The editors of PAW are courageous to publish the lengthy story of Cincinnati city councilor P.G. Sittenfeld ’07’s prosecution for alleged corruption, considering likely criticism by some alumni. P.G.’s story is emblematic of bureaucratic culture and ambition, reminding me of Melville’s classic Billy Budd.
Sittenfeld was subjected to an FBI sting operation and spent time in a federal prison for granting faux petitioners that he supports and would continue to support downtown real estate development. But the petitioners were trained FBI “witnesses” who pressured Sittenfeld, contributing money to his action fund.
In 2010 I sat though most sessions of Boston city councilor Chuck Turner’s very similar trial for “corruption.” Indeed the FBI remunerated the “petitioner” $20,000 to pass an alleged $1,000 in cash to the councilor, who was renowned for ordering hearings on constituent issues. The Boston Herald vilified Turner by publishing on its front page a fuzzy photo, taken from the hireling’s hidden video camera, of the passing of cash — never actually counted ($50 is permitted to councilors). The eminently diligent Turner consequently spent 28 months in a federal prison in West Virginia, far from his constituents.
The only Black councilor, Turner had been singled out, falsely to be tied to a Black state senator who had admitted to taking money for favors. The judge forbade the jury to characterize the sting as entrapment. Who is guilty? It seems that Turner’s and Sittenfeld’s fate are fruits of government corruption.