39 minutes ago, Ram23 said:

He's probably picturing a triumphant return to City Hall a month before the election.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

54 minutes ago, Ram23 said:

He's convinced himself that he's innocent and thinks quitting council would hurt his mayoral campaign. He's probably picturing a triumphant return to City Hall a month before the election.

But if there is going to be a primary sometime in April, I just cant see him advancing in a 3 or more person primary with a cloud of a federal bribery charge hanging over him, or at least it would be a lot more difficult.

 

I think it would be much easier if he even pleaded guilty and had it over with (assuming he got no jail time) than having to run while the case is pending. 

Courier: Judge Winkler lists potential appointees for Sittenfeld seat

 

Quote

"I think I’ll have that up here by the end of the week or early next week. I’m going to make an appointment quickly," Winkler said. "I’m looking at appointing a conciliatory moderate Republican or moderate Democrat. Probably a Republican. We have a lot of good young people coming up in the city."

 

On 11/19/2020 at 4:47 PM, jmecklenborg said:

 

How do you scroll past #25?

 

Also, it should be noted that Ndukwe - apparently the only common figure in the Pastor and Sittenfeld arrests - was handed Tower Place Mall in exchange for his support for Cranley's 2013 campaign.  Did he bite the hand that fed?

 

https://kingsleyandcompany.com/what-we-do/projects.html

 

https://cincyopolis.wordpress.com/tag/chinedum-ndukwe/

 

http://blackcincinnati.blogspot.com/2014/06/did-smitherman-vote-to-give-his-donor.html

 

 

^Quoting myself.  

 

The screw is turning on Ndukwe:

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/i-team/developer-ex-bengal-ndukwe-weaves-tangled-web-at-city-hall-is-it-possible-the-fbi-got-played

 

I'm still really suspicious that Cranley sent Ndukwe out to entrap his political enemies.  

 

 

 

 

Is Pastor a political enemy of Cranley, though?

Sittenfeld files motion to dismiss charges against him

 

Saying his “alleged conduct is not a crime; it is a core feature of our democratic system,” attorneys for Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld on Wednesday asked the judge in his federal corruption case to dismiss all charges against him.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2020/12/23/sittenfeld-files-motion-to-dismiss.html

PG Sittenfeld wants judge to allow him to release recordings, says prosecutor made prejudicial statements

 

To me wanting more evidence public seems like a good thing, the whole 'sunlight is the best disinfectant' thing. The opposite anyway, wanting to conceal recordings, would seem like an admission of guilt so this is an interesting move. 

4 minutes ago, ucgrady said:

PG Sittenfeld wants judge to allow him to release recordings, says prosecutor made prejudicial statements

 

To me wanting more evidence public seems like a good thing, the whole 'sunlight is the best disinfectant' thing. The opposite anyway, wanting to conceal recordings, would seem like an admission of guilt so this is an interesting move. 

Like say, dropping your cellphone in a hot tub?

PG is grasping at straws with a ferocity that only hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of legal fees can produce.

12 minutes ago, Ram23 said:

PG is grasping at straws with a ferocity that only hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of legal fees can produce.

if this is your interpretation of the filings so far I really don't know what to tell you. 

1 hour ago, Ram23 said:

PG is grasping at straws with a ferocity that only hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of legal fees can produce.

 

It is amazing how much money is behind Sittenfeld.  His parents bought him an ivy league education and a seat on city council.  He's been making $65k for the past 7 years yet owns a fine home and is somehow able to mount a sterling legal defense. 

15 hours ago, Pdrome513 said:

if this is your interpretation of the filings so far I really don't know what to tell you. 

 

Another interpretation of this most recent one would be that it's retribution. Ndukwe cooperated with the feds to out PG, so PG filed a motion accusing him of cheating on his wife with women who "appeared to be underage."  Happy Valentines Day, Nedu.

 

15 hours ago, jmecklenborg said:

It is amazing how much money is behind Sittenfeld.  His parents bought him an ivy league education and a seat on city council.  He's been making $65k for the past 7 years yet owns a fine home and is somehow able to mount a sterling legal defense. 

