Dec 3, 2021 3 min read

Greene County District Attorney David Russo is disputing his estranged wife’s claims of abuse and accused her of filing a protection-from-abuse order this week as leverage in the couple’s apparent custody battle over their children.

In a statement released through a spokesman late Wednesday night, Russo accused Jana Russo of fabricating an “elaborate and pejorative” PFA that was granted Monday by President Judge Lou Dayich following her accusations of abuse and intimidation.

David Russo said his wife left their Jackson Township home “without issue” Oct. 29, but over the next three weeks he was “incapacitated with a severe case” of COVID-19 that required medical care at several hospitals in the area. During that time, Russo claims his wife emailed him a custody order for their four minor children, which he said he refused until he could “understand the particulars” upon recovering from his illness.

“I am saddened and disheartened that a woman that I have known most of my adult life would have stooped so low as to attempt to destroy my career in order to garnish financial enrichment that which I would have provided anyway,” Russo said in a written statement.

Jana Russo wrote in the PFA that her husband regularly drank alcohol heavily on the weekends and was abusive to her, and in some instances, to their children. She said she was afraid for her safety, and spent weekends with their four children at her oldest son’s residence in October. She said they permanently moved to that son’s Carmichaels area home on Nov. 2.

The PFA also alleges Russo often intimidated his wife with firearms. More than a dozen firearms were seized from Russo’s possession this week as part of the PFA order, according to court documents.

State police were notified of the PFA, but no charges have been filed and it was not known if the state Attorney General’s office was looking into the matter. A spokeswoman at the AG’s office in Harrisburg did not respond Thursday to an email requesting comment on the situation.

Dayich granted the temporary PFA order and set a hearing on the matter for 9:30 a.m. Dec. 13 at the Greene County Courthouse. Jana Russo is also seeking custody of the couple’s children.

“I cannot and will not apologize for my wife’s vulgar behavior,” Russo said in the statement.

“However I do apologize for having been forced to publicly expose the greed and contempt of a woman that I would have done anything for.”

Russo is in his first term as district attorney after being elected in 2019.