The post-prison update on convicted Police Sergeant Wedad Elhage (Part 1 of 6)
Detroit Examiner
September 22, 2012
In 2011, Detroit Police Sergeant Wedad Elhage was convicted of aggravated stalking of her 8-year domestic partner, Wayne County Prosecutor Shelley Drain. In an unusual case that condemned a much-decorated and accomplished street cop, the proceedings swerved into questionable legalities.
To astute researchers, the case brims with blatant inequities as well as abuse of official power and a seamy network in the Detroit judicial and prosecutorial system.
And that atmosphere continues for Elhage.
Although official records fail to support any evidence of undeniable guilt — such as definitive license plate identification, verified IP addresses, broken bottle evidence — these and more means could, and would, have exonerated her. But, the trial featured missing physical evidence, failure to produce taped recordings or text messages used to convict by mere word of mouth, contradictory records and logs, missing facts and what the defendant says were lies told under oath.
In American jurisprudence at its worst, it merely showed that a Detroit policewoman who also happens to be a lesbian won’t get a fair trial here. The entire case seems to hinge on rumor, conflicts of interest, unsupported allegations and outright entrapment, some of which was even admitted to during depositions and on the witness stand.
It also underscores that those who cross a Detroit judge or politician will pay dearly.
Elhage’s conviction followed a case pushed to fruition by Drain’s father, Judge Gershwin Drain, a major influence in his daughter’s relationships. The case headed toward court when the elder Drain was reported to have been unsuccessful at buying off Elhage.
Gershwin Drain is also the newly appointed Detroit federal judge, who was nominated by President Barack Obama and championed for that role by 33-year incumbent Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) and 11-year incumbent Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Contribution records indicate that not only has he frequently contributed to President Obama’s coffers, but also to those of both Levin and Stabenow.
Gershwin Drain was approved by the U.S. Senate on August 8, leaving his most recent stint with Detroit’s Third Circuit Court.
Since publication of previous articles about Elhage, Examiner readers and court insiders also allege other questionable cases involving Judge Drain, characterizing a dubious character while on the bench. His overall creditability comes into question repeatedly by those who have experienced his domain, as does the character of other witnesses and officials who appeared in the case against Wedad Elhage.
Elhage says his internal affairs deposition blatantly reflects his disdain for her sexuality by his referral to her as “a thing.”
“I was called ‘a thing’ rather than by my name,” she said. “I know well his viewpoint.”
That raises serious questions about bias as Judge Drain heads into hearing federal cases. Should this type of judge even serve on the bench, let alone a federal one?
Despite her sexual orientation, the 6’2” Elhage was a favorite officer in executive security detail, consistently chosen to protect high-profile figures, and she has certificates and photos to corroborate it. Those include President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, and celebrity politicians, like former cop/City Council President, and sometimes Hollywood actor, Gil Hill.
She met Shelley Drain in 1999/2000 at a Dennis Archer event, where they were both introduced to the MEL program. It entailed talking to Detroit students about law enforcement, and discussing gang violence, drugs and other inner-city temptations. Through that common interest, Drain and Elhage socialized, then dated and moved in together.
“I had dated many of the women in the prosecutors’ office, and for years, although it was well known, we lived in peace,” said Elhage. “But, as this case against me progressed, I knew I had too many people coming out against me because of other things, even though they were irrelevant to my case. For instance, I had testified in a prosecutor’s divorce case years before about her drinking, and I knew well about prosecutors and other officials drinking, gambling, watching porn while on duty and more.”
Elhage says people with axes to grind came out of the woodwork to weigh in on her case, primarily because they knew Gershwin Drain was on Obama’s short list of nominees. They put, she says, their own political aspirations before her lifelong career, and the truth, to stay on Drain’s good side.
Elhage still mentions a veritable who’s who of Detroit among those she’s met or hobnobbed with, including then-Senator Barack Obama. She also says many know how hard she worked and would recommend her — people like former Police Chief Isaiah “Ike” McKinnon and current Chief Ralph Godbee, Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napolean, former Mayor Dennis Archer and former U.S. Secret Service Head Reggie Ball.
“And, that list goes on,” she said. “My comrades from the police department — and I have gotten about 100 calls from them since I was released, including commanders, lieutenants and officers — my instructors who knew me from working on my master’s, people from the community who know me, too.”
Elhage was nominated by crime victims’ families in 2002 for Officer of the Year for closing the most cases, also receiving the governor’s award and a city resolution that year. She calls the latter honor unusual, with resolutions typically only given in the event of retirement or death.