 

The auditor paperwork on the house is an interesting rabbit hole. On the surface it looks like he bought it for $785,000, but the conveyance form indicates it was actually a gift (from his sister? who would have been 10 when it was put in her name?) and that was the (lowball) estimate of the value. The house seems to have been handed down for as far back as the auditor paperwork goes. So it's just one example of the sort of money we're talking about here - million dollar homes as hand-me-downs.

1 hour ago, Ram23 said:

The auditor paperwork on the house is an interesting rabbit hole. On the surface it looks like he bought it for $785,000, but the conveyance form indicates it was actually a gift (from his sister? who would have been 10 when it was put in her name?) and that was the (lowball) estimate of the value. The house seems to have been handed down for as far back as the auditor paperwork goes. So it's just one example of the sort of money we're talking about here - million dollar homes as hand-me-downs.

 

He used to own a house on a side street north of Madison Rd.  Now he's on Key's Crescent, which is one of the best streets in the city.  It's like a piece of Beverly Hills in the Midwest.  Most of the homes over there are $2 million or more.  

 

Neither he nor Cranley represent ordinary Cincinnatians.  The big difference between the two is that Cranley is definitely several notches smarter, but sadly wastes his intelligence on wild schemes.  

 

 

 

18 minutes ago, jmecklenborg said:

 

He used to own a house on a side street north of Madison Rd.  Now he's on Key's Crescent, which is one of the best streets in the city.  It's like a piece of Beverly Hills in the Midwest.  Most of the homes over there are $2 million or more.  

 

Neither he nor Cranley represent ordinary Cincinnatians.  The big difference between the two is that Cranley is definitely several notches smarter, but sadly wastes his intelligence on wild schemes.  

 

 

 

 

The thing about Cranley is I think he gets like 10 steps ahead on everything, he's very calculated in everything he does. He could get a ton done in the city if he wanted to. He's outwitted everyone about a million times.

 

Key's Crescent, that's insane. I kind of felt bad for him at first but don't anymore. Sad for his wife and son. 

4 hours ago, IAGuy39 said:

 

The thing about Cranley is I think he gets like 10 steps ahead on everything, he's very calculated in everything he does. He could get a ton done in the city if he wanted to. He's outwitted everyone about a million times.

 

 

Cranley and Ndukwe have had a relationship for almost 10 years.  I have no doubt that Cranley got Ndukwe to lay a trap and Sittenfeld took the bait.  He should have known to stay far away from Ndukwe. 

 

Cranley is smart but he has lost. He was stomped twice by Steve Chabot in the 2000s.  He did this, I suspect, to illustrate to the blue bloods his willingness to campaign hard in the face of impossible odds. He also likely lost money on the City Lights condo project that he resigned from City Council to be a part of - right before the mortgage meltdown.  They only presold something like 2 of the 14 condos before everything collapsed, so somebody took a bath.  I don't know if Cranley lost money or not but he then kept his replacement Greg Harris on a tight leash so he was in effect still on council.  

 

 

Voters to decide whether it will be easier to suspend indicted City Council members

 

 

Voters will decide on May 4 whether to make it easier for Cincinnati City Council members to suspend their colleagues from office if they are indicted for crimes related to their council service.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/02/11/voters-to-decide-on-council-suspensions.html

Councilman would ban some campaign solicitations, allow members to be expelled

 

Cincinnati Councilman Steve Goodin plans to introduce an ordinance aimed at ensuring the way he found himself on City Council never happens again.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/04/01/councilman-would-ban-some-campaign-solicitations.html

 

Councilman on potential text message prosecution: 'I was offered a deal and refused'

 

Cincinnati Councilman Wendell Young confirmed Wednesday he is under investigation by a special prosecutor tasked with investigating text messages between council members, was offered a plea agreement and refused to take it.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/04/14/wendell-young-prosecution.html

^ Rumor on the street is that he may be facing a charge of "tampering with evidence," a third degree felony.

 

Well I've learned my lesson, if the police ask for my phone I'm dropping it in a hot tub since apparently that is perfectly acceptable. 

