Attending Reunions While Under Indictment Opened My Eyes

P.G. Sittenfeld ’07 takes a selfie in front of the Oval with Points sculpture at Reunions in 2022.

P.G. Sittenfeld ’07 takes a selfie in front of the Oval with Points sculpture at Reunions in 2022.

Courtesy of P.G. Sittenfeld ’07

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By P.G. Sittenfeld ’07

Published May 16, 2025

4 min read

Editor’s note: PAW has been covering P.G. Sittenfeld’s public corruption case, including in a feature story a year ago. In February, an appeals panel upheld his conviction in a 2-1 decision, but all three judges invited the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and clarify the murky points of law on which Sittenfeld’s legal fate rests. Find the stories at bit.ly/paw-sittenfeld.

At the end of April 2022 — three and a half weeks before my 15th Reunions — I overcame my fears and doubts enough to book a plane ticket. I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I’d been to Reunions many times, but I’d never attended one under indictment. My federal trial was scheduled to begin just two months later. I could never have imagined that returning to campus at my most vulnerable would turn out to be the most rewarding Reunions experience I ever had.  

After graduating from Princeton in 2007, I attended my first 11 Reunions. They felt like New Year’s Eve, the Fourth of July, and my birthday all rolled into one. I missed my 12th only because my wife and I were expecting the arrival of our first child at any moment. 

Midway between the pandemic-canceled 2020 and 2021 Reunions, in November 2020, while I was an elected member of the Cincinnati City Council and the frontrunner to become the city’s next mayor, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio indicted me on public corruption charges. 

The allegation was that, in the context of an FBI sting operation, I had accepted political donations from undercover agents who were posing as investors on a downtown redevelopment project in exchange for favorable official action. I immediately proclaimed my innocence. The situation was shocking and devastating for my family and me — and the possible consequences of the prosecution included years in prison. (PAW writer David Montgomery ’83 has covered the rest of that legal journey, through the present appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.)

By 2022, when Reunions were back on, all of my usual giddiness for the occasion had morphed into something quite different. I imagined possible interactions I might have, ranging from the awkward to the unpleasant to the hurtful, and asked myself what once would have been an unthinkable question: Would it be better to just skip Reunions entirely? My sister Curtis Sittenfeld told me she believed that only one in 100 people would attend a college reunion in the middle of the situation I was in.

But I’d received supportive and touching messages from Princeton friends after getting indicted, and they had meant a lot. And so on May 20, 2022, I arrived on campus late on a Friday morning. Heading to the registration table for my Reunions year, I passed by my junior year dorm room and thought about the distance between the starry-eyed, ambitious, invincible-feeling undergrad I had been and the husband and father I now was, desperate to protect my family. 

Sittenfeld with classmates Alexander Maugeri, Christian Sahner, Tyler Allard, and Duncan Sahner ’06 at Reunions 2022.

Sittenfeld with classmates Alexander Maugeri, Christian Sahner, Tyler Allard, and Duncan Sahner ’06 at Reunions 2022.

Courtesy of P.G. Sittenfeld ’07

Over the next 48 hours, as memories and emotions swirled, I had conversations with 108 fellow alums (yes, I counted). Despite my anxieties about returning to campus, what I experienced was a warm embrace.

Classmates kept coming up to me and, unprompted, saying things like, “We’re with you 100%” and “Keep fighting.” Not one person made one nasty comment. The closest that any remark came to stinging was a sentiment that was, in fact, still tender: “I’m so glad to see you,” several classmates said, “because, honestly, I didn’t think you’d come.” 

The steady drumbeat of unsolicited encouragement felt like being wrapped in a long bear hug. There, among that group, I was welcomed, believed, and believed in — not judged and condemned.

But what surprised me most was that person after person confided in me heartbreaks and challenges: their own health scares; the fragile health of an aging parent; career stagnation; frustration with still being single; frustration with an unhappy marriage; feeling overwhelmed by parenthood; and legal troubles that, while not public like mine, had still been serious.

I had wondered if showing up to Reunions wounded would make me weak or pathetic. But it seemed to create a portal for empathy and compassion. Over the course of the weekend, my peers shared more anguish and sorrow than had happened at all my previous Reunions combined. This made me wonder how much, in the past, the inverse had occurred: What opportunities for solidarity, learning, and connection had been closed off by my showing up to Reunions as someone whose life was going swimmingly and who was perhaps too eager to advertise it? 

I had liked, in the past, coming to Reunions smelling like a winner, my life visibly unfolding on a trajectory of success. And I had wanted to achieve something — like being elected mayor at a young age — that would impress my Princeton peers. Paradoxically, it took a brutal fall from grace to fully open my eyes to the difference between people liking and taking interest in me for what I did versus for who I am.

P.G. Sittenfeld ’07 is a writer based in Cincinnati, where he lives with his wife and two young sons. He can be reached at pg.sittenfeld@gmail.com.

3 Responses

Judy Williams

2 Months Ago

A Loss for Cincinnati

My father (’42), brother (’69), and an uncle all went to Princeton. I have known P.G. for 30 years, and his parents. He is amazing, so conscientious, caring, hands-on, community-oriented. Love this guy! I support him in so many ways. As a son, as a father, as a brother, he always puts others first. Our city lost a great civil servant.

Mary Carol Melton

2 Months Ago

Support for Sittenfeld

I echo much of what Leslie Maloney stated above. I, too, know P.G. and have supported his political career — I still support P.G. The P.G. I know is smart, compassionate, committed to making life better for others and yes, he is a man with ambition. He is also a man with a big heart for his family, his friends, and the city he loves. I trust that his appeals will end with an acquittal.

Leslie Maloney

2 Months Ago

Support from a Friend

PG and Sarah are friends, colleagues, and former neighbors in Cincinnati. We supported PG in his run for council and ultimately his run for mayor. He is an outstanding citizen, most humble servant, and genuine friend who got caught up in one of the most complicated situations that entails politics and legalities. We believe in his integrity and know his innocence will be confirmed. His showing up to Reunions only speaks volumes to the person he is.

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