EMS Worker Wins Whistleblower Lawsuit

DETROIT — An EMS worker, who said he was fired after speaking out about the rumored but never proven party at the Manoogian Mansion, has won a whistleblower lawsuit against Detroit.

An Oakland County judge found the city in default Wednesday because no one ever responded to the lawsuit.

Former EMS worker Cenobio Chapa said he was fired after coming forward about seeing and hearing a badly beaten Tamara Greene at Detroit Receiving Hospital in 2003, and hearing her scream that the mayor’s wife beat her up.

Greene, a dancer who went by the name Strawberry, allegedly danced at a party in the mansion while former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was in office.

She was killed in a drive-by shooting a short time later.

Her death has never been solved and Kilpatrick denied having any party. An investigation by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox also concluded that the party never happened.

After being fired by the city in October, Chapa filed the whistleblower lawsuit.
Chapa said he had no idea what he saw that night would have such a lasting impact on his life.

“That was the beginning right there and I had no idea that was the starting line of the road I was going down,” he said.

Chapa could receive up to $5 million, but an exact amount will be determined at a court hearing next month.