1 hour ago, ucgrady said:

Well I've learned my lesson, if the police ask for my phone I'm dropping it in a hot tub since apparently that is perfectly acceptable. 

 

The key is to do it before you know you are under investigation! As a general data management practice, I drop my phone in a hot tub every 6 months.

Plus think about how wild things get when you get Cranely in a hot tub!

I wonder if Young will resign. If not, we could end up with another appointed council member. If that were to be a Republican, council would have a quasi-conservative majority (if you consider Smitherman a conservative) for the first time in a long time.

 

4 hours ago, JohnClevesSymmes said:

The key is to do it before you know you are under investigation! As a general data management practice, I drop my phone in a hot tub every 6 months.

 

Yep - Young's problem was that he had already been ordered to keep the messages before he deleted them. As I recall, he rather unabashedly admitted to deleting them at the time. He either successfully hid something he really didn't want revealed, or he made a very boneheaded and pointless move that will probably result in a jail sentence.

 

Dennard almost infamously dropped her phone in a pool, which would have been a bigger deal if not for the fact that the feds had more than enough evidence to lock her up for her other scandal. The excuse does provide some level of deniability, how plausible is in the eye of the beholder. Young didn't even try to make up a cover story, he just flat out said he deleted them.

PG wants to use focus groups to formulate his legal defense. I've long thought his entire political platform was formulated in much the same way and this heightens my suspicions:

 

Sittenfeld attorneys seek permission for defense strategy focus groups

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2021/05/17/p-g-sittenfeld-attorneys-seek-permission-focus-groups/5125091001/

 

Attorneys for suspended Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld want to prepare for a possible trial in his federal bribery case by using focus groups...

 

According to court documents, Sittenfeld's attorneys intend to show videos that could reveal the identities of undercover agents. They say that any videos shown will be pixilated to obscure the agents' identities.

 

 

^ PG needs to realize that his political career is over for a while and time for him to formulate a new path for himself in the private sector. His first goal is beating the charges, not framing some political campaign around it. 

1 hour ago, Ram23 said:

PG wants to use focus groups to formulate his legal defense. I've long thought his entire political platform was formulated in much the same way and this heightens my suspicions:

 

Sittenfeld attorneys seek permission for defense strategy focus groups

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2021/05/17/p-g-sittenfeld-attorneys-seek-permission-focus-groups/5125091001/

 

Attorneys for suspended Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld want to prepare for a possible trial in his federal bribery case by using focus groups...

 

According to court documents, Sittenfeld's attorneys intend to show videos that could reveal the identities of undercover agents. They say that any videos shown will be pixilated to obscure the agents' identities.

 

 

 

Innovation!

For anyone who didn't read the article, it points out that this firm routinely uses focus groups. This is nothing new or different. 

This was FBI's second secret informant in Cincinnati bribery case, sources say

WCPO I-Team sources point to this guy

 

 

Few people noticed on Jan. 17, 2019 when Cincinnati City Councilman Jeff Pastor’s name appeared in the meeting minutes of the Oakley Community Council. His chief of staff sent an email, saying an Oakley developer was “very interested in the Kennedy Connector” road project.

 

Twelve days later, another email at City Hall identified Morelia Group CEO Christopher Hildebrant as one of three people interested in buying city-owned land no longer needed for the Kennedy Connector project.

 

Between those two emails, something else happened, according to last November’s bribery indictment against Pastor.

 

“Pastor had a call with Cooperating Witness 2 during which Pastor stated that he ‘strongly suggested’ to city officials to sell land to Cooperating Witness 2 to further Project 2,” the indictment states.

 

Cont

Panel rules on Cincinnati councilman's suspension

 

A special commission of retired judges chosen by Ohio Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor has ruled that Cincinnati Councilman Wendell Young will not be suspended pending his trial on a felony records tampering charge, ruling it "does not adversely affect the functioning of his office and the rights and interests of the public."

 

Special Prosecutor Patrick Hanley had sought Young's suspension last month after charging him in April in connection with Young's deletion of text messages between himself and other council members in 2018.

