Trial begins for former Greene DA, lead detective
Accused of retaliating against political foes
The trial for a former Greene County district attorney and his lead detective accused of misusing their power to investigate and pursue charges against Russo’s political opponents got underway Tuesday morning.
David Russo, 49, of Waynesburg, and Zachary Sams, 42, of McDonald, both appeared in court before Senior Judge John Wagner in Greene County Court of Common Pleas.
During his term as district attorney, Russo, with the help of Sams, is accused of engaging in malicious prosecutions and investigations against a number of Greene County officials, including county solicitor Eugene Grimm and former county commissioner Mike Belding, who he filed charges against for their handling of the casting of the lots for a primary election to determine ballot order before referring the matter to the state attorney general’s office.
On Tuesday morning, the court heard from an agent from the attorney general’s office who investigated the election case, as well as an assistant district attorney who worked under Russo.
April Campbell, who at the time was a special agent for the attorney general’s office, said the complaint against Belding and Grimm had not alleged a crime, or showed what action they had taken toward committing one.
“In your discussions with Detective Sams, did it ever become clear to you what it would have been?” Senior Deputy Attorney General Heather Serrano asked Campbell.
“No,” Campbell said.
Campbell also recalled a comment to Sams in which she remarked on how many of his cases seemed to be political — in the past six months, “about 100% of them,” she remembered him saying.
Former Assistant District Attorney Roy Cross, who worked in Greene County from 2002 to 2024, remembered Russo focused on trying ordinary criminal cases when he first came in. As time went on, Russo became more interested in pursuing cases based on his own personal feuds or interests, he said.
Sams’ activities, previously dealing with the county’s drug task force, also shifted to investigations directed to him by Russo, Cross said.
Cross said he had agreed with pursuing search warrants into the leak of an audit into how funds for Russo’s newly formed SWAT team were being used. The Superior Court denied the request, telling Cross and Sams they had gotten the case law wrong, and needed to have an additional crime attached to it.
Russo had been “very unhappy,” Cross said, telling them “we just have to find a crime that attaches to it and try again.”
Cross said he told Russo he was no longer interested in working on the case.
“When the Superior Court judge tells you, ‘No, you’re misinterpreting that, I tend to pay attention to that,'” he said.
In the election case, Cross had reviewed election law and found the case to be “quasi-criminal, quasi-civil.” Because of the potential for conflict of interest, he said, he had recommended Russo hand off the case to the attorney general’s office. Russo had told him a civil case would be too slow, with consequences coming too late, Cross said.
“I was shocked to find out that they were filed,” he said.
Russo served one term in office, losing to current District Attorney Brianna Vanata in the 2023 Republican primary.
Aaron McKendry, senior deputy attorney for the state attorney general’s office, said the commonwealth planned to demonstrate “the pattern of Russo not working to use the powers of the district attorney for what they should be used for, but for his own ambitions.”
Russo’s attorney, Stephen Stallings, said the defense would not be able to show evidence of nefarious intent. With regards to an investigation into whether election laws were violated, he said, Russo let Sams and Cross investigate, then referred to the state attorney general’s office.
“Russo believed he was acting lawfully and legally,” he said.
Sams’ attorney, Lawrence Bolind, also denied that Sams had acted unethically.
“Every act that he did was based on an affidavit of probable cause that was presented to a magistrate who signed off on it,” he said.
Sams and Russo face misdemeanor charges of retaliation for past official action and official oppression, each paired with conspiracy charges.
Russo is also charged with a felony count of conflict of interest and a misdemeanor count of misapplying entrusted government property.
The case is scheduled to run through Oct. 23.
In a hearing before the trial began Tuesday, Wagner ruled against a defense motion that sought to dismiss the charges against Russo and Sams on the grounds that delays with discovery and finding a new judge after recusals had violated their constitutional right to a quick and speedy trial.