Following Elhage’s release from Huron Valley Correctional Facility in August, she agreed to talk exclusively with Examiner about her experience, her background in law enforcement, the Kwame Kilpatrick investigation she worked on and her future.
They shut you up and locked you down.
Q: When it comes to hard evidence of your guilt in this case, it seems to be lacking overall. Yet, you were soundly convicted and are still subject to such limitations as having to wear a tether for 24 months, home confinement without pre-arranged permission even for medical emergencies, cannot own a computer or cell phone, had all potential household weapons confiscated and so on. Even with your release, you have compared that to prison. You have continued to try to unravel complications in your case and unfair treatment.
Recent prison stories in the news have centered on DNA evidence and defendant release, such as in the local case of the Highers brothers. What are your thoughts on being freed and cleared as a result of scientific assistance?
A: There are certainly innocent people out there who have been convicted — and I am one of them. When DNA proof can clear them, that is indisputable fact that courts must address.
However, in my case, no DNA exists, so I do not have that option.
Q: Much press has also been devoted to the cases being followed up on by The Innocence Project and in convictions such as with The West Memphis (Arkansas) 3, who have since been released through various plea arrangements and further investigation. A movie is now being made about the WM3 and its terrible police work and lying witnesses that convicted the defendants. Your thoughts?
A: It is much harder to prove that people lied under oath or cut various deals to send someone up. In my case, people would have to be willing to come forward and admit their perjury and/or they destroyed “lost” evidence or had personal agendas, and that could affect their careers.
Or, I need a person in a position of power to look at this case in its entirety to see how I was railroaded. It is a case of one thing after another to get me out of circulation, and I had a long line of people I crossed in the course of my work with the police department on the Tamara Greene murder case and other high-profile instances. I was not shy about calling corrupt situations what they were and if I felt people covered evidence up, hid things or did other unethical or illegal acts in a case, I was not quiet about it. That did not earn me any friends in the ranks of the corrupt in Detroit, which were and are many. In spite of the jailing of Kwame and others, that issue, and the hierarchy who created that environment, is only now being dealt with.
Let’s discuss the trial and being in jail.
Q: You were in custody at the Wayne County Jail from December until the trial date on February 20. Why so long?
A: They have to try you in the average of three months, 180 days, unless you are bonded out. In my case, they had two $500,000 bonds on me for an equivalent of $1 million for their charge of aggravated stalking.
Many are held for far less, even sex offenders, hit-and-runs, violent criminals and murderers, who might typically be held for $10,000, but they held me for a million.
Q: Walk me through a typical day for you during your incarceration in the Wayne County Jail and subsequent trial.
A: They had me on lock-down 24/7, in a private, high-security area. The nights were endless, the days were very long. I would try to run in place and do sit-ups, but I felt like I was going crazy; I felt depressed, and that affected my energy level. I would pace back and forth. I wasn’t in general population; they had officers come and talk to me, but it felt like being a lion or tiger (in a cage), reaching for the sky when you can’t go anywhere. I was in the cell that the former mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, was in — and had a private shower, private bathroom, with cameras on me the whole time. That was surreal, since I had been involved earlier in the Tamara Greene murder that investigated his involvement.
Q: How were you treated while in custody by personnel, your former coworkers, bosses and peers?
A: Most of the time, they were courteous, until the end of the trial. That’s when they used a Wayne County sheriff as a courtroom officer. He was always making prejudicial comments in front of the jurors and cracking jokes about my sexuality, rude to my family and did what he could to hurt my case. He was also abusive; he smacked me and grabbed me, shoving me around, like into the wall — and he made sure he pushed me around in front of the Drain family. Officers knew what was happening to me was wrong, but no one intervened. I’ve always thought our system is fair and just, but the people we select, elect — even the jurors — can be persuaded and manipulated.
I witnessed many things over the years as an officer, but this was unlike I ever even believed it was.
Q: Were there any repercussions of that type of rough handling?
A: Well, the jury verdict didn’t go as I had hoped. I also tried to lodge a complaint about the abuse, but never heard anything back, as a result.
Don’t miss Parts 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 — spanning from life and corruption at Huron Valley, behind the scenes in the Tamara Greene shooting, other corrupt Detroit leaders and what the future holds for Wedad Elhage, the cop who was sacrificed for politics.
