The Press-Enterprise is reporting on search warrant documents that show a Lake Elsinore businessman formed a committee to recall a city councilman in an attempt to protect his business from further city sanctions.

The newspaper reports: Councilman Thomas Buckley had repeatedly voted to suspend the conditional-use permit for Trevi Entertainment Center, owned by Michel Knight, and had been vocal about code violations there.

…  Documents released (read here) in February revealed that Riverside County district attorney’s investigators believed Knight was the “true source” of the largest reported contribution in the recall effort, even though he was not listed in campaign finance reports.

The pages released Wednesday go further. They show that investigators suspected Knight and Enelida Caron, a former Trevi employee and the treasurer of the Committee to Recall Thomas Buckley, of committing several felonies, including conspiracy to conceal Knight’s involvement in the recall effort by submitting false campaign documents and perjury.

Neither Knight nor Caron has been charged in the case.

Read the full story here on the Press-Enterprise Web site.