MILWAUKEE (WTAQ) - A Milwaukee man was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison Monday, for lying to investigators who were looking into a fire that destroyed the city’s iconic Pizza Man restaurant.

Feras Rahman owned a café in the same building as the restaurant. Rahman was found not guilty of starting the fire. But a jury still convicted him of making a false statement to authorities, when he said a business computer was located in his restaurant instead of his home where it was later found.

Federal Judge Rudolph Randa said there was a lot of circumstantial evidence which may have linked Rahman to the fire – and the judge said he could not ignore it in his sentencing.

Besides the prison time, Rahman was given three years of supervised release. He says he’ll appeal – and he’ll remain free until the appeal is settled.