 

The panel's decision means the balance of power on City Council will remain at five Democrats, three Republicans and one independent who often votes with the Republicans. If Young, a Democrat, had been suspended, his temporary replacement would have been chosen by Hamilton County Probate Judge Ralph "Ted" Winkler, a Republican. Winkler appointed Councilman Steve Goodin, a Republican, to replace suspended Councilman Jeff Pastor, who was indicted on federal public corruption charges last year, and Councilwoman Liz Keating, also a Republican, to replace suspended Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, who also was indicted on federal corruption. Sittenfeld has proclaimed his innocence, while Pastor has pleaded not guilty.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/06/08/panel-rules-on-cincinnati-councilmans-suspension.html

Councilman proposes new version of developer contribution ban

 

City campaign contributions from developers with an ordinance before Cincinnati City Council seeking incentives or zoning changes would be banned, under an ordinance sponsored by Councilman Steve Goodin.

 

The proposal is a dilution of one Goodin made earlier this year, when he proposed a blanket ban of campaign solicitations by the mayor and council members of anyone with business before the city, including developers, nonprofits or contractors.

 

“Given the blatant corruption at City Hall, we have no choice but to enact a categorical ban on these kinds of contributions,” Goodin said in a news release in late August. “The ordinance has been narrowly tailored to preserve the First Amendment rights of all parties. It goes to the very heart of quid pro quo corruption, and I hope my colleagues on council will see fit to support it.”

 

Goodin told the Business Courier recently he still wants to explore a broader measure but believes this ordinance could pass muster with the courts.

 

“I think it’s a good first step,” he said. “It would be likely a subject of a First Amendment challenge if we just categorically banned all developer contributions. I didn’t want that to be a distraction.”

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/09/17/developer-contribution-ban.html

City Council poised to ban mayor, members from asking developers for contributions — sometimes

 

Cincinnati City Council will vote Wednesday on whether to ban council members and the mayor from soliciting developers, their spouses and minor children for campaign contributions when they have an ordinance involving incentives or zoning changes before council.

 

Council’s budget committee voted Monday to forward the ordinance to the full council, where it is likely to pass given that a majority of council members voted for it in committee. Councilman Chris Seelbach, a Democrat, was the only “no” vote out of the eight members on the committee. The ordinance would apply for developers with projects seeking incentives of $100,000 or more per year, the sale of city property wroth $200,000 or more or zoning changes.

 

The ordinance’s sponsor, Councilman Steve Goodin, a Republican, said his ordinance is designed to change the culture of fundraising at City Hall and reflects recommendations made by the city’s economic development reform commission appointed after three council members were indicted on federal corruption charges last year.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/10/26/developer-contribution-ban.html

Cincinnati City Council passes major reform measures

 

Cincinnati City Council passed two ordinances Wednesday aimed at addressing the corruption scandal that swept through City Hall last year, resulting in the indictments of three members on federal felony bribery charges.

 

Council voted 8-0 to create and fund a new position of ethics and good government counselor within the city solicitor’s office, as well as two support employees.

 

It also voted 8-0 to ban City Council members from soliciting campaign contributions from developers while they have ordinances that would benefit them before council. To read more about that ordinance, click here.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/10/27/cincinnati-city-council-passes-major-reform-meas.html

 

Some drama as perennial candidate Brian Garry tried to lie to voters about the endorsed Democrats in the race. On the left is the actual list of endorsed Democrats. On the right is a flyer that Garry was handing out to people in front of polling stations. He "apologized" on twitter, and blamed someone in his campaign for printing "unapproved" flyers. He's not going to win. But this stunt could cost the Dems a seat on council depending on how many people received the flyer who then thought they were voting for the Democratic slate and the margins separating the winners from losers. I doubt it will, but if the separation from 9th and 10th has a Dem losing by a tight margin to a Charter or Republican candidate, this could be important.

 

 

 

^SMDH. Not cool, bro. Not cool at all. 