The post-prison update on convicted Police Sergeant Wedad Elhage (Part 2 of 6)
Detroit Examiner
September 22, 2012
The following is a continuation of Part 1 in the post-prison interview of Wedad Elhage.
Let’s discuss the trial and being in jail.
Q: How did you keep yourself sane during that event, and overall, while awaiting the outcome of the accusations?
A: I was worried about my future, my career, my family — so much that I couldn’t sleep with so much on my mind. They put me on pills at the county — Seroquel* — and the idea was to take off the edge, like with a low Valium, but it made me drowsy and numb and I couldn’t handle the courtroom lights or what was going on. I was not familiar with this medication; the nurses began giving it to me in the mornings, but then began coming at sporadic times. Often they were running late, sometimes didn’t come at all and sometimes would give me a dose at 9 or 10, other times at 11. I tried to remain coherent, but it dazed and affected me on the stand, too, and I asked my attorney for help that never came.
*(Editor’s Note: Per drugs.com, Seroquel is used in the treatment of depressive and acute manic episodes of bipolar disorder by regulating the balance of brain chemicals. Elhage was never diagnosed as bipolar, nor has she had any symptoms associated with it.)
Q: How would you characterize the attorney/client relationship with your defense counsel, Chuck Busse?
A: He was useless. We never officially prepped for my case; we barely talked about it. He’d arrive late for our appointed times to meet, and then only wanted to talk about his girlfriend, leaving us so little time. There were solid witnesses he was to call and testimony he was supposed to pursue, but he changed how we were to approach the various issues, urging different stories than the truth to be told. And, I never had the full opportunity to address the charges or tell the truth in court because the judge and prosecutor kept shooting me down and my attorney would not object.
Prior to my arrest, I kept telling him I was being followed and that I was under surveillance. Knowing that, why would I go and do something to damage my career and credibility or have to tell anything but the truth on the stand? That was never addressed.
But, the drugs given me in the county jail affected me terribly, and he took it upon himself to take control over things, like when he brokered a deal that I plead guilty and wouldn’t have to do any time. I didn’t even know he was doing things like that, although it never materialized anyway. (Detroit Police Department) Internal Affairs Commander Brian Stair created another deal — I still have this text message and those that followed — that one of my witnesses and I were to redo Stair’s kitchen as part of my plea. I was never conferred with about this, and as a result, lies were told on the stand under oath, including him claiming that I called him and said this incident with Shelley wasn’t “done.”
Stair was promoted by Kwame’s administration, and there is a real history there. In my case, lies were told by him and others; I did not follow through on that kitchen thing — I did not want the arrangement — it was corruption.
The stories told on the stand did not match with what really happened, and even other officers in on the original complaints, like some through the Canton police department, didn’t know what was being talked about when the final testimony and documents resulted. That’s because others than me devised a strategy for this case that was not based on truth.
It was my life and career in the balance. I loved my career; I’m 47 now and my entire world since age 21 was involved in criminal justice. And now I have served time for a conviction.
Q: You were convicted of aggravated stalking, but there does not seem to be recorded evidence of any acts of violence between you and the complainant. Were there any activities involving a gun, knife, fists, other weapons or other aspects of physical violence directed at her throughout your time together or the development of this case against you?
A: Never, never, never. In fact, at the preliminary exam, she testified that she never feared me. But, that fact was never raised at the trial, especially by my attorney. Like with any other couples and marriages, we argued, raised voices at times, yes. But she knew I was never a violent person. And, she still does.
Q: What kinds of feelings were exchanged between you and her during your 8-year relationship?
A: There was love between us, of course; we were a couple, even though she would spend holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas, with her family. We worked together, both fulltime during our jobs and also part-time, when we did security. We bought homes together, we lived and traveled together, I bought her jewelry and other gifts. I also encouraged her, built her up, and think I made her stronger and more aware of her personal and professional appearance. I gave her confidence in her work and encouraged her to help other women during her career. Where she was passive or timid, I helped to make her feel more confident.
There was a time when she was in trouble because she used to lose a lot of cases in her court and I went and sat in her courtroom to see if I could determine why, then helped coach her to gain more confidence.
Q: Shelley’s background, her history with her father and issues that resulted from her childhood, seemed to figure into this case and your relationship from the beginning. Even after this case began, she continued to confide in you, right? About issues that impacted her adult relationships? And it was while responding to some of her problems that you dug yourself in deeper, later to be prosecuted, tried and persecuted?
A: Yes, I responded when she was in need or others told me she was, and some of those very times are how I was entrapped. There were many issues discussed between us over the years and I kept all of those confidences and was loyal to her.
