Posts Tagged Urban Legend

It’s one thing for an attorney general, who is supposed to be an “independent chief law enforcement” officer, to state he doesn’t believe he has enough information to continue an investigation.  But it’s another thing entirely when he crafts a defense for the accused. Attorney General Mike Cox in the Manoogian Mansion party investigation went beyond getting out of the way. He threw Kwame Kilpatrick a lifeline in 2003 by starting the “Urban Legend” defense.

Now, important new information may soon be coming to light regarding Cox’s handling of the investigation of the murder of Tamara “Strawberry” Greene.  Greene is alleged to have attended a now-infamous party at Manoogian Mansion in 2003 thrown by then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Reports allege that at the party, Greene found herself in an altercation with the mayor’s wife, which landed Greene in the emergency room.

According to Fox News 2 in Detroit, an ex-assistant attorney general under Cox named Brooke Jordan will soon come forward with more information about Cox’s decision to shut down an investigation into Greene’s murder.

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox led an investigation into the alleged events at the  Manoogian Mansion, but abruptly called the probe off without ever interviewing Carlita  Kilpatrick, labeling the whole affair an “urban legend.”  Investigator Mark Krebs, a detective with the Michigan State Police, testified in the civil lawsuit against Kilpatrick and others that Cox ended the investigation prematurely.  According to the Michigan Messenger:

“Krebs testified that investigators, himself included, were stymied by Attorney General Mike Cox, reports WDIV television in Detroit. Krebs alleges that Cox would not authorize subpoenas to further the investigation, directed detectives not to interview Kilpatrick’s wife, Carlita, and told investigators he would interview Kilpatrick himself, alone, without attorneys or other witnesses present.”

It was as the investigation was getting underway that Greene was shot to death in her car.  It goes without saying that Greene would have been a valuable witness in the case against Kilpatrick.  The civil lawsuit by Greene’s family alleges that the police were actually involved in the killing.  An affidavit filed by former Detroit police lieutenant Alvin Bowman states that “I suspected that the shooter was a law enforcement officer, and more specifically, a Detroit Police Department officer.” Bowman contended that the high number of .40 caliber bullets that hit Greene but not her boyfriend would indicate that the shooter had firearms training.

Questions remain about why Cox closed the investigation into the murder of Tamara Greene, and some question whether Cox and Kilpatrick (who subsequently pled guilty to two counts of perjury) struck a secret deal to keep the Manoogian affair quiet.  Expect to hear more in the weeks to come.