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Stan "Pampy" Barre

NEW ORLEANS -- A federal judge has denied a request to delay the date restaurant owner Stan "Pampy" Barre begins his prison term for his role in a corruption case.

Barre is scheduled to report to prison October 7 and begin serving a five-year sentence for his role in a conspiracy to skim money from a City Hall contract.

Barre, a friend of former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial, had asked to delay his reporting date until January 6 so he could try to resolve a legal dispute over a restaurant he operated at Louis Armstrong International Airport.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in his ruling Tuesday, however, noted that he had given Barre three months to deal with his business affairs from July 9 -- the day he was sentenced. He also said that Barre is no longer a party to the contract dispute because he had transferred the business interests to his wife.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)