If the accusation in the second tweet it true, this sounds like it could be very bad for Garry:

 

 

Democrats accuse City Council candidate of paying off workers to distribute fake slate

 

Hamilton County Democrats accused Cincinnati City Council candidate Brian Garry of paying poll workers and volunteers to pass out a fake slate card that said he and others were the party's choices in Tuesday's election when they were not.

 

The party issued a blistering statement Tuesday afternoon denouncing Garry and saying it "will be taking the necessary actions to hold the people responsible accountable, both legally and from within our organization after the polls close at 7:30 p.m."

 

"In the eleventh hour, a certain non-endorsed candidate decided their best chance at success was to attempt to misinform voters into believing they have the support of the Hamilton County Democratic Party. This piece was paid for by Brian Garry, who clearly doesn't believe he can be successful on his own accord. We know voters are smarter than this, and we hope they will see through this attempt by Mr. Garry to misguide the voters," the party added.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2021/11/02/democrats-accuse-city-council-candidate-of-paying.html

Cincinnati City Council approves its first-ever code of conduct

 

Cincinnati City Council approved its first code of conduct Wednesday, a response to the 2020 arrests of three council members on federal corruption charges that they traded official actions for bribes or campaign contributions.

 

The code mandates that City Council members and their staffs “recognize the charter role of the mayor, council and city manager, particularly in contracting, development projects and incentives.” It requires council members to direct inquiries from developers for financial assistance or land-use approvals to the city manager’s office.

 

The code of conduct also bars council from interfering with the quasi-judicial matters before the Cincinnati Planning Commission, Historic Conservation Board and the city’s other zoning regulators, using city resources or personnel for political activity.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/02/16/cincinnati-city-council-approves-its-first-ever-co.html

Cincinnati business people told FBI Sittenfeld was ‘inappropriate’ in asking for campaign cash, filing says

 

Unidentified business people have told the FBI P.G. Sittenfeld was “inappropriate” and “heavy-handed” in the way he asked for campaign contributions, according to a new filing in the corruption case against the ex-Cincinnati councilman.

 

The filing came in the latest tit-for-tat between the U.S. attorney’s office and Sittenfeld’s attorney over discovery in the case and reveals the FBI has been interviewing developers and donors to Sittenfeld’s political campaign and political action committee since his November 2020 arrest.

 

Sittenfeld was arrested and indicted in 2020 on bribery and wire fraud charges under the allegation he traded government action for campaign contributions. Sittenfeld has proclaimed his innocence.

 

Sittenfeld wants notes from interviews the FBI conducted, text messages between agents and witnesses and the cost of the investigation disclosed now. His attorneys, Charles M. Rittgers and Charles H. Rittgers, say they have been waiting for such material for 10 months. The texts “negate the guilt of Mr. Sittenfeld and is relevant to the credibility of the government’s investigation and witnesses,” according to Sittenfeld’s filing.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/04/14/sittenfeld-filing.html

 

Indicted ex-councilman’s federal corruption trial delayed; plea talks revealed

 

Ex-Cincinnati Councilman Jeff Pastor’s trial on federal corruption charges has been delayed, with the judge in the case setting an in-person status conference later this month to find a new date.

 

The trial delay was ordered by U.S. District Judge Matthew W. McFarland before Pastor’s attorney, Benjamin Dusing, notified the court March 24 that he is disqualified from the case because of the suspension of his law license in Ohio.

 

On Feb. 14, Pastor and his co-defendant, Tyran Marshall, and federal prosecutors, asked for a continuance of the planned May 2 trial date, saying Pastor and Marshall’s attorneys were reviewing “voluminous” discovery materials.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/04/15/indicted-ex-councilman-s-federal-corruption-trial.html

 

Sittenfeld attorneys allege key witness faced criminal investigation before cooperating

 

Chinedum Ndukwe, a key witness against two former Cincinnati City Council members facing federal corruption charges, was under investigation for numerous federal crimes when he became a cooperating witness for the FBI, a new court filing alleges.

 

Ndukwe, a developer and founder of Kingsley + Co., a commercial real estate company, began cooperating with the government in March 2018 “after an investigation of him revealed his involvement in campaign finance law violations, IRA early withdrawal violations and an assortment of other federal crimes,” according to a court filing made Tuesday by attorneys for P.G. Sittenfeld, the former Cincinnati councilman.

