CINCINNATI — A federal judge set a Dec. 5 hearing to decide whether former Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld’s public corruption convictions will stand.
Sittenfeld’s attorneys filed motions for acquittal and a new trial last month with wide-reaching criticism of the prosecutors, the jury, and U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Cole for their conduct during the high-profile trial that ended on July 8 with two guilty verdicts: attempted extortion and bribery.
Defense attorneys claim the government’s case lacked evidence; some jurors acted with misconduct or were exposed to the media; and the judge gave incorrect instructions to the jury and wrongfully excluded the testimony of many defense witnesses.
But prosecutors argue the convictions should stand: “the defendant received a fair trial … there is no basis to conclude the interest of justice requires a redo,” in recent court filings.
Cole is giving attorneys the chance to argue their positions in court on Dec. 5 before he makes a ruling. This will be the first public hearing where potential jury misconduct is discussed. Cole has held several closed-door hearings on the accusations.
In August, attorneys for WCPO and The Cincinnati Enquirer sent a joint letter to Cole asking for more access. The media outlets want all future hearings in the Sittenfeld case to be placed on the court’s public docket, allowing them a chance to object if a hearing is expected to be closed.
At issue is a female juror, who is known as Juror X, who made multiple posts on Facebook during the high-profile trial, including during jury selection and on the night before the verdict was announced.
Sittenfeld’s legal team had been pushing for a forensic exam of her electronic devices, to see what else she may have posted. But the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the request.
Cole allowed Sittenfeld’s attorneys to question four jurors after the verdict during a series of closed-door hearings to search for any potential bias or media exposure.
Now Sittenfeld’s legal team is arguing that he deserves a new trial because Cole refused to let them speak with other jurors who may have been in earshot of media conversations in the courthouse hallway during trial.
“This issue has truly been exhausted. Sittenfeld has now interviewed four jurors—fully one-third of the jury— none of whom described any discussion of external sources or information,” prosecutors wrote.
Sittenfeld’s attorneys also argue that prosecutors are, “pushing the line of criminal corruption closer to workaday politics than it has ever been before,” by twisting legal campaign contributions into a crime.
He accepted $40,000 in campaign donations from FBI agents who were posing as developers and wanted his help on their Convention Place Mall project downtown.
On the witness stand Sittenfeld maintained his innocence, saying the project at the heart of this case was a blight on downtown and he would have supported its redevelopment regardless of the donations.
“The defendant cites his own testimony as evidence that he lacked corrupt intent. But, again, the jury was free to find his testimony lacked credibility,” prosecutors wrote in a recent court filing.
Sittenfeld was the third council member the FBI arrested in 2020 on public corruption charges as a result of a massive sting at City Hall involving at least three undercover FBI agents and multiple informants who secretly recorded numerous elected leaders.
Former council member Tamaya Dennard pleaded guilty to honest services wire fraud for accepting $15,000 as part of a scheme to exchange her votes for money. She was released from prison earlier this year.
Former council member Jeff Pastor is awaiting trial on a 10-count indictment accusing him of taking $55,000 in bribes in exchange for votes and influence on development deals.
