TEMECULA -- A complaint alleging conflicts of interest against Temecula City Councilman Jeff Comerchero has been filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission.

The complaint filed by Volker Lutz, the president of the citizens' group Rescue Temecula, was received by the commission Sept. 22, according to a copy of the complaint.

The allegations center on a December 2003 vote cast by Comerchero, then a consultant for the Rancon Group, in which multiple pieces of land in Old Town Temecula -- where the new city hall is being built -- were bought by the city. Agents with Rancon Real Estate represented the sellers.

Lutz contends the Rancon Group was and is tied to Rancon Real Estate. Hence, Lutz alleges Comerchero violated Section 87200 of the Government Code that states council members, when facing a vote on a project in which they have a financial interest, must publicly identify their interest and leave the room.

At that meeting, Comerchero moved to approve the staff recommendation to enter into sale agreements for the Rancon Real Estate property in Old Town. The motion was seconded by Councilman Ron Roberts and the four council members present voted to approve the purchase, according to minutes of the meeting.

Comerchero maintains there was no violation. He contends the Rancon Group, of which he is now president, has no financial ties to Rancon Real Estate.

"I have no concern about this allegation other than it is not pleasant," he said. "The situation is unfortunate, as anyone can file a complaint and you have to defend it, for which I will hire an attorney at my expense. I am very comfortable with the truth."

Comerchero, who has served on the City Council since 1997, began working as a project manager for the Rancon Group in 2002, overseeing its Winchester Hills development in Menifee Valley.

Shortly after the Old Town land deal was approved by the council, Comerchero was named president and chief executive officer for the Rancon Group in February 2004.

Comerchero contends the claim against him is politically based.

"This is election motivated -- even though I am not a candidate," he said. "I am a target."

Within the complaint, City Council members Mike Naggar, Maryann Edwards and "Donald Robert," presumably meaning Councilman Ron Roberts, were named as potential witnesses. Although Edwards is named as a potential witness, she was not yet elected to the council at the time of the 2003 vote. Naggar, as well as fellow Councilman Chuck Washington, is seeking another term during the Nov. 4 election.

Comerchero said he sought and continues to rely on the counsel of City Attorney Peter Thorson to determine how to proceed with votes that may appear to present a conflict of interest.

"These matters are not judged on perception; they are judged by the law," Comerchero said. "The city attorney has determined there was no conflict of interest. I am not employed by Rancon Real Estate. That corporation has its own president, Mike Diaz."

Comerchero said the Rancon Group is a collection of separate limited liability companies that pay him a fee for his work. He said the only thing the group and the real estate corporation have in common is that they share the name Rancon and the oversight of Daniel Stephenson, who is the founder of both.

"What complicates the issue is that there is no Rancon Group. It's just a name," he said.

But Lutz and his group allege Rancon Group and Rancon Real Estate aren't distinct entities.

Rescue Temecula, which has not incorporated as a nonprofit group, is described on its Web site as a group of citizens whose goal is to ensure the city government represents the residents without inappropriate influence from commercial interests.

In the complaint, Lutz contends there is shared management and control between the business entities, as Stephenson is the chairman of the Rancon Group and Rancon Real Estate Corp. Lutz states that when the Rancon Real Estate Corp. incorporated in 1985, the agent for service of process was Stephenson, with the same address as the Rancon Group headquarters -- which at the time was located in Temecula.

Lutz states that the new Rancon Group headquarters -- 41391 Kalmia St. in Murrieta -- also house Rancon Real Estate, which occupies the first floor.

Among the alleged violations are that Comerchero had a direct or indirect investment worth $2,000 or more in the Rancon Group, and that prior to the questioned 2003 council vote, he had an economic interest in the Rancon Group that exceeded $500.

In the complaint, Lutz states that, "Rescue Temecula maintains that Councilman Comerchero cannot serve two masters at that same time. Councilman Comerchero cannot escape liability for a conflict of interest violation by claiming he relied on the City Attorney's representation as a legal defense. We maintain Councilman Comerchero cannot escape (a) conflict of interest violation by an attorney whose service is at his pleasure."

Lutz could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Roman Porter, executive director of the commission's enforcement division, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. In a written correspondence, dated Sept. 24, he stated that no determination has been made about the allegations in the complaint.

Contact staff writer Nicole Sack at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or nsack@californian.com.

CORRECTION: Thrust of FPPC complaint misstated

An article in Thursday's edition of The Californian about a conflict-of-interest complaint regarding a 2003 vote by Temecula Councilman Jeff Comerchero misstated what is at the heart of the complaint. The complaint was filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission and alleges that the vote was improper because of Comerchero's connections with The Rancon Group, because an agent from Rancon Real Estate represented the sellers of the land the council voted to buy. Also, while the complaint lists Councilwoman Maryann Edwards as a potential witness to Comerchero's vote, Edwards was not on the council at that time. She was not elected until 2005.

We apologize.