Lawsuit alleges coverup in stripper death

DETROIT, April 13 (UPI) -- Depositions by ex-police officers suggest former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was involved in a coverup involving a stripper who was later killed.

The depositions were given Saturday in a lawsuit by the family of Tamara Greene, the Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday. Greene, who allegedly performed at a 2002 party at Manoogian Mansion, the mayor's official residence, was killed in a drive-by shooting in April 2003.

Sandy Cardenas, a former dispatcher, said officers were deployed to the mansion because of a disturbance the night of the party. But she was told when she reported for her next shift that Internal Affairs officers had taken the 911 tapes.

The newspaper said there had been rumors that Carlita Kilpatrick, the mayor's wife, assaulted a stripper.

Sgt. Odell Godbold, a former homicide detective, said the investigation into Greene's shooting was stalled by his superiors, who did everything they could to "stop, obstruct, hinder, and terminate my investigation."

But so far, no one has produced any witnesses who attended a party at Manoogian Mansion the night Greene was there. John Sellek, a spokesman for Michigan Attorney General Michael Cox, said his office and State Police "interviewed over 200 witnesses, and no witness has produced any evidence that could be used in court."