New radio ad plays up Manoogian rumor
A new radio ad criticizes Attorney General Mike Cox for his role in the investigation of a long-rumored, never proved party at the Manoogian Mansion, allegedly hosted by former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and visited by a stripper who later was killed.
SPONSOR: Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America, an Arlington, Va., nonprofit that worked on Republican Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign in 2008 and helped with the “Swift Boat” ads that hurt Democratic Sen. John Kerry’s 2004 presidential bid.
LENGTH: 60 seconds.
AIRING: On WJR-AM (760) in Detroit and WJIM-AM (1240) in Lansing; two weeks.
AUDIO: Man’s voice: “Is Mike Cox hiding something?” Introduces former Detroit Police Department dispatcher Sandy Cardenas, who says: “I dispatched police cars that night, and I know for a fact that several cars showed up at the scene. … But Mike Cox ended his investigation after only 30 days.” The man’s voice returns and lists a phone number for police officers to call if they have information. “Send Mike Cox a message that the truth is going to come out whether he wants it to or not.”
Rick Reed, foundation president, said he “would like to see the attorney general answer these questions. I have no ties to any of the candidates. I don’t even know who all of them are.”
THE FREE PRESS FOUND: Cox investigated the party rumor, saying his office interviewed more than 100 people and found no evidence of a party. He called it an “urban legend” and described the case as “gum on my shoe.” Numerous news media outlets and lawyers also have investigated and not found anyone who attended the alleged party.
Cardenas’ credibility has been called into question because it took her more than seven years to come forward and she hasn’t come up with a specific date for the party.
The Free Press has asked a federal judge to release Cox’s deposition in the case.
COX SAYS: The ad is a ploy by Ann Arbor businessman Rick Snyder, a Republican candidate for governor, to smear Cox instead of debating issues of substance.
SNYDER SAYS: His campaign knew nothing of the ad.
NEW WRINKLE: The number used in the ad is for LSS Consulting, a private investigator used by Birmingham attorney Norman Yatooma, who is representing the family of Tamara Greene, the stripper who supposedly danced at the party. She was shot and killed in a car in front of her boyfriend’s house in 2003. Yatooma said he has nothing to do with the ad and didn’t know his private investigator had teamed up with the foundation. “But if this gets me one key witness, that will just be good luck for me.”
http://www.freep.com/article/20100619/NEWS15/6190302/1322/New-radio-ad-plays-up-Manoogian-rumor
