AMITE — Parish Council-man Michael Petitto pleaded not guilty Thursday to two counts of malfeasance in office.

Petitto, 44, of 12701 Spitale Road, Amite, entered the plea before Judge Ray Chutz with his attorney, Gary Jordan, present.

Chutz assigned the case to the court’s Division B and set May 27 for motions.

Assistant District Attorney Richard Schwartz represented the state.

Petitto was indicted by a parish grand jury on Dec. 7 for malfeasance. The indictment is the apparent result of a land issue involving Petitto’s brother, Salvador S. Petitto Sr. of Monroe, in which Michael Petitto attempted to secure lot size variances and construction tax credits through the parish council. Michael Petitto did not reveal to the council at the time that his brother was involved with the issue.

The property, south of the Amite town limits off U.S. 51, was to be developed as a moderate income subdivision, The Grove, by Pine Grove Subdivi-sion of Monroe, the developer.

In March 2006, Petitto authored a resolution approved by the parish council to support federal tax credits for the developer, although at that time the developers did not own the property. The day before the tax credit resolution was approved, papers were drawn up giving Petitto’s brother the exclusive option to buy the property.

Michael Petitto clams he knew nothing of his brother’s involvement and was simply trying to help promote moderate priced housing in the district.

Salvadore Petitto bought the 18-acre tract on Oct. 30, 2006, for $377,160. That same day, he sold it to Pine Grove Subdivision of Monroe for $577,000.

Then, on Jan. 22, 2007, Michael Petitto introduced an ordinance to the parish council to allow for a variance to the required lot sizes in the proposed subdivision. The parish required lot sizes of a minimum 9,600 square feet. Petitto’s proposed variance was to 8,400 sq. ft. He proposed the ordinance directly to the council, rather than sending it first to the parish planning commission, the normal procedure.

Eight days later, Petitto paid off the $45,050 mortgage on his home, according to court records. He claimed the money to pay the mortgage came from his business, Spitale’s Restaurant, and other people. Pine Grove Subdivision corporate manager Mark Turrentine said the company paid no fees to Petitto.

Petitto claims parish regulations allowed for the smaller lot sizes at the time Pine Grove Subdivision applied for the tax credits. Making the company change plans after the larger lot sizes were approved would have cost $40,000 to $50,000, he claimed in a July interview with the Daily Star.