 

Sittenfeld faces federal bribery and wire fraud charges alleging he traded government action for campaign contributions from Ndukwe and undercover FBI agents. He has proclaimed his innocence and is set to go on trial June 21.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/05/18/sittenfeld-ndukwe-allegations.html

Sittenfeld wants former Ohio gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald to testify in corruption trial

 

Lawyers for P.G. Sittenfeld, the former Cincinnati councilman facing a trial next month on public corruption charges, wants a former Democratic nominee for Ohio governor to testify at his trial.

 

Sittenfeld has submitted Ed FitzGerald, the 2014 nominee for governor, former Cuyahoga County executive and an ex-FBI agent, as a potential witness in the case. Federal prosecutors want U.S. Judge Douglas Cole to prevent FitzGerald from testifying.

 

Sittenfeld’s defense team said FitzGerald will testify as an “expert in the area of undercover operations and campaign trail interactions between elected officials and potential donors.”

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/05/20/sittenfeld-wants-fitzgerald-to-testify.html

 

P.G. Sittenfeld was offered plea deal by federal prosecutors in corruption case

 

P.G. Sittenfeld was offered a plea deal by federal prosecutors last year that could have resulted in him receiving a sentence of two years in prison.

 

Prosecutors revealed the potential deal June 1, according to a transcript of the hearing.

 

U.S. District Judge Douglas Cole asked prosecutors whether they had had plea discussions with Sittenfeld and his attorneys, Charles H. Rittgers and Charles M. Rittgers, the father-son legal team defending the former Cincinnati councilman.

 

“The government has extended a plea offer in the fall of 2021. That offer was rejected by defense counsel,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Singer said. “The offer was to recommendations relating to certain guideline stipulations, and the government would cap their argument relating to a potential term of imprisonment at 24 months, leaving the defendant able to argue for a sentence of probation.”

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/06/13/sittenfeld-was-offered-plea-deal.html

 

It is still not clear to me what Sittenfeld specifically did that is outside the realm of normal politics. "I am running for office and I support policies that encourage [x]. If you want to encourage [x] you should donate to my campaign so I get elected." If you don't like that system, you solve that by...changing the system. What am I missing?

15 hours ago, taestell said:

It is still not clear to me what Sittenfeld specifically did that is outside the realm of normal politics. "I am running for office and I support policies that encourage [x]. If you want to encourage [x] you should donate to my campaign so I get elected." If you don't like that system, you solve that by...changing the system. What am I missing?

 

I completely agree.

 

However, what the prosecution will have to prove is that the specifics of the conversations went beyond that. Did PG overtly offer to help in exchange for a donation? Or did he ever threaten the reverse?

 

It is understood that campaign donations buy access. Of course a politician is going to take phone calls from their biggest supporters. The question is whether the prosecution can prove that, for example, PG lobbied the port authority on behalf of a specific developer because that developer (or undercover FBI agent) contributed to his campaign and that PG solicited the donation with the promise to do so. Whatever PG said to the undercover agent - was it an overt promise to assist or a general assertion that he is supportive of development?

 

The FBI certainly has a track record of entrapment, and PG's team seems to also be arguing that the US Attorney doesn't really understand campaign finance law.

Will judge limit Cincinnati business leaders’ testimony in P.G. Sittenfeld trial?

 

Back in April, federal prosecutors said the FBI interviewed Cincinnati business leaders who would testify they felt they had to contribute to former Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld’s political accounts because they feared his actions if he became the city’s mayor.

 

But in a recent hearing in the case, U.S. District Judge Douglas Cole, who is hearing the case, indicated he might restrict such testimony when Sittenfeld goes on trial Tuesday.

 

Sittenfeld is charged with two counts of wire fraud, two counts of bribery and two counts of attempted extortion. Prosecutors allege he took $40,000 in political contributions in exchange for helping pass legislation that would help developer Chinedum Ndukwe and undercover FBI agents posing as developers redevelop 435 Elm St., a property across the street from the Duke Energy Convention Center. Prosecutors have video and audio recordings they say proves their case. Sittenfeld has argued that his interactions with developers and discussions of campaign contributions were within the law and proclaimed his innocence.

