Rusty Sabich’s appointment as acting prosecuting attorney returns him to the office at the center of the case that left him publicly stigmatized. The appointment offers a route back into public service, but not a clean restoration: Carolyn Polhemus’s murder remains unsolved, and Rusty expects to keep living with the suspicions attached to his name.

Background and Selection

In January, a petition drive led the City Council to authorize a recall election against Nico Delia Guardia. Augustine Bolcarro could have prevented the election but remained notably neutral toward Nico. Although Nico campaigned hard to keep his position and came close to winning, Tommy Molto was fired with about two weeks left in the campaign. Raymond Horgan, Larren Lyttle, Edgar Mumphrey, and other civic leaders opposed Nico, who was recalled by roughly 2,000 votes. He planned to seek a City Council seat from the South End, where Rusty expected him to win.

After the recall, Bolcarro formed a citizens’ commission to recommend a new prosecuting attorney. Raymond served on the commission and contacted Rusty about the post. Mac was rumored to be the first choice but declined to leave the bench. Raymond assured Rusty that the relevant parties had been consulted and that he would receive broad support. Rusty initially regarded the prospect as absurd and doubted that an appointment could rehabilitate him, but eventually agreed to consider it if the arrangements could be made.

Appointment and Terms

On March 28, four days short of the anniversary of Carolyn’s murder, Rusty became acting Kindle County prosecuting attorney. He accepted with the understanding that he would not run for reelection. The appointment therefore placed him in charge of the office without making him a candidate for a full elected term. The mayor told him more than once that he thought Rusty might make a good judge, but made no formal offer.

Aftermath and Significance

Rusty said he enjoyed the work, even though his relationships with many people remained strained. He chose to stay in Kindle County rather than start a new life elsewhere, reasoning that moving would not necessarily make his difficulties easier. The press described him as a caretaker prosecuting attorney, and he anticipated remaining a kind of public relic: people could continue to regard him as framed and to blame Nico for protecting Molto, while still seeing the whole affair as discreditable. His return to office thus marks professional reentry without erasing the case’s consequences.

The unresolved murder places a limit on what the appointment can settle. No one was pursuing Carolyn’s case, and Rusty considered another prosecution for the same crime practically impossible. When a few months earlier a jailhouse inmate had tried to confess, Rusty sent Dan Lipranzer to take his statement; Lipranzer reported back that the claim was not credible. The office changed hands, but the central question of Carolyn’s death remained open.