Let's face it: The truth doesn't matter anymore.

        “Nothing is going to change after today,” said Jim Lowry, the former Forest Park mayor who ran Lt. Col. Twitty's defense fund. “The Ron Twitty supporters will continue to believe he didn't do it, and the rest will continue to believe he did.”

Lt. Col. Twitty

        Exactly. The truth is so irrelevant, Cincinnati would rather keep it buried. The deal forced Col. Twitty to retire, but allowed him to plead “no contest,” which his lawyer, Sharon Zealey, insisted “is not an admission of guilt.” And Col. Twitty was willing to sacrifice his job to keep the detectives' report secret.

        Just for the record: Col. Twitty's “no contest” plea to a fourth-degree misdemeanor means he was guilty of obstructing the investigation into the mysterious hole in the bumper of his city-issued Ford Taurus.

        “He wanted to get out of this with some degree of honor, and I think he did,” said Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen. But Mr. Allen bristled at the notion that Col. Twitty made no admission of guilt.

        “The man entered a plea and was found guilty. What more do you want?”

        Col. Twitty claimed his car was damaged by a hit-and-run driver, and his supporters still insist he's innocent.

Two months too late

        So why didn't he demand a lie detector test? Why didn't he offer a reward for the driver who hit his car?

        We're told his noble “no contest” plea will help the community heal. But it was 68 days too late. Since July 4, he watched Cincinnati go through convulsions while he hid behind his lawyer and bogus cries of “racism.” And now his silence encourages his backers to keep the lie alive.

        So why did he agree to a plea deal? Here's a clue: Immediately after Col. Twitty was indicted on two felony and two misdemeanor counts, former federal Judge Nathaniel Jones got involved to help his law partner, Ms. Zealey.

        Ms. Zealey, who lacks experience in such cases, had rejected the plea deal weeks ago. But, “the deal to plea was never off the table,” Mr. Allen said.

Let's make a deal

        Last Saturday, Mr. Allen — the same prosecutor accused of railroading Col. Twitty — called to offer him another chance. Judge Jones had met with Col. Twitty, and he was urging a deal. This time, Ms. Zealey agreed to negotiate.

        I asked Judge Jones if he believed Col. Twitty was innocent. He did not say yes. He cited lawyer-client privilege. “I believe Ron Twitty is an honest man who honestly believed he was being unfairly treated.”

        In fact, Col. Twitty got plenty of breaks. His career was blessed by affirmative action. The prosecutor bent over backward to let Ms. Zealey present evidence to the grand jury. And when the indictment was tainted by a lawyer who should have asked to be excused from the grand jury, Mr. Allen agreed to start over. Col. Twitty will keep his generous pension. He won't even pay for car repairs. Just a $1 fine.

        Judge Jones said the deal allows us all to “pull back and de-racialize the controversy,” averting the “near tragedy of a breach of public faith in the justice system.”

        But the real “breach of faith” was by Col. Twitty. An honest man would have told the truth. Instead, he allowed his lies to undermine faith in justice. And he's still covering up what happened.

        “He would probably be the first to say he should have reported it,” Judge Jones said.

        But he didn't. That's why he had to stand up in court — because his story never would.

        e-mail pbronson@enquirer.com or call 768-8301.

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