I wish her the best of luck and hope she gets past her problems. But, I have moved on in my life.
Q: Yet at the end, during the trial, she stated that she was afraid of you?
A: She testified that she was holding a gun, never knowing what window I was going to come from, which was ridiculous. I got her a Glock 27 for her birthday, and used to take her to the range; we would practice target-shooting together. That’s because we used to work part-time in security for a company called LSS, Legal Strategy and Security, and that gun was for her protection on the job. She had a CCW and also used to do surveillance with me in domestic divorce cases and so on.
I was professional in my job and giving in our relationship. I never put my hands on anybody except the bad guys who resisted arrest or tried to fire at me or my department partner.
When the cops needed a cop, they called me.
Q: As a former officer, what is your take on being accused, and then convicted, of aggravated stalking?
A: As a former officer, I know full well that 98 percent of these cases involve violence and stalkers deserve to be in prison. But that never happened here. The only things we both did as this case was developing was email and talk by phone. I wished her happy birthday, happy holidays and so on, and she answered them or contacted me first. That was from about April until July. She, meanwhile, called me, too. But, no evidence was presented to illustrate this aspect in the case. Any evidence was purely circumstantial, such as the broken glass and nails in her driveway she accused me of leaving. I never did that. And, if that did happen from someone else for which I got blamed, why did she clean up the glass and then take pictures of it to the police department to make a complaint and name me as the person who did it? Wouldn’t you want it investigated IN the driveway and substantiated?
And the threats they claim came via email? They never provided the IP addresses or copies, but accused me anyway. Also, even the complainants couldn’t agree on the so-called voices on phone messages they claim were left; her dad said it was a man’s voice, Shelley said it was a woman.* They never produced the tapes, either.
Yes, at the end, I did lose my emotions as this case escalated. I admit that I called her obese, a deceiving bitch and some other names. But, (gestures toward her late father’s framed wall photo) I swear on my dad’s name and grave, none of those other things happened that I was accused of.
*(Editor’s Note: Complainant paperwork states that there were no messages left — just hang-ups — during receipt of any alleged calls. Similar contradictions reverberate throughout official documentation as well as trial testimony.)
Q: How did the day of the verdict unfold?
A: I knew it was bad because the jury came back with the verdict pretty quickly and usually that does not favor defendants. My attorney’s intern came to tell me my lawyer was running late and was unavailable for the verdict’s announcement. They only did a telephone conference with the jury to get the actual verdict.
Q: Did you plan to appeal?
A: I signed a paper to pursue an appeal, and he promised he would come and see me to strategize that, but he never did. I called him a couple of times when I was finally able to make calls after my initial 90 days’ quarantine from prison and he’d hang up the phone. He made a deal without my knowledge or approval with the case’s prosecutor, Michael King, saying that I was guilty — because he said he knew I would never go for it. I just wanted to be defended with dignity and honesty, not have people step outside of their bounds, have so much control over my future, or resort to lies in court. I feel that if the truth is told, then it is better all the way around for everyone.
I have too much respect for the system and I know it can work. It just didn’t under these circumstances in my case. They convicted an innocent person.
Don’t miss Parts 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 — spanning from life and corruption at Huron Valley, behind the scenes in the Tamara Greene shooting, other corrupt Detroit leaders and what the future holds for Wedad Elhage, the cop who was sacrificed for politics.
The post-prison update on convicted Police Sergeant Wedad Elhage (Part 3 of 6)
Detroit Examiner
September 22, 2012
The following is a continuation of Parts 1 and 2 in the post-prison interview of Wedad Elhage.
Q: Describe the prison environment at Huron Valley.
A: I shared a 4’x9’ cell and was supposed to be in low security, Level 1, but they put me in Level 2. I spent a lot of time reading; a friend was anonymously sending me books and I got caught up on all the best sellers. In prison, they watch a lot of bad TV so I usually didn’t pursue that. I kept a journal — my years of law enforcement gave me training to recall facts and details and I have a photographic memory — but the officials did a room inspection, found it and threw it away. In it, I talked about the prison corruption, including the drugs that are smuggled in by the officers, and they didn’t want that to get out. That includes marijuana, crack cocaine and heroin and more.
I had to deal with the threats of inmates on one hand and the prison officials on the other and it is chaos. There is so much corruption.
