In 2007, a federal judge had overturned the mail-fraud and conspiracy conviction of Thomas Carbo, declaring that no "rational" jury should have convicted the paving contractor.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit disagreed, ordering the conviction reinstated and telling the judge to sentence Carbo, who faced 24 to 30 months in prison.

Carbo, 42, is already serving a 20-month sentence on a subsequent tax-evasion conviction.

Robert J. Donatoni, Carbo's attorney, said he was disappointed in the ruling. He said he would notify Carbo and his family about the decision "so that we can review and discuss the options we have."

Carbo was found guilty on two counts of honest-services mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud involving his relationship with former Norristown Borough Administrator Anthony Biondi.

According to the appellate court's recitation of facts in the case, Biondi had a side job renting a Mack truck to contractors, including Carbo.

Carbo later bought the truck from Biondi. Biondi failed to disclose that relationship when he awarded borough work to Carbo's company.

Carbo paid Biondi in cash. He recorded Biondi in his business records under a code name and kept the payments secret from his employees.

In a secretly recorded conversation with a government witness, Carbo denied making improper payments to Biondi in exchange for borough work but said he needed to keep the relationship secret to avoid attracting attention.

The appeals court ruled that U.S. District Judge Mary McLaughlin had imposed too high a standard of proof on the prosecution.

"While it may be that Carbo did not know the details of Biondi's reporting requirements under state law, the jury could have reasonably inferred that he did know that he was assisting Biondi to violate a legal duty to avoid undisclosed conflicts of interest," the appeals court ruled.

Biondi pleaded guilty in 2006 to corruption and tax evasion and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.