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PENNSYLVANIA RECORD

Saturday, November 23, 2024

Former Greene County District Attorney, Chief of Detectives Charged with Conspiracy, Conflict of Interest by Statewide Investigating Grand Jury

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Atttorney General Michelle Henry | National Association of Attorneys General

Attorney General Michelle Henry announced that charges were filed against former Greene County District Attorney David Russo and former Chief Detective for the Greene County DA’s Office Zachary Sams, following a presentment from the 51st Statewide Investigating Grand Jury.

Russo, 47, of Holbrook, Greene County, and Sams, 40, of McDonald, Washington County, were charged this morning. Russo was arrested and appeared before Magisterial District Judge Tom Ankrom this morning, and bail was set at $50,000 unsecured. Zachary Sams was served with a summons to appear in court. Russo and Sams were both charged with Retaliation for Past Official Action, Official Oppression and Conspiracy; additionally, Russo was charged with Conflict of Interest and Misapplication of Entrusted Property.

“District Attorneys and their deputies serve a critical role in our criminal justice system to represent the interests of the state, seek justice for victims, and uphold the law in an equitable, unbiased manner,” said Attorney General Michelle Henry. “They also have a serious responsibility to exercise discretion and wield the power of their authority within the confines of the law.”

The charges detailed in the presentment stem from a series of ongoing disputes that developed between Russo and other Greene County officials, and the actions Russo and Sams took, using the powers of their office, against their critics. The common thread underpinning the case was Russo’s desire to deliver retribution against his political enemies and bolster his reelection bid.

The presentment details the following alleged actions of Russo and Sams:

One of the initial points of contention between Russo and some of the County Commissioners in Greene County was over the Victim Witness Coordinator (VWC) position in the DA’s office – the person responsible for helping victims and witnesses of crimes navigate the criminal justice process. During Russo’s time as DA, some victims and witnesses failed to receive proper notification of important court dates and information. When the VWC resigned in October 2021, Russo failed to inform the County HR department so a new hire could be made. In response, the Commissioners decided to hire a new VWC and have that person report directly to them instead of the DA. The grand jury learned that defendant Russo reacted negatively to this challenge to his authority, sending emails to local law enforcement warning them not to cooperate with the new VWC and advising that if they did, they may be criminally investigated. 

In April 2022, allegations of criminal wrongdoing surfaced against an attorney who had challenged Russo in the 2019 election for District Attorney. The grand jury learned that defendant Russo called a local police chief and insisted that charges be filed immediately against the attorney. In response to local media reports that Russo had called for charges to be filed by the local police department, the Greene County Solicitor demanded that Russo recuse himself from any investigation, as there was a clear conflict of interest, and refer the matter outside his office. 

In October 2022, Sams executed a search warrant on the Greene County 911 Center to seize mass casualty emergency medical bleed-out kits (known as Stop The Bleed or STB kits). Sams’ stated purpose of the seizure was because the kits had been ‘misappropriated’ and were not being utilized by the county. In reality, STB kits were removed from active ambulances where trained EMS workers could access them. The intended purpose of a search warrant is to gather evidence of a crime for prosecution, and must be supported by probable cause that a crime occurred – NOT to redistribute county resources. In response to the seizure, the county was forced to file a civil action to have the kits returned, which happened after more than a month and pursuant to a court order.

During this time, Russo and Sams were attempting to create a SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team that would report directly to the District Attorney. Russo pushed to establish this SWAT team over the strong objections of the County Commissioners. The Grand Jury’s investigation found that the timing of the seizure of the STB kits and the formation of the SWAT team strongly suggests Russo’s and Sams’ motive for the seizure of the kits was to obtain them for SWAT team usage. 

In September 2022, the Greene County Controller’s office issued a report on an audit they conducted of the District Attorney’s forfeiture account (an account that holds assets seized from criminal defendants), which showed that they discovered accounting irregularities. Under Pennsylvania statute, such audit reports shall not be made public, but there are no criminal penalties or crimes associated with the release of such a report by third parties. The Grand Jury learned that the County Controller’s Office received a request for information on the forfeiture account via a Right-To-Know Law (or RTK) request. In response, the Chief Clerk of Greene County emailed the audit report to the requestor. The requestor then forwarded the information to several individuals, including County Commissioners, who in turn shared the report with several other individuals. Russo then directed Sams to open a criminal investigation into the disclosure of the audit report, who presented search warrants to a Superior Court Judge as part of that investigation. The Grand Jury learned that the Judge refused to authorize the search warrants because there was no underlying crime associated with releasing the report.

Finally, leading up to the 2023 Pennsylvania Primary Election, the Greene County Elections Department was required to perform a ‘casting of the lots’ to determine the order in which the candidates’ names would appear on the ballot, but because many department employees were new and inexperienced, there were miscommunications about when the casting of the lots would be held: paperwork was distributed noting the date as March 14th, unbeknownst to the new Elections Director, who separately selected and advertised the date of March 15th.

The first casting occurred on March 15th. However, issues were raised regarding the conflicting dates, so a re-casting was scheduled for March 23rd. When the re-casting occurred, Russo refused to draw lots for ballot position and was informed that his refusal to do so would result in his name being placed last on the ballot.

The Grand Jury learned that Sams, again, opened a criminal investigation, this time into the decision to re-cast the lots. In April 2023, Russo approved the filing of criminal charges against a County Commissioner and the County Solicitor for violations of the Pennsylvania Election and Criminal Codes. The affidavits of probable cause did not set forth a legal or factual basis to criminally charge either individual. The case was referred to the Office of Attorney General, and after reviewing all of the materials and conducting an independent investigation, those charges were ultimately withdrawn.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Heather Serrano, Deputy Attorney General Aaron McKendry, and Senior Deputy Attorney General James Price.

Original source can be found here.

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