I paid $1400 per month for prison costs. You know, we treat our pets with compassion, but treat humans like animals, and nowhere is that more apparent than in prison. My two puppies got better treatment than I did in prison. Medical attention was seriously delayed, sometimes by weeks or months, even three months to see a dentist when needing a root canal or six hours to have internal bleeding looked at, and even then you have to go through four nurses before being allowed to see a doctor.
There are delays for your mail by weeks, if you get it at all. Three meals cost about $3.49 per day; but if you go to chow, you risk being drawn into prisoners fighting over relationships, drugs and other things. Still, you don’t receive a tray in your cell if you don’t go to chow or if a visitor arrives just as meals are on. And, if you do get drawn into conflicts, even to defend yourself, the minute you put your hands on someone, you lose your parole. Often, even at chow, there is not enough food, and since the officers eat the same menu, they at times run out of food for prisoners.
Prison officials manipulate cameras to create different outcomes on film — rewinding tapes or even claiming cameras are broken to build a case against prisoners they don’t like or they can’t break — and they are very verbally abusive. They tried to try me all over again, re-enact the trial right there in the unit supervisor’s office; the correction officials called me names alluding to my being a cop, and called me “racist” and lesbian names, ridiculing my education, discussing my case in front of other inmates.
Subsequently, I was threatened by inmates who wanted to cut me even more than they did others.
The educational classes are either cancelled or never happen, and the mental health program is so understaffed, they are putting everyone on pills. And, officers who smuggle drugs in blame the nurses.
One unit supervisor, whose father was supposedly a reverend, I complained about to various internal affairs inspectors within the Michigan Department of Corrections and even wrote to the director because she was so abusive. She kept sending for me to come to her office, berating me and telling me she would beat her daughter to death if she was a lesbian. Nothing came of it.
A presiding parole board officer equated being a lesbian with details of really awful criminal behavior and that prejudice appears in as conditions in my parole, surprising even my probation officer. How is that possible?
Some prison officials told the other prisoners stories about me before I even got there that set up my treatment by them as well as officials; correctional professionals try to create an environment by doing that. Some prisoners recognized me from their own arrests.
The officials will scream and yell at you as if they are on camera, as if it’s for a performance. And, even though they demand you talk to them, they basically want to name call and won’t let you speak, talk about your background, nothing. They try to break you.
When it comes to freedom, if prisoners don’t admit to guilt, they won’t get parole. Over and over, they do this, lie to the parole board, get high every day, admit to A/B/C/D and many get out without a tether, and yet they kill again. Prisoners are mixed in with cell-mates who have mental disorders or physical disabilities and then are expected to assist them for all their needs instead of them getting medical assistance or being put in mental hospitals or other locations that can deal with those disabilities.
Q: With such a hit to your self-esteem, how did you manage?
A: I stayed professional throughout the trial and at Huron Valley. Courteous and professional. Although the Seraquel given to me during my county incarceration seriously affected my awareness during the trial. I did my time there and in prison. It was tough, but I stood tall. The court’s pre-sentencing recommendation was that I go to boot camp after at least 6-12 months, but it never materialized. I needed my attorney’s help with that, but he disappeared after the trial.
There are innocent people in prison, though; I know that. However, the woman I shared a cell with had 14 personalities and had committed four stabbings, yet she got parole and went home before me, while I got treated like Jeffrey Dahmer or another serial killer.
A lady who saw me hugging my mom said she saw the emotion and anger in me was different than that in most inmates and requested to come and speak to me; I said yes. She was a Jehovah’s Witness and she would come and read the Bible with me. She came, sometimes 3-4 days a week and read the Bible with me, and even though I converted to the Baptist church some time back, the lady and I found great comfort in reading together. She was my therapy, and all that was available to me, but I will be forever grateful to her and for that. Because of her and the support of my family, I made it through.
Q: Besides discovering even more holes in the system, what did prison teach you?
A: Prison taught me how to value my freedom. It was not worth the time away from my aging mother, who is now 86, and causing me to miss the important family events I did and for the loss of my career. This is what it took for me to love me, to know who I am and not hate that.
I only fail if I allow myself to fail.
For those to “get” my case and what I went through, this takes a caring individual, one with logic and rational thinking, or it’s impossible to understand my situation, to know what it is to be in my shoes.
I grew up in Lebanon and came to the United States when I was 13. As a child I remember air attacks, bombardment in Lebanon. When I came to the United States, I never dreamed I would go to prison.
