Norristown- To his Chester County neighbors, Thomas C. Daley was a loner who kept his five-acre lot immaculate, decorating lavishly for Halloween and Christmas.

To Montgomery County investigators, he was a law-breaking Norristown landlord so obsessed with spying on his female tenants that he spent hours watching surreptitious videos each day.

Yesterday, police charged Daley, 45, of Phoenixville, with multiple new offenses stemming from his use of 20 clandestine cameras at four rental units he owns in the 1400 block of Green Valley Road, Norristown. He was also charged with burglary and tampering with evidence because he removed some surveillance equipment after realizing he was under investigation, the criminal complaint said.

On Friday, Daley was charged with numerous counts of invasion of privacy and wiretap violations for the dozen hidden cameras he maintained in a four-unit building in the 500 block of Stanbridge Street.

Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said Daley, who owns three four-unit apartment buildings, admitted spying on female tenants for 20 years, hiding cameras in bedrooms, bathrooms, and living rooms. She said police believe Daley viewed but did not share the material.

Investigators said they had trouble locating some of the equipment even after Daley told them where to look because it was so unobtrusive, hidden behind screws in a towel bar, a doorbell, or a light fixture. Some cameras were activated by light switches, and all could be accessed on Daley’s home computer, the complaint said.

The stucco apartment building on Stanbridge Street – where Daley’s cameras were allegedly first discovered – sits mid-block on a litter-strewn street of brick row houses. Former tenants said the apartments were well-maintained inside, especially considering the cheap rent.

A Thursday posting on both the Craigslist and Kijiji online advertising services says a “large studio apt. close to everything” in the building is available for $395 a month. The listing says landlord “Tom D.” would show the apartment by appointment and suggests it is “suitable for a student.”

The low rent and online advertising helped Daley target younger tenants, according to what police told one former tenant, who now wonders if she was a victim.

Tina Colonese was in her early 20s when she lived in the Stanbridge building from 2005 to 2006, paying $400 a month for a studio. She said yesterday that the “devastating” news of the alleged spying in her former building has her “paranoid” about her new apartment, which she just moved into this month.

“It just tears you apart,” said Colonese. “You search every little thing, every nook and cranny. You hate to be that way, because you don’t want to believe that about everyone, but you can’t help it.”

Investigators told Colonese they have vast quantities of videos, including DVDs, VHS tapes and files stored on hard drives, to examine before they know if she was spied on, though they suspect it.

“They’re saying it’s just a matter of time,” Colonese said, “because I did live there for a year.”

Online databases indicate the Stanbridge apartments have had dozens of tenants in the last 10 years alone.

Yesterday, detectives said Daley appeared remorseful and was cooperative, reviewing videos to assist in identifying possible victims.

Another couple, who moved into the Stanbridge building as newlyweds in 2004 and stayed there a year, asked that their names not be used but said police have said they may turn up on Daley’s recordings. Their rent for a one bedroom-apartment, the husband said, was “really, really cheap”: $495 a month for the use of the entire second floor.

The couple came away with differing opinions of Daley.

“I thought he was an all right guy,” the husband said. “My wife always felt that he was creepy and never really wanted to talk to him.”

Neighbors in Daley’s East Pikeland Township neighborhood outside of Phoenixville said Daley, who kept to himself, was known for elaborate seasonal decor at his well-manicured ranch home and an outdoor vegetable and flower stand he ran down the street.

At the stand, a sign next to an honor box, some empty shelves, and a half-dozen pumpkins alerts visitors that the stand has audio and video surveillance.

Tom Murdock said he’s lived down the block from Daley for 35 years.

“You never saw any visitors,” said Murdock, adding that occasionally he saw Daley removing litter from the street. “We’re all totally shocked.”

One neighbor who was not stunned by the news declined to be identified. He said he saw Daley installing cameras around the outside of his property, hiding them behind “forest faces,” the plastic eyes, ears and noses that people sometimes attach to tree trunks.

Daley came to the attention of police on Sept. 18 when a distraught female tenant from Stanbridge Street told officers her boyfriend was changing a lightbulb in the apartment’s bathroom and found a camera hidden behind the mirror, the criminal complaint said.

“It changes your life,” said Colonese, Daley’s former tenant. “Emotionally, you’re violated. Lack of trust for people in general, any future living arrangements. Paranoid.”