Prison sentence suspended for ex-LI town official

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals panel has temporarily suspended the start of a more than two-year prison sentence for a former Long Island town official who pleaded guilty to tax evasion.

Newsday reports the three-judge panel on Tuesday granted the temporary suspension for former Oyster Bay planning commissioner Frederick Ippolito.

Ippolito had been scheduled to begin serving the sentence on Oct. 28.

A federal judge blocked the start of that sentence until the appeals panel could rule on whether Ippolito should be free while he appeals his sentence.

The appeals panel didn't say Tuesday when it would issue that ruling.

Federal authorities say the 77-year-old Syosset resident deliberately failed to report more than $2 million in consulting fees between 2009 and 2013.