COBLESKILL — Independent Tea Party Village Board candidate Robert La Pietra was arrested Monday on felony charges alleging he filed falsified nominating petitions and falsely swore to their accuracy, according to Schoharie County Sheriff John Bates Jr.

La Pietra pleaded innocent before Village Justice Richard Hamm when he was arraigned on 13 counts each of second-degree perjury and first-degree offering a false instrument for filing. Both charges are class E felonies.

La Pietra was charged following a three-week investigation into “numerous complaints regarding possible irregularities in the gathering of a candidate petition for the [November] election,” according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

The investigation, involving Cobleskill police and Schoharie County District Attorney James Sacket, led to alleged violations in the villages of Cobleskill, where La Pietra had his signature on the 13-page petition notarized, and in Schoharie, where they were filed Aug. 19 with the county Board of Elections, said Bates.

“[Investigators] received several complaints regarding people circulating petitions for La Pietra and telling people that it doesn’t really matter whether you live in the village [to sign],” Bates said.

La Pietra, 64, was led out of court in handcuffs Monday and briefly held by the Sheriff’s Department until he came up with the $5,000 cash bail, or $10,000 bond, demanded by Hamm.

After being released on bail Monday to await future court appearances, La Pietra denied any wrongdoing.

“I’m Cobleskill’s first political prisoner,” La Pietra said. “They’ll do anything to get me off the ballot.”

In setting bail, Hamm rejected the district attorney’s recommendation to release La Pietra without bail.

Over objections from La Pietra and his attorney, Edward Wildove, who said La Pietra had always shown up for previous court appearances, Hamm remanded La Pietra to jail until bail was paid because of “past experience in this court.”

“Mr. La Pietra appears when he feels like appearing,” Hamm said.

According to Bates, the criminal charges are separate from an ongoing village building codes case that claims the 784 E. Main St. address La Pietra gave as his residence on the petitions is not a legally permitted apartment.

The sheriff’s arrest announcement listed La Pietra’s address as Morris, N.Y.

La Pietra’s wife, Marjorie, said Monday she lives in Morris. Robert La Pietra said he lives in the Cobleskill apartment now owned by his son, Robert W. La Pietra, of Fair Lawn, N.J.

Pressed by Hamm for an address, La Pietra gave a Morris post office box for mail, and 784 E. Main St., Cobleskill as his residence.

Since his wife sold their Colonial Court Motel and Diner last year, La Pietra said, he spent the winter in Florida.

He insisted he’s lived in one of the Cobleskill apartments, “off and on, since May.” He said he shares the apartment with George Yancy, who manages the building.

“The issue right now is where I live,” La Pietra told The Daily Gazette. “I live in those [Cobleskill] apartments … I don’t live in Morris,” he said.

“I’m prepared to go to court and provide witnesses to show that,” La Pietra said.

Although the criminal charges appear to lend weight to claims by village Trustee Carol McGuire in petition challenges she filed Aug. 27 with the Schoharie County Board of Election, that is a separate matter, according to police and elections officials.

Since the last day to change independent village ballots was Aug. 27, according to county Deputy Election Commissioner Ellen Snowdon, it is likely La Pietra, McGuire and Linda Holmes will remain on the November ballot as candidates for the two trustee terms open.

Village residency is required to be a trustee.

County election commissioners did not act on McGuire’s challenge because of what officials said last week was her procedural failure to properly notify La Pietra.

According to McGuire’s objections on file with the Board of Elections, her allegations include claims that “two tenants who recently rented an apartment at 784 E. Main St.” had signed depositions “that Robert La Pietra was not a tenant in any one of the [three] apartments.”

La Pietra insisted he’s lived in one of the apartments, “off and on, since May.”

McGuire said she did not file a criminal complaint to police.

“If he’s broken the laws and I clearly think he has … regardless of what it is, he should be held accountable,” McGuire said.

“I think that Mr. La Pietra has gone over the line on legality for a long, long time,” McGuire said.