May 4—BUFFALO — The sentencing of former Falls businessman and current newspaper publisher Frank Parlato has been delayed again.

This time it's because federal prosecutors have asked a judge for more time to file motions arguing against Parlato's request to receive sentence that doesn't include prison time. The request is contained in a sentencing memorandum filed by Parlato's defense team.

It's the latest postponement stemming from a sometimes sharp battle between federal prosecutors and Parlato's defense team over what is an appropriate sentence for a violation of Internal Revenue Service regulations. The lawyers have also battled over the contents of a pre-sentencing report, prepared by the United States Office of Probation and Pre-trial Services, that was prepared to guide U.S. District Court Judge Richard Arcara in determining his sentence for Parlato.

Parlato pleaded guilty 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.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, Parlato faces a potential sentence from Arcara 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. The 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."

Parlato's defense, in their sentencing memorandum, asked Arcara for a "non-guidelines sentence." Specifically, they asked that Parlato be placed on federal probation, with no time behind bars.

At the time of his plea hearing, Arcara told Parlato he would consider a non-guidelines sentence.

"But don't have any false impression that I'll do it," the judge told him.

Neither Parlato's defense team nor the federal prosecutors have objected to the multiple postponements of sentencing.

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 Repor, but that filing is also sealed and not available for review.