A former Pittsburgh mayoral candidate and retired police officer is facing charges after police said he threatened a man with a shotgun.

Anthony “Tony” Moreno, 54, the Republican nominee for mayor in 2021, called Pittsburgh police Monday to report that a man was trying to remove dogs from a McClure Avenue residence in Brighton Heights and was not allowed to do so. Moreno is a retired Pittsburgh police officer.

Police said Moreno yelled at the man trying to remove the dogs, “If you leave, I will shoot your tires out.”

The man said Moreno pointed a black, pump-action shotgun with a black strap at him, according to a complaint filed against Moreno. Moreno told police he did not do that, the complaint said.

Pittsburgh police officers on Friday served a search warrant at 3939 McClure Ave. to remove as many as 10 to 15 dogs that they said were being neglected inside, the complaint said. Moreno told responding officers Monday that he thought the man was part of an animal cruelty investigation and is not allowed access to the dogs in the home.

Moreno was not available for comment Tuesday. He told Tribune-Review news partner WPXI that the allegations are false.

“I didn’t do what they said I did,” Moreno told the news channel. “I didn’t commit a crime and the real story is there are dying animals still in this house.”

He is charged with simple assault and harassment. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 30.

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After finishing third in a five-way race for the Democratic nomination for mayor in the 2021 primary, Moreno ran in the November election as a Republican and finished a distant second to Democrat Ed Gainey.

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