By Michael V. Cusenza
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Monday that an Astoria man was convicted at trial of murdering Lt. Alison Russo, a 24-year veteran of the City Fire Department’s Bureau of Emergency Medical Services.
Peter Zisopoulos, 37, was found guilty of murder in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree after a jury trial. The jury deliberated for less than one hour before reaching a verdict.
The Hon. Ushir Pandit-Durant set June 30 for sentencing. Zisopoulos faces 25 years to life in prison.
“Alison Russo was a long-time public servant who cared deeply for the people of New York. Our city is still in mourning for a woman who saved countless lives as a member of the FDNY EMS and as a volunteer with her local ambulance company on Long Island,” Katz said. “This defendant, armed with a serrated kitchen knife, repeatedly stabbed Russo in an unprovoked attack in September 2022 as the woman walked less than a block from her EMS stationhouse. Sadly, despite the extraordinary intervention of her EMS coworkers and emergency room doctors, Russo could not be saved. I hope this conviction brings Alison’s family, friends and coworkers solace as we continue to grieve her loss.”
According to the charges and trial testimony, on Sept. 29, 2022, at approximately 2:10 p.m., Alison Russo was in her uniform and on duty as she left her stationhouse and walked along 41st Street near 20th Avenue. Zisopoulos walked out of his apartment building, charged at Russo and shoved her to the sidewalk. The defendant repeatedly plunged a kitchen knife into the 61-year-old woman’s chest and abdomen, penetrating her liver, lungs and heart.
According to trial testimony, a man on a scooter tried to intervene and shouted at the defendant. Zisopoulos yelled at the man on the scooter and then chased him away with a knife in his hand.
After running toward the witness on the scooter, Zisopoulos walked past Russo as she bled on the sidewalk, turned the corner and walked into his apartment building.
A good Samaritan followed Zisopoulos and then ran to the nearby EMS station to get help.
Police responded to the scene and – after a standoff during which Zisopoulos refused to open his apartment door – he was arrested. A knife was recovered from the defendant’s front pants pocket. Testing determined that a mixture of DNA was found on the knife belonging to both Russo and the defendant.
Russo was taken to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead. She was posthumously promoted to the rank of captain.
“As a former prosecutor, I believe in the criminal justice system. My career started in the Queens District Attorney’s Office, one of the greatest urban prosecutor’s offices in the country. The people have now spoken, and the jury brought back a just verdict for this brutal crime,” City Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker said. “And while the verdict will not bring Capt. Russo back to us, I pray her family and those who loved her get some sense of closure from this. Captain Russo was a hero and continues to be a source of inspiration and strength to her colleagues and to this department.”
