Apr 19, 2024 By Mike Jones 5 min read

Two Greene County emergency management officials are suing the former district attorney, claiming he “engaged in politically motivated grandstanding and abuse of power” after filing criminal charges against them that were later dismissed by a judge.

Attorneys for Gregory Leathers and Robert “Jeff” Rhodes filed the federal lawsuit last week in Pittsburgh against former district attorney David Russo and his chief detective, Zachary Sams, accusing them of malicious prosecution.

The lawsuit stems from criminal charges Sams filed in 2022 against Leathers, Rhodes and Richard Policz – all of whom are or were high-ranking emergency officials – claiming they obstructed his investigation into the death of a Sycamore woman in July 2020 after a 911 dispatcher allegedly refused to send an ambulance to her house. However, all charges against the three men were dismissed by Senior Judge Katherine Emery this past November after she determined there was no prima facie evidence to proceed in the case since the emergency officials did not impede Sams’ search of the 911 dispatch center nearly four years ago.

Instead, the lawsuit claims Russo used the legal system for political purposes as a way to get re-elected in the May 2023 Republican primary, which he ultimately lost to current District Attorney Brianna Vanata.

“This goal ultimately resulted in both regional and national news coverage whereby the Plaintiffs’ names were cast in a false and criminal light by virtue of the international news network CNN and other news networks covering the charges,” the lawsuit states of the wide media coverage of the charges against the 911 officials.

Sams had been investigating the death of 54-year-old Diania Kronk when he secured search warrants to go into the 911 dispatch center. Kronk died July 2, 2020, a day after family members called 911 asking for an ambulance to be sent to her house while she was suffering a medical emergency, although dispatcher Leon Price allegedly refused to do so. Leon was charged in June 2022 with involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and other counts in connection with Kronk’s death, and is awaiting trial.

Rhodes was 911 coordinator at the time and Policz was the 911 operations and training coordinator, although he now serves as emergency management director after taking over that role from Leathers when he retired. Rhodes and Policz were present at the 911 operations center when Sams executed the search warrant in July 2020, but Leathers was not there at the time.

“The Plaintiffs and Richard Policz went above and beyond any legal duty they were under to assist law enforcement with the service of its search warrants used to obtain documents in the investigation of the actions of a Greene County 911 dispatcher, Leon Price,” the lawsuit states.

Just before filing charges against the three men, Sams returned in July 2022, nearly two years after the first search, to request more records, including “policy memos” kept in the binder of the 911 center. The lawsuit asserts Policz facilitated that request as well.

“It is believed that Defendant Sams was working in concert and at the direction of Defendant Russo to have the July 1, 2022, search warrant used to obtain documents in the investigation of the actions of the Plaintiffs and Richard Policz,” according to the lawsuit.

About two weeks later, Leathers, Rhodes and Policz were charged.

The lawsuit accuses Russo of using criminal prosecutions as a political tool since he also filed charges against former county commissioner Michael Belding last April over how the casting of the lots was handled before the 2023 primary. The state Attorney General’s office took over the case and dropped all charges against Belding, who has filed his own federal lawsuit against Russo and Sams accusing them of malicious prosecution.

“Defendant Russo embarked on a scheme or plan to cast the Greene County Commissioners, and especially Greene County Commissioner Michael Belding, in a conspiratorial light for the purpose of achieving his personal re-election to the position of Greene County District Attorney,” according to the lawsuit filed by the two emergency management officials.

The lawsuit accuses Russo and Sams of violating their civil rights, along with false arrest and malicious prosecution. Leathers and Rhodes are asking for more than $1 million in punitive damages, along with attorney and legal fees.

“We’re just seeking to put them back to where they were (financially) before having to spend money on a frivolous criminal action,” said Waynesburg attorney Dave Pollock, who is representing Leathers and Rhodes and filed the lawsuit April 12. “There were a lot of people who thought where there was smoke there was fire, and that put them in a bad light in the community with their friends and family. And we’re trying to recover a little bit of their reputation.”

Russo said he was unaware of the lawsuit when contacted by a reporter Thursday morning.

“This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Russo said. “I get my news from you.”

Sams could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Policz, who is the county’s emergency management director, is not a party in the lawsuit and has not filed anything as of Thursday.