CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – An American fugitive living in Italy slipped past a costume-wearing ex-convict Monday to become the first to file as an official candidate in the 2008 New Hampshire presidential primary.

Jack Shepard’s courier package from Rome beat Robert Haines’ hand-delivered, incomplete petitions and $1,000 credit check to be the first accepted by the secretary of state.

Shepard listed St. Paul, Minn., as his permanent address and an address in Rome as his temporary home. A Republican, he ran for Senate in 2002 and for Congress in Minnesota’s 4th District in 2004 and 2006. Authorities have said he was convicted of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in 1979 and became a fugitive after failing to comply with the terms of his parole.

Haines, a long-shot Republican candidate, served time in the New Hampshire state prison for pulling a gun on a man while campaigning in the 1996 primary. By the end of the day, he was listed on the secretary of state’s Web site as an official candidate.

He arrived early to the Statehouse to make sure he would be the first in line on the first day of the three-week filing period. It took more than 90 minutes for him to turn in his papers, as he embarked first on an erratic one-man show that included five costume changes, multiple characters and cursing.

In a fur coat and sunglasses, Haines first announced himself as “Rory Calhoun.” Stripping through layers of clothing – navy blue parka with American patches, a red-white-and-blue windbreaker, and several belts and hats, he delivered a winding, combative speech as Secretary of State William Gardner, his staff, and several reporters looked on.