Cox tells Court he can’t find his own home phone records for stripper lawsuit
Detroit — Attorney General Mike Cox can’t turn over his home phone records in connection with a lawsuit brought by the family of a slain exotic dancer because he doesn’t remember and can’t find out what phone company he used in 2003, a federal judge was told today.
Norman Yatooma, the attorney for the family of dancer Tamara “Strawberry” Greene, has requested records of phone calls between Cox and four others from around the time in 2003 when Cox investigated a rumored stripper party at the mayor’s Manoogian Mansion that allegedly occurred in the fall of 2002.
Frank Monticello, an attorney for Cox, told U.S. Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen that Cox has provided records from his office phone and his personal cell phone.
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.
Greene, who was linked to the rumored party, was shot to death in Detroit on April 30, 2003.
Her 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. The defendants deny the allegations. The suit was filed in 2005.
Yatooma has subpoenaed records of calls between Cox and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, former Detroit Corporation Counsel Ruth Carter, former Wayne County Prosecutor Mike Duggan, and former Kilpatrick top aide Conrad Mallett, Whalen was told today.
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 a motion hearing today.
After investigating the rumored Manoogian party, Cox, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, declared it an “urban legend.”
Whalen also heard arguments today that the Greene family should be awarded judgment in their lawsuit because of repeated foot-dragging in producing records by the city of Detroit and former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
He refused to award a default but gave the city 14 days to hire a contractor to recover 911 tapes from around the time of the rumored party.
“There is clearly a pattern of disregard concerning the city’s duties to gather, preserve and produce relevant evidence to the court and to plaintiffs,” Yatooma said in a January court filing asking that the city and Kilpatrick be found in default.
