Attorneys: PG Sittenfeld should remain out of prison while he appeals convictions

A week before a federal judge is expected to decide whether P.G. Sittenfeld will serve a prison sentence, his attorneys have asked the judge to allow him to remain free while he appeals his convictions.

For Sittenfeld, a 39-year-old married father of two, the question being considered is: Will he await an appellate court decision at home or in a prison cell?

The only person who knows the answer is U.S. District Judge Douglas Cole, who will sentence the former Cincinnati city councilman Tuesday.

Sittenfeld's attorneys made the case for him to remain free in a motion filed this week. They argue that it's common for courts to do that in federal corruption cases.

Across the country, his attorneys say, courts “regularly grant release pending appeal in cases that, like this one, involve novel applications of the public corruption laws.”

They pointed to several cases, including one involving former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, whose bribery conviction was thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016. McDonnell was allowed to remain free while his appeal was pending.

Sittenfeld's motion doesn't mention what happened this summer, in the same courthouse where he will be sentenced, to two defendants convicted in the largest public corruption case in Ohio history. Former House Speaker Larry Householder and former Ohio Republican Party Chair Matt Borges were taken directly to prison after being sentenced. Their sentencings were before a different judge.

In Sittenfeld's case, prosecutors have asked for a sentence between 33 and 41 months in prison. His attorneys are seeking a sentence that includes no incarceration. Instead, they have asked for probation, with 2,000 hours of community service and/or a year of home confinement.

A jury on July 8, 2022 found Sittenfeld guilty of bribery and attempted extortion involving $20,000 in payments from undercover FBI agents to his political action committee. Prosecutors said Sittenfeld accepted that money in exchange for his votes on a Downtown development project.

In the newly filed motion, Sittenfeld’s attorneys say “there is a substantial question” about the prosecution’s theory of guilt – whether there was an explicit quid pro quo involving the payments and Sittenfeld’s votes.

The prosecution’s theory of the case, they say, “erased the clear line between everyday campaign contributions and felony corruption.”

“For the last 30 years – without exception − when prosecutors have pressed theories that create similar results, the Supreme Court has vacated the conviction,” his attorneys say.

Prosecutors have not yet filed a response.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: PG Sittenfeld: What happened to former Cincinnati City Councilman?