Prosecutor To Review Cold Case Of Stripper's Death
Mayor Contends Party Never Took Place At Manoogian Mansion
POSTED: 12:44 pm EDT October 13, 2005
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced in a Thursday news release that an independent review will be conducted into the shooting death of a stripper.
Worthy made a formal request that Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings hand over the department's file regarding the Tamara Greene homicide, which was believed to have occurred on April 30, 2003.
A former Detroit police detective, Alvin Bowman, has filed a lawsuit against the city claiming he was demoted for investigating whether the slaying of Greene was linked to a rumored party at the Manoogian Mansion.
Tamara Greene
Greene, who was also known as "Strawberry," was rumored to have danced at Kilpatrick's alleged party, which was never proven to have taken place, Local 4 reported.
Worthy said Wednesday that her investigation will focus on Greene's homicide, and not the alleged party.
"Investigating the rumor of a party is not a compelling public safety issue," Worthy said. "Reviewing a cold homicide case is something we routinely do. This certainly qualifies as a cold case."
Greene was killed in a drive-by shooting, and Bowman said his homicide squad came to a surprising finding.
"Given the number of rounds fired with that one individual with that one gun, it was presumed it could have been someone in law enforcement," Bowman told a courtroom during his testimony last week.
Bowman said he gave the information directly to Bully-Cummings and days later, ended up being demoted from lead homicide detective to uniformed supervisor on the overnight shift at the Detroit police 2nd Precinct, the station reported.
When asked during testimony Wednesday why Bowman was transferred, the police chief said, "He continually violated the chain of command and, yes, as a result of that, it raised a specter of whether or not he was trustworthy."
Attorney General's Investigation Criticized
Earlier this week, Attorney General Mike Cox told Rescue 4 that he would be willing to turn over his investigation into the rumored party at the Manoogian Mansion to Worthy.
Manoogian Mansion
Cox referred to the party as an "urban legend" in a June 2003 news conference in Detroit, where he discussed the investigation into allegations of misconduct by Kilpatrick and his security team:
"Let me deal with the most inflammatory allegation first: the allegation of a party at the Manoogian Mansion involving strippers, the mayor and members of the Detroit Police Department. Over 50 different witnesses who presumably were in a position to know about such an incident were directly asked about the alleged party. Not one witness had any direct or indirect credible knowledge of such an event. These witnesses ranged from officers assigned to guard the mayor to civilians who called in tips. These allegations appear to be founded solely on wild rumor and speculation.
"During the course of the investigation, the mayor voluntarily offered to talk about the allegations. He emphatically denied any knowledge of such a party -- all the evidence supports his denial. The party has all the earmarks of an "urban legend," and it should be treated as such."
But Rescue 4 discovered that Cox has been accused by state police of blocking them from the investigation and failing to question other potential witnesses. The mayor's wife, Carlita Kilpatrick, who was rumored to have assaulted an exotic dancer at the alleged party, was never interviewed by Cox.
Rescue 4 also found that the meeting between Cox and the mayor was not recorded and Kilpatrick was not put under oath. State police investigators also said they were not invited in to ask questions.
When asked to respond why police investigators were absent from the meeting, Cox said, "Quite frankly, some of the investigators assigned by the MSP hadn't apparently worked in a big metro area, and they seemed distracted in what they would ask people about."
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick
Rescue 4 learned that Cox spent the entire meeting with the mayor asking about the dismissal of Deputy Chief Gary Brown, who was allegedly investigating the rumored party. Cox did not question Kilpatrick about an assault at the Manoogian, or if the party ever happened.
The attorney general told Rescue 4 he didn't have to discuss the alleged party because when the mayor walked in for their meeting, he immediately offered up information about the alleged incident. Official notes obtained from the meeting by Rescue 4 revealed that the party was never mentioned.
Cox closed the case a few days after the meeting, Rescue 4 reported.
"The citizens rightly expected that this not be a witchhunt or a congressional hearing filled with political rhetoric or an investigation into proper employment practices," he said. "We heard them. We did our job and I can report that the evidence does not demonstrate any crimes."
Kilpatrick told Rescue 4 that if he or his wife were asked to testify under oath in a new investigation, they would cooperate. The mayor, however, insists that the party never took place.
"What I want to make sure we stay focused on is the fact that nothing ever happened," Kilpatrick said.
The mayor referred to the state police investigation and Rescue 4's investigation as political.
"With three, four weeks left in the campaign, and the state police, who have never been a friend to anybody in this community, continue to try to push this issue," he said.
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/5094684/detail.html
Prosecutor to probe unsolved murder; woman allegedly performed at Manoogian party.
Friday, October 14, 2005
http://info.detnews.com/dn/2005/metro/0510/14/B01-348455.htm