Greene judges recuse themselves in Russo, Sams cases
A yet-to-be-determined new judge will oversee the case of a former Greene County district attorney and his chief detective, accused of using their power to settle scores with political rivals.
David Russo, 48, of Holbrook, and Zachary Sams, 41, of McDonald, had been scheduled for a hearing Monday on motions to move their cases to a different county.
Those motions were originally set to go before President Judge Jeffry Grimes in December. The hearing was cancelled following a discussion among the judge, attorneys for Russo and Sams, and a state prosecutor.
At that meeting, attorneys for Sams and Russo made an oral motion for recusal, which Grimes denied in a order that day. At the time, he said the case would be assigned to newly-elected Judge Christopher Simms at the start of the new year.
On Jan. 27, Simms and Grimes both entered orders stepping away from the case. The orders did not specify why Grimes and Simms recused themselves.
Sams’ attorney, Lawrence Boland, said the original recusal motion had come from Russo’s attorney, Stephen Stallings, who believed Russo’s high profile as former district attorney and the attention the case had garnered made an “independent, unbiased examination” impossible.
Stallings made a similar argument in his motion for a change of venue, saying an unbiased jury pool could only be found in another county.
“We’re just kind of sitting around waiting for somebody to tell us what’s going to happen next,” Bolind said on Monday.
Stallings could not be reached for comment.
Current and former Greene County officials, including county solicitor Eugene Grimm, emergency management director Rich Policz and former county commissioner Mike Belding, allege that Russo, with the help of Sams, carried out malicious prosecutions, wielded the threat of investigations or commandeered county resources.
Russo was defeated in his 2023 re-election bid, losing to current District Attorney Briana Vanata in the Republican primary.
With the recusals, the case was returned to court administration for reassignment. The Monday hearing will be rescheduled once a new judge has been selected, Grimes’ order said.
No new judge or hearing date had been set as of Monday, according to Greene County court records.
Sams and Russo face misdemeanor charges of retaliation for past official action and official oppression, plus corresponding conspiracy charges.
Russo is also charged with a felony count of conflict of interest and a misdemeanor count of misapplying entrusted government property.