The Village of Cobleskill won the latest round in its battle with Bob LaPietra over his East Main Street apartments.
Judge Eugene Devine ordered Mr. LaPietra to vacate the apartments at 748 East Main in State Supreme Court Monday.
When he filed nominating petitions to run for village trustee, Mr. LaPietra maintained that one of the apartments was his residence. How Judge Devine’s order affects Mr. LaPietra’s candidacy is unclear.
Village Attorney Meredith Savitt said that Judge Devine ordered Mr. LaPietra to evict tenants from the three apartments.
In addition, he must remove kitchen equipment from the apartments, she said.
He also must pay $2,000 for not complying with the last court order, Ms. Savitt said.
Cobleskill Codes Enforcement Officer Mike Piccolo said the case has been in limbo for nearly two years.
“He’s finally being brought into compliance,” Mr. Piccolo said. “When he built them, they were illegal, there was no zoning for them, no engineering plans.”
Village officials later filed an action to prevent Mr. LaPietra from putting the apartments to residential use.
Ms. Savitt noted that technically, the case isn’t finished. Mr. LaPietra must appear before Judge Devine September 29 to demonstrate that the work has been done and to pay the $2,000.