Open Letter: Prosecutors’ Unjust Treatment Of PG Sittenfeld
And Why We Shouldn’t Let It Happen
As a diverse cross-section of community members in Greater Cincinnati — representing different ages, races, neighborhoods, professions, and political affiliations — we’re proud to lend our names in support of a unified message: The unjust, unfair prosecution of PG Sittenfeld is just plain wrong.
Like so many Cincinnatians, we have seen a lot of PG over many years — and we have complete confidence that we know his character and his record. PG is honest, caring, and deeply committed to Cincinnati, and he has brought jobs, growth, and opportunity to our city. He has also been a strong voice for marginalized community members who are too often left behind. Given the many walks of life that we represent, we do not all agree with every vote or action that PG has ever taken but, even when we’ve disagreed with him, we trust him. His integrity is beyond reproach.
We’ve also followed the allegations brought against him as well as the facts brought to light in this case. Put simply, they do not add up.
PG and his legal team have filed a motion to dismiss the case. The drafting of the motion was led by Michael Dreeben, a 30-year alum of the Department of Justice, who served as Deputy Solicitor General of the United States and argued 105 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. It notes:
“The factual allegations show that Mr. Sittenfeld did not engage in any quid pro quo agreement — he did not promise to exchange official actions for campaign contributions” but instead “…Mr. Sittenfeld affirmed his widely known, longstanding pro-development positions in the same conversations where undercover agents, posing as investors, offered or provided contributions to his lawful, federally regulated political action committee in an attempted sting.”
The motion continues:
“The indictment’s own allegations disprove [the prosecutors’] theory. They show that Mr. Sittenfeld rejected the agents’ entreaties to link the contributions to his official conduct… Mr. Sittenfeld sought support based on his popularity and positions. That is not a crime; if candidates cannot seek support based on their positions and likely electoral success, it is difficult to see how they can attract support at all.”
The case brought against PG — who has received more votes at the ballot box than any city leader in nearly a decade — fails as a matter of law. As others have noted, if his behavior is in any way criminal, then every current Mayor, Governor, and member of Congress and every person who has ever run for political office is similarly guilty.
We’ve also now learned from official court filings that prosecutors willfully cherry-picked and manipulated PG’s words to make comments that show PG’s true intentions instead seem sinister.
Consider a few jarring examples:
Prosecutors write in the indictment: “Sittenfeld stated that he would give a nudge on the City side and the Port side to ‘make haste on a development agreement.’”
It has now come out that PG’s full quote was, “On the city side, and frankly on the Port side, I can give a nudge and say, now that this partnership’s in place, let’s make haste on a development agreement, which by the way is in the City’s best interest, too.”
When PG ends his comment by talking about what is in the City’s best interest, what do prosecutors do? Cut him off mid-sentence and remove it from the indictment entirely.
In an even more egregious example, prosecutors write in the indictment: “Sittenfeld went on to state, ‘It’s gotta happen, I mean, I’ve already, in the conversations I’ve already had with my colleagues…”
Consider PG’s full comments: “It’s gotta happen, I mean, I’ve already, in the conversations I’ve already had with my colleagues, that parcel and what it means for broader tourism, that can’t be what it has been historically if we’re going to energize that part of downtown.”
Prosecutors resorted to deliberate distortions to make it appear PG only cared about a redevelopment project so that he could leverage it for political contributions. The truth — in PG’s own recorded words — is that he was motivated by “energizing” downtown and by doing what is “in the City’s best interest.”
Cincinnati needs our most talented, passionate young people shaping the future of our city for the better. PG is an excellent example of someone who has done exactly that.
The injustice that is now unfolding doesn’t just hurt PG — it hurts our city, too.
If you are part of the Greater Cincinnati community and would like to add your name to this Open Letter, please email FriendsofPG@Rittgers.com indicating your wish to do so.
Sincerely,
Tony Alexander
Jane Anderson
Louis Arnold
Richard Asimus
Julie Baker
Shawn Baker
Clare Zlatic Blankemeyer
Tony Blankemeyer
Anthony Bradford
Hazeleen Brewster
Leland Brewster
George Brinkman
Rhoda Brooks
Maurice Brown
Karl Brown
Tim Burke
Wendy Calaway
Willie Carden
Anna K. Carey
Christine Carli
Annette Carothers
Dr. Thomas Carothers
Eric Chapman
Jasmine Coaston
Alyssa Conley
John Courter
Joseph Curry
Wynne Curry
Carrie Davis
Ozie Davis
Leo J.P. D’Cruz
Alex Derkson
Craig Decker
Paul De Marco
Joseph Dehner
Ed Diller
Shirley Duff
Dr. Igor Dumbadze
John Eby
Tracy Finn
Ann Gerwin
Carolyn Gilbert
Marcheta Gillam
Nancy Greiwe
Jacqueline Edmerson
Stan Elliott
Ellie Fabe
Matt Feldman
Meg Fiora
Rick Fischer
Tony Fischer
James Fisher
Jean-Francois Flechet
John Frank, Jr.
Sue Friedlander
Jane Simon Fritz
Nancy Gack
Amy Goodwin
Eric Haberthier
Martha Harrington
Greg Harris
Louise A. Head
Alex Heldman
Brian Hill
Grace Hill
Dale Hodges
Florette Hoffheimer
Dani Isaacsohn
John Isidor
Lisa Head James
Sandy James
Chris Jenco
Margaret Jenco
Carolyn Jones
Kendall Kadish
Dr. Robert Kahn
Sandy Kaltman
Coleman Kane
Rabbi Ken Kanter
Scott Knox
Polk Laffoon IV
Betsy LaMacchia
John LaMacchia
Antoine Langree
David Little
David Logan
Beth Luken
Rev. Damon Lynch, Jr.
Jacqueline Mack
Tim Maloney
Susan Marrs
Mohsin Masud
Tyler McIlwraith
Steven McDevitt
Carolyn McCoy
Nicole McWhorter
Braden Mechley
Ryan Messer
Linda Miller
Troy Miller
Mark Mitchell
Jimmy Musuraca-Messmer
Ethan Nichols
Kevin Ott
Lib Ott
Katherine G. Overbey
Amy Parks-Ealy
Ken Perry
Justin Phillips
Meredith Post
Janet Allen Reid
David Reid
Rick Reynolds
Vicky Reynolds
Rob Richardson, Jr.
Annie Rittgers
Myron Rivers
Gwen Robinson
David Rosenberg
Dianne Rosenberg
Jens Rosenkrantz
Dick Rosenthal
Ed Rosenthal
Jennie Rosenthal
Kitty Strauss Rosenthal
Jack Rouse
Lynn Rush
Jeff Rush
Antonio Sanders
Cliff Schecter
Beth Schiff
Jim Schiff
Mark Schlachter
Rosemary Schlachter
Jeff Schloemer
Dr. David Schwartz
Councilmember Chris Seelbach
Jay Shatz
Dr. Edward Silberstein
Karen Smith
Margo Spence
Leon Spitz
Elizabeth Stearns
Dee Stegman
Peter Steinau
Lib Stone
Stuart Susskind
Joseph Tomain
Anne Trapp
Bill Tucker
Ilene Tucker
Jon Unger
Barbara Wagner
Maurice Wagoner
Steve Wanamaker
Lincoln Ware
David Wellinghoff
Lori Wellinghoff
Jake Whitman
Ann W. Williams
Dick Westheimer
Sallie Westheimer
Kristine Woodworth
Jack Wyant
Peg Wyant
Andrea Levenson Young
