Greene County judge to consider accusations of negligence against DA Russo
news@greenecountymessenger.com
Greene County District Attorney David Russo appeared at the defendant蘑菇视频 table Tuesday morning for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to investigate his decision to charge county officials in connection with how the election board handled the ballot order selection process earlier this year.
County Solicitor Robert Eugene Grimm filed a civil suit against Russo on May 12, alleging that misdemeanor charges brought against himself and Commissioner Mike Belding amounted to 鈥渨illful and gross negligence鈥� of Russo蘑菇视频 duties as district attorney.
Judge Louis Dayich said that he will rule on the case by Sept. 13. If he rules in favor of Grimm, it would result in the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate his claims against Russo.
The charges lodged against Belding and Grimm arose out of complaints from the Greene County Republican Party Committee over how the elections office handled the 鈥渃asting of the lots鈥� to determine the order candidates鈥� names would appear on the ballot in the May 16 primary.
The initial ballot selection on March 15 was nullified following complaints the procedure was not properly advertised. A second casting of the lots was held on March 23, and several candidates, Russo included, protested and refused to pull a number when it was their turn.
Rather than having an elections worker draw on behalf of those objecting, those candidates were dropped to the bottom of the ballot in their races.
Russo蘑菇视频 office initially filed charges against Grimm and Belding on April 4, but soon after referred the case to the state attorney general蘑菇视频 office.
The attorney general蘑菇视频 office dropped the charges, saying the complaints were not sufficiently supported.
Grimm, who represented himself at Tuesday蘑菇视频 hearing, alleges that the charges were the culmination of what became an adversarial relationship between the county commissioners and Russo since he took office in 2020. He argued that Russo frequently disregards potential conflicts of interest, and should have referred the case to the attorney general蘑菇视频 office from the beginning.
鈥淚t was after he got the glory of filing charges,鈥� Grimm said of Russo蘑菇视频 decision to refer the case after the fact.
According to Grimm, there have been other instances in which Russo was advised he should refer cases to the attorney general蘑菇视频 office due to a potential conflict.
One of those was the case of Timothy Nease, who was a county detective for two weeks. Nease was charged for misrepresenting his military service. The case was taken over by the attorney general蘑菇视频 office, after Russo蘑菇视频 office filed charges.
Russo was represented in court Tuesday by Ryan James. While cross-examining Belding, James keyed in on the decision to place objecting candidates at the bottom of the ballot. Belding explained that normally, a third party would draw on an absent candidate蘑菇视频 behalf, but that candidates outright refusing to draw was a unique situation.
鈥淚t was just a random, arbitrary decision?鈥� James asked.
鈥淵es,鈥� Belding responded.
James also insinuated that the timing of Grimm蘑菇视频 lawsuit, just days before the May 16 primary, was intended to hurt Russo蘑菇视频 reelection prospects. Russo was defeated by Brianna Vanata in the Republican primary.
鈥淚鈥檓 asking the court to dismiss this. This is a political hatchet job,鈥� James said.
In his closing statement, Grimm said his life has been negatively affected by the situation. He left his role as county solicitor after the charges were filed, and returned when they were dismissed, costing him a month蘑菇视频 salary. He argued had the case been referred to the attorney general蘑菇视频 office from the start, he never would have been charged.
鈥淚f you Google my name, it says I鈥檝e been arrested for 16 misdemeanors,鈥� Grimm said. 鈥淓verywhere I go, I get this. I鈥檓 an aggrieved person. I don鈥檛 do this lightly. (Russo) has a habit of ignoring conflict of interest, and going right to filing charges.鈥