Don’t miss Parts 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 — spanning from life and corruption at Huron Valley, behind the scenes in the Tamara Greene shooting, other corrupt Detroit leaders and what the future holds for Wedad Elhage, the cop who was sacrificed for politics.
The post-prison update on convicted Police Sergeant Wedad Elhage (Part 4 of 6)
Detroit Examiner
September 22, 2012
The following is a continuation of Parts 1, 2, and 3 in the post-prison interview of Wedad Elhage.
Q: What is your overview on gay political stances today?
A: I have been treated as if it’s a crime to be a lesbian. Even former Vice President Dick Cheney has a gay daughter — and every family has someone they know — a cousin, a child, a relative who faces this issue. Now we have certain sensitive issues that government is being asked to be a part of, making it part of religion and drawing that into state issues.
I loved everybody else, but unfortunately had issues with my own identity and how I was born this way. But although I’m facing some difficult times today, especially financially, and my career was taken away from me, but my life is not over.
However, in my case, they have also equated being a menace to society with being lesbian, and that is reflected in my parole. I can’t have contact with anyone 17 and younger. That will affect any public job I can try and find. I spoke in high schools, colleges, in community policing, with never a complaint about my appropriateness, never a remote complaint about me. This is sickening.
I am a liberal conservative, although a ticket splitter. As far as national politics, I think Obama is a good speaker, but when he took office, he basically backed off as gay friendly. He appointed some people who were known to be gay, but it seemed to end there. As far as gay rights, I think it’s just propaganda for this election. It is the time for issues to be discussed, but once the election is over, what will really happen? Eventually, I think it will go to the Supreme Court to determine because they are the ceiling of the law, and although I have mixed feelings about that, too, I think it will happen.
It’s sad that they took this case and ran with it and tried to destroy my integrity and character. It was primarily because I am a lesbian. But I also ruffled feathers because I called people out on their corruption, so they struck back. I know a lot about what people have done or are capable of — and they know that.
Q: What effect will being in prison have on your input on the national/international stage, let alone local, for gay rights?
A: Michigan is one of the few states that still allows convicted felons to vote. So, I still have that right. And I will take that opportunity for all local, state and federal elections. I was released in August, which wasn’t in time to register to vote this fall, but I can in the future.
Don’t miss Parts 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 — spanning from life and corruption at Huron Valley, behind the scenes in the Tamara Greene shooting, other corrupt Detroit leaders and what the future holds for Wedad Elhage, the cop who was sacrificed for politics.
The post-prison update on convicted Police Sergeant Wedad Elhage (Part 5 of 6)
Detroit Examiner
September 22, 2012
The following is a continuation of Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the post-prison interview of Wedad Elhage.
As Detroit heads into yet another saga in its unfortunate association with former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, the city and suburbs are still reverberating from the fallout of his reign. Currently, the trial based on a few dozen federal charges is moving forward.
A mysterious aspect of his Motown connection is the still whispered about Manoogian Mansion parties; people continue to refer to it as “the alleged parties,” despite evidence and testimony from people who claim to have been present or dealt with the collective debris afterward.
Wedad Elhage was on the front lines during the 2003 murder investigation of exotic dancer Tamara Greene, who was connected to at least one Manoogian party. Greene appeared on reports as having received a beating from Kwame’s wife, Carlita, when the latter walked in on one of the parties.
One difficulty in nailing down specifics about this sad chapter is that the high-profile people said to have attended parties included power brokers who wanted to protect their own futures. Multiple sources at both an inside local level and Lansing level have told me that the parties did, indeed, happen and the events are referred to often by political powers of yesterday and today. Some of those said to have been in attendance include former Oakland and Wayne County Prosecutor and Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox and Compuware CEO Peter Karmanos, among many others.
Cox’s revelations and behavior in overseeing the Kilpatrick investigation raised more eyebrows and questions, but he has never satisfactorily answered those.
Wedad Elhage, however, has no doubts about Detroit’s guilty, corrupt and shady. She names people, places and events that very likely put her squarely in a bull’s-eye for personal persecution and sent her to prison in the process.
She has agreed to share some insights from the Tamara Greene killing, and in so doing, corroborates what others have also claimed for years.
Q: You were involved in the death investigation of Tamara Greene, the exotic dancer, who was connected through parties at the Manoogian Mansion and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Can you comment on that event, as well as your role in it?
