HAMMOND | A former Valparaiso businessman avoided prison time Wednesday during his sentencing for federal tax crimes.

Thomas Pierzchala, 67, former owner of Illiana Display Co. in Valparaiso, was sentenced Wednesday in Hammond federal court to 10 months of home confinement with electronic monitoring, two years probation and a $3,000 fine for inflating his business expenses to cut his taxable income on his 2002 return, said Maria Suarez, spokeswoman for the IRS Chicago office.

Judge James Moody sentenced Pierzchala, who pleaded guilty in August to one count of filing a false return. Pierzchala could have been sentenced to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

When he filed the fraudulent return, Pierzchala was trying to save money for retirement from the commercial equipment company, according to a pre-sentence memo filed in court by his lawyer, Morris Sunkel. Pierzchala, who has moved to Arizona, is in poor health, according to the memo.