911 transcripts ordered in stripper case
Detroit — A federal judge on Monday ordered the city of Detroit to hire a contractor to recover and transcribe 911 tapes from around the time of a rumored stripper party at the mayor’s Manoogian Mansion in the fall of 2002.
U.S. Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen gave the city 14 days to produce the transcripts, sought in connection with a lawsuit brought by the family of slain exotic dancer Tamara “Strawberry” Greene.
“It needs to get done,” Whalen said of producing the long-sought transcripts.
Greene was shot to death in Detroit on April 30, 2003. According to court records, Greene may have been assaulted at the rumored 2002 party by Carlita Kilpatrick, the wife of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
Greene’s family is suing the city, Kilpatrick and top city and police officials, alleging they obstructed the investigation into Greene’s still unsolved killing for political reasons. Kilpatrick and the other defendants deny the allegations.
Robert Zawideh, an attorney for Greene’s family, told Whalen the city should be found in default and lose the lawsuit because of foot-dragging in producing records. Whalen rejected the call, but stepped up pressure on the city.
John Schapka, an attorney for the city, said he located a contractor who can recover and transcribe 911 tapes from the fall of 2002. The work could be costly and take a couple of days, he told the judge.
Zawideh said outside court the tapes were initially sought during investigations into the rumored party by Attorney General Mike Cox and the Michigan State Police in 2003. State Police Detective Mark Krebs testified in a deposition that he and other investigators were about to leave Detroit police headquarters with a cache of 911 tapes when they were stopped by top police officials. Krebs testified the tapes were left in a sealed box, later found with the seal broken and tapes missing.
Also Monday, Whalen was told Cox, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, can’t turn over his home phone records in connection with the lawsuit because he doesn’t remember and can’t find out what phone company he used in 2003.
Norman Yatooma, the lead attorney for Greene’s family, subpoenaed records of phone calls between Cox and four others from around the time Cox investigated the party and declared it an “urban legend.”
Yatooma wants records of calls between Cox and Kilpatrick, former Detroit Corporation Counsel Ruth Carter, former Wayne County Prosecutor Mike Duggan, and former Kilpatrick aide Conrad Mallett.
Frank Monticello, an attorney for Cox, told Whalen that Cox has provided records from his office phone and his personal cell phone and those records include calls to Carter and “maybe one to Mike Duggan.”
But officials in Cox’s office haven’t been able to determine what company provided Cox’s home phone service in Livonia in 2003, despite seeking assistance from both the criminal division and the Public Service Commission division, Monticello said.
Cox thought it was AT&T but it turns out it wasn’t, Monticello said. There were about 60 companies providing home phone service in Livonia at that time and the three biggest ones say they don’t have any Cox phone records, he said.
Whalen questioned whether Cox’s office would not be able to find such home phone service information if it was conducting a drug investigation.
“We used all the powers of our agency,” Monticello said.
After the hearing, Yatooma described Cox’s claims as “pretty incredible.”
“It’s going to make the criminals in our state feel quite comfortable,” Yatooma said.
Whalen reserved judgment on whether to order Cox to sign a waiver so Yatooma can go directly to the phone carriers to seek the records. Both the motion related to the phone records and Cox’s response were filed under seal, but parts of their contents were revealed at the motion hearing.
http://detnews.com/article/20100309/METRO01/3090355/911-transcripts-ordered-in-stripper-case