A: The morning after the shooting that killed her, I was working in Homicide in Squad 8. Lt. Billy Jackson was our boss, and I was with Mary Ann Stevenson and Tyrone Kemp. When we got the case, we helped each other with the various details. We looked at photos, and while we waited for the autopsy report we made contact with Greene’s aunt in Toledo and her grandmother. We already knew Greene was a topless dancer, and involved with a boyfriend who was a supposed drug dealer.
I talked to the grandmother about the BMW Greene owned and owed money on. We discussed her lifestyle and that Greene was in the process of opening a lingerie business in the Wyoming and 8 Mile area in a top-floor apartment. We got many leads, talked to the people she went to high school with as well as the ones she danced with and more.
Q: I don’t think many know that Tamara’s boyfriend lived, while she died — and yet, the shooting had been blamed on a bad drug deal and that he had been the target. What can you add to that?
A: Yes, the boyfriend survived. We went to Sinai Grace Hospital to question him about what he knew, but, he was still drugged due to his surgery. Because he was not able to speak at first about the crime, we went again to question him.
We learned that Greene had talked to a mutual male friend, another drug dealer, that same night, and that there was a history there — that there was possibly a romantic relationship between the two. Later, all of them ended up at the same bar and when her boyfriend saw the other guy, there was a verbal altercation. Both men left the bar after that, then the boyfriend came back later.
The shooting occurred at 2 a.m.
Q: How sure are you that what you uncovered is accurate?
A: Through texts and phone conversations with one of her girlfriends, we know she met Kwame Kilpatrick initially at a barber shop located off 7 Mile and he invited her to dance at a party. Greene’s girlfriend was also invited to dance at the mayor’s party, but she decided about that time to get out of the business and quit dancing. The girl already had another job at the Verizon store at Eastland Mall.
But, the friend told us that Greene additionally saw Kwame on several occasions in private.
When we discovered about Greene’s connection to him and the parties, I made some noise. I was the original person who drew attention to the mayor’s involvement and said there was more to the story than what was being told. I pushed that the case involved him.
Q: What do you know about the beating of Greene by Carlita Kilpatrick, the beating that everyone says never happened and for which records disappeared?
A: The night of the beating, there was a disturbance reported at the mayor’s residence. The closest police detail was working at Belle Isle; two officers named Davis and Jackson were the first to get it and respond. Once at the Manoogian, they were directed to leave. All the police log sheets and reports were taken away the next day by an officer who worked at the chief’s office, where we later learned they were destroyed.
You have to understand how many officers were worried about their jobs, their families and their incomes. Those of us who didn’t have that immediate worry knew there were a lot of cover-ups, and we weren’t afraid to discuss it. We knew Greene was beaten by the wife, that she went to the hospital for treatment.
We also discovered that officers from the police department covered it up. And, they helped to hide the hospital bills from that beating by submitting the hospital claims under their own insurance.
Q: Is that why the trail went cold? Because insurance claims were submitted under other names?
A: We found this out in our investigation.
Q: Had you ever had any other dealings with Kwame or his ability to skirt the law?
A: I knew Kwame and I was well acquainted with his behavior and activities. I stopped him in 1992 for a traffic stop when I was working #10; he had been running lights. I’d also seen him sitting on his front porch, smoking weed with his buddies, and I knew the types of people he ran with. I mean, when he considered himself above the law back then, and he was a troublemaker who thought he could get away with things because of who his mother was, what does that say about him?
Q: What was the outcome of the beating investigation?
A: It was our case, but, our higher powers instructed us to not work on it, then it was taken away from us. Then Corporation Counselor for the City of Detroit Ruth Carter, who had been appointed by Kwame a year before and is now a 36th district judge, began to intervene. She started calling us and making demands for information. She’d call our homicide bureau each week and demand from our Inspector Greg Schwartz to provide four copies of each update on the case.
Even with high profile cases, the usual is maybe twice a week, but this was unheard of. I testified to her actions in a deposition in federal court.
Q: You have some descriptive words for others who were part of this investigation or in other corruption activities…
A: Yes, I called (then chief) Jerry Oliver a coward over his handling, which earned me some negative feedback. Ella Bully-Cummings was not the chief until late in 2003, and then took an even bigger role in the case.
And, then there was Detroit Board of Police Commissioners’ Arthur Blackwell. He is easily THE most corrupt, arrogant and racist person in the world. He’d worked under Ed McNamara , former Wayne County Executive, and McNamara was also in cahoots during private meetings with former Mayor Coleman Young. The two of them ran their own little mafia operation.
