Judge grants second postponement of Parlato sentencing

Rick Pfeiffer -, Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
·2 min read

Dec. 22—BUFFALO — A federal court judge has granted another delay in the sentencing of former Falls businessman and current newspaper publisher Frank Parlato.

The postponement stems from a continuing battle between federal prosecutors and Parlato's defense team over the contents of a pre-sentencing report prepared by the United States Office of Probation and Pre-trial Services. The report is intended to guide U.S. District Court Judge Richard Arcara in determining an appropriate sentence for Parlato.

Parlato had been scheduled to be sentenced this morning for his guilty plea, in August, to a single count of willful failure to file returns involving cash transactions of more than $10,000. The charge is an IRS-related felony.

The plea to the felony count means Parlato faces a potential sentence from Arcara, under federal sentencing guidelines, of 24 to 30 months behind bars, a fine of $10,000 to $25,000 and a period of supervised release of between 1 to 3 years. Federal prosecutors, as part of their plea agreement with Parlato, have said they will not seek a prison term of more than 24 months.

Arcara, at the time of Parlato's plea, told him, "I'm not bound by (the sentencing guidelines), but I'm certainly going to consider them." Under the plea agreement, Parlato's defense is also permitted to ask the judge for a "non-guidelines sentence", which might include no prison time.

Arcara told Parlato he would consider such a request, "But don't have any false impression that I'll do it."

In an affidavit, filed by Parlato's defense attorneys on Dec. 15, they ask for a 45 day adjournment of the sentencing because "more work needs to be done relative to defendant's sentence memorandum." Arcara granted the request, setting a new sentencing date of March 7.

Federal prosecutors did not object to the postponement.

An initial Pre-sentence Investigation Report was filed with the court on Oct. 24. A revised report was filed on Dec. 13, after Parlato's attorneys raised objections.

Although both reports are on file with the district court clerk, they are sealed and not available for review by the public or reporters. The court docket also shows that Parlato's defense has filed an "Objection to Pre-sentence Investigation Report"., but that filing is also sealed and not available for review.