 

In filings, prosecutors said the FBI has interviewed business people who said Sittenfeld “communicated a subtle message of extortion in soliciting contributions.”

 

In a flurry of recent filings, Sittenfeld’s attorneys, Charles H. Rittgers and Charles M. Rittgers, the father-son team defending him, have urged the judge to bar such testimony. In most of the filings, the potential witnesses are identified only through their initials.

 

The government also plans to call a former consultant to Sittenfeld’s campaign identified as J.K. The defense alleges he was caught by the FBI committing “criminal acts" unrelated to Sittenfeld.

 

In a June 1 hearing, Cole previewed his thinking on the topic in a discussion with the Rittgers and the federal prosecutors, Matthew Singer and Emily Glatfelter. The judge has not yet ruled.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/06/15/will-judge-limit-business-leaders-testimony-in-si.html

Judge rules on who will testify at P.G. Sittenfeld's public corruption trial

Former councilman Kevin Flynn will be a witness

 

A federal judge made an expansive ruling late Friday on exactly who can testify at the upcoming public corruption trial of former Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, and what evidence jurors will be allowed to see.

 

U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Cole ‘s 47-page order sets the parameters for the trial, which begins with jury selection on Tuesday.

 

Sittenfeld, who has maintained his innocence, was a rising political star and the front-runner to be the next mayor of Cincinnati before FBI agents arrested him for allegedly promising support and “official acts,” to help the development of Convention Place downtown in exchange for $40,000 in donations to his political action fund.

 

He faces six charges related to public corruption at trial, which is expected to last two weeks.

 

Cont

Former Cincinnati councilman's corruption trial begins today – what to expect

 

The first day in the corruption trial of former Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld ended with a jury seated and a better idea of who in the city's business community will testify during the two-week proceeding.

 

Attorneys for the U.S. government, which is bringing the case against Sittenfeld, and the defense seated a jury of 12 with four alternates from among 80 prospective jurors, striking 39 of the potential candidates for reasons stemming from admitted bias to relationships with witnesses.

 

U.S. District Court Judge Douglass Cole read a list of potential witnesses that may be called during the trial to determine whether they would pose conflicts for any jurors who may have prior interactions or relationships with them. The witnesses include people expected to testify during the trial, but also potential character witnesses for Sittenfeld. Those included:

• FC Cincinnati co-CEO Jeff Berding
• Turner Construction General Manager David Spaulding
• Pure Romance CEO Chris Cicchinelli
• Crossroads pastor Brian Tome
• Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) CEO Steve Leeper
• Interim City Manager John Curp
• Former Cincinnati Children's Hospital CEO Michael Fisher
• Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority CEO Laura Brunner
• Port Executive Vice President Phil Denning
• Former Cincinnati City Councilman Kevin Flynn
• Former Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Seelbach

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/06/21/sittenfeld-trial-day-one.html

 

Sittenfeld trial: Key witness confessed to federal crimes, defense alleges

 

An attorney for former Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld called into question the motivation of a key witness in his opening statement for the corruption trial of the former politician.

 

Attorney Charlie M. Rittgers, representing Sittenfeld, claimed Wednesday morning Chinedum Ndukwe, a real estate developer and confidential witness for the FBI, was only working for the government after coming under investigation himself and allegedly confessing to federal crimes.

 

Scott Croswell, an attorney for Ndukwe, said Rittgers' allegation was a gross mischaracterization of what happened.

 

"The government has made it very clear that he came forward and cooperated as a citizen," Croswell said. "What an attorney says in opening statements is not necessarily the facts in totality. I would suggest let the trial play out, hear the evidence and then make a determination of what occurred."

 

Rittgers claimed during his opening statement Ndukwe in January 2018 was contacted by the FBI who he claimed informed Ndukwe he was under investigation for various alleged crimes, including aggravated identity theft and money laundering.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2022/06/22/sittenfeld-defense-opening-statement.html