Cox questioned in dancer lawsuit

Detroit — Attorney General Mike Cox has completed seven hours of questioning in a federal lawsuit brought by the family of a slain exotic dancer, but a lawyer said Monday he still has more questions.

Witnesses in civil lawsuits can only be questioned under oath for seven hours without a court order to extend the deposition.

Norman Yatooma, a lawyer for the family of dancer Tamara “Strawberry” Greene, questioned Cox for about 3 1/2 hours Dec. 11 and for another 3 1/2 hours Monday.

“I’ve done my seven hours,” Cox said as he left the courthouse. “If the court wants anything more out of me, I’ll be here to provide it.”

Chief U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen last week denied a request from Yatooma to extend the deposition. But he said Yatooma could make a new request if he still had specific questions he wanted to ask after the seven hours were used up.

Yatooma said he plans to make the request, though “we’re very happy with what we got today.”

Rosen has ordered Cox and Yatooma not to talk about the deposition.

Greene, who was linked to a rumored stripper party at the mayor’s Manoogian Mansion in fall of 2002, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Detroit on April 30, 2003.

Her family is suing the city, Kilpatrick and other defendants, alleging they obstructed the investigation of her still-unsolved slaying for political reasons. The defendants deny the allegations.

Cox, who is not a defendant and is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, investigated the rumored Manoogian Mansion party in 2003 and declared it an urban legend. He did not investigate Greene’s killing.

http://detnews.com/article/20100126/METRO01/1260363/Cox-questioned-in-dancer-lawsuit