Former mayor ordered to report to prison

? A federal judge on Thursday rejected former Mayor Bill Campbell’s request to remain free pending appeal of his tax evasion conviction and ordered him to start serving his 2 1/2-year prison sentence.

Campbell “has not shown the existence of a substantial question likely to result in reversal, a new trial, or a reduction in his sentence,” District Judge Richard W. Story wrote.

The judge’s deputy, Rick Goss, said Campbell has until Aug. 21 to report to federal prison, though the location has not yet been determined.

Campbell was convicted of the charge in March. He was acquitted of federal bribery and racketeering charges stemming from accusations that he lined his pockets with payoffs from city contractors as the leader of Atlanta during the 1990s.

At his sentencing in June, he was fined $6,300 and ordered to pay $62,823 in back taxes.