AG Cox To Be Deposed In Greene Case
Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox has agreed to a deposition with the lawyer for the family of Tamara Greene, Local 4 learned Friday.
Greene, a dancer known as Strawberry, was rumored to have been at a never-proven party thrown at a Manoogian Mansion by former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in 2002.
On April 30, 2003, Greene was in a car with her boyfriend on Detroit’s west side when a gunman opened fire on their vehicle, killing Greene and wounding the boyfriend.
“Although the Attorney General’s office has never been involved in the Tamara Greene homicide investigation and case law would likely preclude any Attorney General from testifying in a case like this, Attorney General Cox will voluntarily offer testimony in her family’s suit against the City of Detroit in order to offer information regarding the department’s 2003 investigation of the Manoogian Mansion party rumors,” Cox’s office said in a statement.
A date for the deposition has not been announced.
Birmingham lawyer Norman Yatooma is representing Greene’s family in a $150 million wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Detroit. Yatooma’s lawsuit claims Kilpatrick and high-ranking police obstructed the investigation into Greene’s unsolved slaying.
Kilpatrick has denied that such a party took place.
Cox in 2003 investigated and said he found no evidence that a party had occurred, calling the event an “urban legend.”
Last week, Michigan State Police detective Mark Krebs gave six hours of testimony Tuesday about the investigation into Greene’s death. He was one of three detectives that were looking into her death until it was closed.
Kreb’s testimony revealed that he believed the Detroit Police Department was destroying evidence in the case. But his testimony also said because of actions by Cox, he was powerless to stop them.
Kreb said Cox killed the investigation by refusing to allow investigators to subpoena witnesses and insisting that Kilpatrick’s wife, Carlita, not be interviewed at all and that Kilpatrick have a meeting with him.
“It’s the idea that the state troopers were trying to investigate and they were denied subpoena power by the attorney general’s office. So shut down, well if you have no subpoena power you have no opportunity to move forward,” Yatooma said.
In an interview with Local 4 last week, Cox denied any wrongdoing.
“The reality is that you’re trying to change this into some corrupt conspiracy that somehow I’m in bed with that loser who’s in Houston, Dallas or wherever he is,” Cox said.
Detroit police reopened Greene’s homicide case file in early October.
The decision to reopen the case follows a Local 4 Defender investigation that uncovered a team of new police officers who, in sworn statements, said they were shut down when they tried to follow up on leads.
In addition to the officers, Local 4 has spoken with several city workers who said they were punished for speaking out on the rumored party.
• Cenobio Chapa, a city EMT, came forward with his recollection of seeing a woman that matched the description of Greene at a local hospital the night of the alleged party.
• Michael Kearns, city EMT, said he saw Greene at a Detroit Shell gas station with a swollen left eye.
• Doug Bayer, city EMT, said he saw Greene at Detroit Receiving Hospital and was told by a fellow EMT that Kilpatrick’s wife, Carlita, had assaulted her.
• Joyce Rogers was a clerk at DPD headquarters when, she say, she saw a report about how the mayor’s wife assaulted Greene.