Blackwell, who worked under McNamara on the Wayne County Board, ran over me while he was on the police board didn’t like me. He had bullied me and after we had words that involved one of my bosses, he pushed to have me suspended for a year. Although he went on to be in a series of illegal dealings, including having embezzled money from the city of Highland Park that former Governor Granholm appointed him to, he still manages to slide out from having to answer for most of the stuff he has done.
Later in my trial, Blackwell’s daughter-in-law took the stand against me, and also lied in her testimony.
See how connected they are and how they get to you if you go up against them?
Don’t miss Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 — spanning from life and corruption at Huron Valley, behind the scenes in the Tamara Greene shooting, other corrupt Detroit leaders and what the future holds for Wedad Elhage, the cop who was sacrificed for politics.
The post-prison update on convicted Police Sergeant Wedad Elhage (Part 6 of 6)
Detroit Examiner
September 22, 2012
The following is a continuation of Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 in the post-prison interview of Wedad Elhage.
Q: There is an online blog site called Behind the Blue Wall that features the stories of officer-involved domestic violence. You are on that site, alongside murderers, abusers who beat pregnant girlfriends, law enforcement members with a long track record of violence and worse. How does that make you feel?
A: Without the ability to have access to a computer, there is no way I can see it. But, it’s sad that the system ran with this case with their lack of any evidence, and banked on the testimony of liars and schemers who manipulated the system to get their outcome.
And, for people to further repeat that online or in writing just adds to that insult and injury and shows they do not know the truth nor how to publish the truth. Of course, I don’t belong there — and there has never been any proof that I was violent with Shelley — or anyone else.
Q: Rather than actually rely on official information or a balance of input, the site quotes articles from The Detroit Free Press and published the hearing records from about seven years ago of the Board of Police Commissioners, on which Arthur Blackwell served. The latter reports allude to an instance in which you were detained and became enraged. Having done some research, I know what a lack of information there is that damns you, and nothing about domestic violence. But, can you expand on what is contained there and did it include any instances of stalking or violence against Shelley?
A: NO! That never had anything to do with her and that’s ridiculous that they would choose that to add to a site on domestic violence! What does that possibly have to do with stalking or anything else?
What happened was that on July 13, 2005, I was off duty and gambling at a Detroit casino. I was doing quite well and also had had some drinks. There was a series of events because before I had gone to the casino; Shelley and I had had words. But, I was stopped by the DPD, handcuffed, Maced and they kicked my ass. I spent the night in jail after not being able to fight them off. But, it had absolutely nothing to do with Shelley, anything with stalking, anything to do with the trial or anything else.
This needs to be mentioned, however: That is not the only instance of problems with police being rough at the casino and there is a lawsuit going on right now against the DPD from officers of the casino over that very thing.
Q: Overall, how do you feel about being characterized as an aggravated stalker? Any regrets?
A: Those who know me, know that I have always spoken out loud and clear on the issue of domestic violence. I even intervene when my brother yells at his little daughter or my sisters argue. I encourage compromise, with softer voices and calm. That’s how you solve problems.
I also have always had a reputation overseas; I am well-respected and loved there. I beat the odds. I am the first female Arab-American officer to come to the United States.
I took my badge seriously, and used to volunteer for the Arab-American women here, going to them at their mosques to talk to them about domestic violence and explaining the laws that we have to protect them in the United States.
I want to do something positive, do something about the outcomes in life. Unfortunately, I can’t be a sworn member of law enforcement anymore, but I had a dream, a vision to go on and get my PhD after my Master’s. It’s a dream to teach at a university or to be a liaison. But I want to truly make a difference for Arab-American women, and all races of women everywhere, to help them fight the domestic violence that exists globally.
My only regret is that I didn’t go to law school. Surely, I would never be in this situation with better knowledge on how to handle what was done to me.
Q: What are your activities now that you are back home?
A: I help with my sister’s care who had brain-tumor surgery in 2009. I read the newspaper, listen to music, clean house and socialize with my adult nieces and nephews. I didn’t think I could live without the department, but I see life now in a different fashion. I try every day to be optimistic.
I am very optimistic and a strong believer in my Lord, and I know it will change — but in His time, not mine. But, my life is not going to stop here. I am in my own house, even if it is a type of prison because politics played its role.
There are still people from the command who know and respect me and never talk about the case or disrespect me in any way.
The most important thing, though, is that my family has stood by me. Although they are Muslim and I no longer am, they continue to share love and concern even when they don’t believe in or understand my lifestyle. Still, it is a blessing based on love and respect.
