Jeff Pastor in 2018 Photo: Hailey Bollinger

Former Cincinnati City Council Member Jeff Pastor has been released from federal prison, according to posts from Pastor on social media.

“Hello Cincy!” reads a selfie caption posted to Pastor’s Instagram account on Tuesday. Pastor also shared the selfie to his Instagram stories with the song “Fresh Out The Slammer” by Taylor Swift. 

Comments on Pastor’s Instagram are all positive, welcoming the former council member home for the holidays.

“Welcome home bro! Right before the holidays!” one user commented. “God is good !! Welcome home Sir !!!” commented another.

Last December, Pastor was sentenced to 2 years in prison for his role in a public corruption scandal. He was arrested in November 2020 on 10 federal counts of bribery, extortion, money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The FBI investigation into Pastor and his then-business partner, Tyran Marshall, took place from August 2018 to February 2019 (Pastor joined Cincinnati City Council at the start of 2018) and, according to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio David M. DeVillers, during that time, Pastor accepted $55,000 in bribes — $45,000 of which were made in cash payments.

“The bribes were in turn for votes and influence over the city council on two developments,” DeVillers said during a press briefing after Pastor’s arrest.

But last year, Pastor ended up pleading guilty to one count of honest services wire fraud. The plea deal guaranteed Pastor would only spend two years in prison. Pastor will now serve the rest of his sentence under supervised confinement.

P.G. Sittenfeld, another council member who was arrested on unrelated corruption charges in 2020, is still awaiting a conviction ruling from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Sittenfeld originally faced a six-count indictment for alleged traded cash for votes relating to the development of the former Convention Place Mall. A jury found Sittenfeld guilty of bribery and attempted extortion but acquitted him on two counts of honest services wire fraud, one count of bribery and one count of attempted extortion by a government official. In October 2023, Sittenfeld was sentenced to 16 months in prison, but he was released earlier this year while his appeal works its way through the courts.

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This article appears in Dec 11-24, 2024.