The co-defendants were quite unalike in many ways. Russo was large and rumpled, Ellsberg trim and elegant. Russo spoke in the rhetoric of a left-wing rebel, while Ellsberg, a former Marine, was far more measured.
Once the trial was underway, they clashed repeatedly on strategy. Russo wanted to radicalize the proceedings with defense witnesses such as activists Tom Hayden and Howard Zinn, but Ellsberg preferred more established figures, such as McGeorge Bundy and Theodore Sorensen, both of whom had worked in the Kennedy administration.
Perhaps none of it mattered. The case against them was dismissed May 11, 1973, after the court learned that a covert team had broken into the offices of Ellsberg's psychiatrist looking for information to discredit the star defendant.
The break-in had been committed by operatives from the White House, whose crimes had come at the behest of Nixon and his top aides. Nixon resigned from office Aug. 9, 1974.
Russo, who worked for the Los Angeles County Probation Department after leaving Rand, returned to work for the county when the trial ended.
After his retirement and his mother's death in the early 1990s, he moved back to Suffolk but continued as an activist for peace and other causes. He was married and divorced twice and had no children.
Lee Boek, a friend for more than 20 years, said Russo had a contrary streak and "never felt he got the credit he deserved" for his role in publicizing the Pentagon Papers.
He risked his life and his jobs. He suffered a lot for it," Boek said, adding that his friend saw himself as "a real patriot of this country, someone who fought for right and justice."
On Thursday, Ellsberg sought to give his former colleague and co-defendant his due.
"The fact is I will be eternally grateful to Tony for his courage and partnership in what proved to be a useful action," Ellsberg said. "He set an example of willingness to risk everything for his country and for the Vietnam that he loved that very few, unfortunately, have emulated."
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elaine.woo@latimes.com
