Attorneys for former Cincinnati City Council member and mayoral candidate P.G. Sittenfeld will seek U.S. Supreme Court review of his 2022 conviction on bribery charges, court filings reveal.
The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday ruled Sittenfeld can remain free as his attorneys seek that review.
A three-judge panel for the court on Feb. 11 upheld his conviction on two bribery counts related to allegations he took $20,000 in campaign donations from undercover federal investigators posing as developers.
But in its decision, the court sounded notes of skepticism about the case's outcome, saying there were still "substantial" questions about whether what Sittenfeld did constituted a crime.
After the 6th Circuit denied his appeal, Sittenfeld's attorneys filed a motion asking he remain free while they seek consideration by the high court. In that filing, they argued that such a review was plausible and even something that the appeals court panel set the stage for.
"The Court’s three opinions on the merits only underscore that conclusion, expressly teeing up the questions for Supreme Court review," the filing reads.
In their filing, the attorneys argue there are multiple factors that make Sittenfeld's case ripe for review by the high court, including what the 6th Circuit judges called the "blurry" line between legitimate political fundraising and bribery set by current judicial precedent. The attorneys also cited concerns about the chilling effect on political activity over-zealous application of anti-corruption laws could have.
"Indeed, the consistent theme of the Supreme Court’s recent decisions is that the public-corruption laws must not encroach into the domain of ordinary politics," they wrote in the filing. "Again, that is exactly Sittenfeld’s argument in this case."
How Sittenfeld got here
After a lengthy two-year FBI investigation, a federal grand jury agreed to charge Sittenfeld with two counts each of honest service wire fraud, bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, and attempted extortion by a government official in 2020. Federal agents arrested him at his home Nov. 19, 2020.
A jury found Sittenfeld guilty on one charge of bribery and one charge of extortion in 2022. He was found not guilty of both counts of honest services wire fraud and one count each of bribery and extortion.
At the center of Sittenfeld's conviction: allegations he received $20,000 from undercover FBI agents.
Federal prosecutors alleged Sittenfeld took the bribes in 2018 in the form of four checks from LLCs to his political action committee. Those contributions came with an understanding, prosecutors alleged, that Sittenfeld would deliver a veto-proof majority on approvals for a development project at 435 Elm Street Downtown.
The FBI enlisted developer Chinedum Ndukwe to act as an informant in that case. Ndukwe had been under FBI investigation for allegations including money laundering prior to aiding the federal investigation into Sittenfeld.
The prosecution used taped conversations between the agents and Sittenfeld, including one in which he stated, "I can deliver the votes," to convince the jury.
Sittenfeld received a 16-month sentence for the bribery conviction. He served roughly four-and-a-half months of that sentence before the 6th Circuit ordered him released in May 2024 as his appeal proceeded.
Sittenfeld's attorneys have 90 days from the 6th Circuit's ruling upholding his conviction to file a formal request for Supreme Court consideration.
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