.

Former State Investment Officer Gary Bland has said the allegations are "absurd" and he was not involved in any wrongdoing.