Former Greene DA, lead detective charged for retaliating against political foes
AG accuses Russo, Sams with abusing law enforcement powers
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Former Greene County district attorney David Russo and his lead detective were charged Wednesday by the state Attorney General’s office and accused of wielding their law enforcement powers to retaliate against political foes.
Russo and Zachary Sams, who served as the district attorney’s chief detective for three years, are each facing numerous misdemeanor counts, including charges of retaliation for past action, official oppression involving a search warrant and related conspiracy charges.
Russo, who is also facing one felony charge of restricted activities for conflict of interest and a misdemeanor count of misapplying entrusted government property, was arraigned Wednesday morning by District Judge Thomas Ankrom and released on $50,000 unsecured bond. A summons was sent to Sams, who is believed to now be living in the McDonald area.
Acting Attorney General Michelle Henry said a statewide grand jury convened to investigate the former law enforcement officials handed down the indictment after hearing facts of the case.
“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,” Henry said in a written statement. “They also have a serious responsibility to exercise discretion and wield the power of their authority within the confines of the law.”
The charges accuse Russo, 47, of Holbrook, and the 40-year-old Sams of abusing their authority through a laundry list of “ongoing disputes” against other Greene County officials that led to investigations and, in some cases, criminal charges against their critics and political enemies.
Russo won his seat in 2019 with just 37% of the vote in a three-way race for district attorney during the general election that year. But he lost his reelection bid last year when current District Attorney Brianna Vanata trounced him in the Republican primary by a 72% to 28% margin. Sams left the office shortly afterward, and the state Attorney General’s office was requested to prosecute numerous cases last year as Russo quickly retreated from public view before leaving office in January.
Among the accusations in the indictment are a dispute between Russo and the county commissioners over the hiring of a victim-witness coordinator in which he allegedly ordered other law enforcement officials not to cooperate with the new hire and threatened to investigate anyone who did. The indictment also accuses Russo and Sams of confiscating emergency “stop the bleed” kits from emergency workers over false claims they were not correctly distributed within the county. The county eventually sued and the kits were returned following a court order.
Court documents also accuse Russo of retaliating against numerous county officials when an audit into the district attorney’s newly formed SWAT team that Sams also led raised concerns about how funds were being utilized. Russo allegedly ordered Sams to investigate how the audit was made public, and the detective requested search warrants into the matter that ultimately were denied by a judge.
Most notably, however, was when Sams – allegedly at the direction of Russo – charged former county commissioner Michael Belding and solicitor Robert “Gene” Grimm in the lead-up to last year’s primary due to issues with how election officials handled the casting of the lots to select the ballot order. Russo, who was on the ballot and considered himself a victim, referred the case to the Attorney General’s office, which dropped the charges against the two men.
Russo and Sams have since been sued numerous times in federal court by several public officials, including Belding and Emergency Management Director Rich Policz, accusing them of retaliating against them by filing criminal charges against them and others for investigations that appeared to be politicized.
Reached by telephone Wednesday afternoon, Russo said he was unaware Sams was also charged in connection with his case. Russo declined further comment, saying he planned to contact his attorney, Stephen Stallings, to decide whether he would issue a statement on the charges. Stallings did not respond to a phone message Wednesday and Sams did not have a defense attorney listed in online court documents.