It is an irrevocable fact that on January 26, 1977, evidence implicating Chris Busch as a suspect in the OCCK case was deliberately destroyed and fraudulent polygraph evidence was knowingly manufactured to protect him from suspicion.
The strategy for protecting Chris Busch plays out in his arrest record in Flint. It reflects a poorly thought out plan that kept changing due to the OCP’s continuous string of incorrect assumptions. In Patterson’s mind, this was an easy case because he believed that Busch’s crimes were limited to Oakland County.
Recall that a prosecutor will authorize an arrest warrant if the police investigating the case can establish probable cause that a suspect committed a crime in the prosecutor’s jurisdiction. Brooks Patterson’s strategy was simple: No matter what evidence was presented against Chris Busch or—because he was inextricably linked to Bush—Greg Greene, he would not authorize warrants for their arrest. This bears repeating: It did not matter if Chris Busch and Greg Greene freely admitted to molesting or murdering every child in Oakland County. Under no circumstances would Brooks Patterson authorize a warrant for either man as a suspect in the OCCK case. Patterson and Thompson were cocksure that they held all the cards. It was irrelevant whether Busch was investigated by the Flint PD or the OCTF, because the OCP was certain that Busch only committed crimes in his jurisdiction. Genesee County had no authority to arrest Busch and Greene for crimes that happened outside their county.
We will walk through the record and count off each point where probable cause was arguably established for the OCP to authorize a warrant to arrest Busch and Greene for child molestation or murder.
At the time of Greene was arrested in Flint on January 25, 1977, there were three victims in the OCCK case. All three children were abducted in Oakland County. The bodies of all three children were also found in Oakland County. Greg Greene tried to get out from under his arrest in Genesee County for molesting members of the Donovan North Middle School baseball team by telling the Flint police that Chris Busch killed the first OCCK victim. No matter how hot this tip was, Flint PD had no authority to arrest Busch based on this information alone because the crime did not occur in their jurisdiction. Thus, Det. Waldron engaged the OCTF by sharing what Greene told him. Given how Greene and Busch fit the profile for OCCK suspects, Doan and Simmons rushed to Flint to follow up on what was potentially a major break in the case. After interviewing Greene on January 25, 1977, the OCTF officers arguably had probable cause to request that the OCP authorize a warrant for Chris Busch’s arrest.
1. The OCP did not authorize a warrant for Busch’s arrest.
Given Greene’s criminal history, the OCP likely argued that Greene was not a trustworthy informant and probable cause was lacking. The next day, Doan arranged for Greene to take two polygraph tests as described in the previous chapter. Greene passed the test to verify his story that Chris Busch murdered Mark Stebbins. This eliminated the “trustworthy” obstacle and definitely provided probable cause to arrest Chris Busch.
2. The OCP again did not authorize a warrant for Busch’s arrest.
Given the urgency of a case involving the sexual abuse and murder of children, the OCP would have faced no resistance from any judge to issue the warrant. Moreover, we know that less than 2 months later, Brooks Patterson authorized an unconstitutional stop‐and‐search operation of all vehicles in an ostentatious display of pretended effort to capture the killers.62 Thus, any argument that Patterson was being mindful of Busch’s constitutional rights is as disingenuous as Patterson’s pretended commitment to family values.
This was January 26, 1977. Who knows what reason the OCP provided for refusing to move forward. It was likely some malarky about requiring iron‐clad proof because the eyes of the nation were on this case and they could not afford to screw it up. At any rate, Patterson and Thompson thought they were home free and the case against Busch would be closed. They were convinced that all they had to do was sit back and do nothing to satisfy H. Lee Busch and his money. They believed they accomplished their mission of being owed a huge favor from a wealthy elite. The best part was that they were able to do it with minimal effort…or so they thought. Det. Waldron of the Flint PD was about to make them earn their meal ticket.
Waldron was not about to let the matter go. He would not sit back and watch this Chris Busch person get a free pass. Because the OCP was unwilling to lift a finger to arrest Chris Busch, Waldron took the decision out of the OCP’s hands. If Greene knew that Busch murdered a boy in Oakland County where the prosecutor was determined to do nothing, maybe Greene had information about crimes Busch committed in Genesee. Thus, Waldron met with Greene on January 26th to get additional information on Busch that could lead to an arrest. Below are Waldron’s handwritten notes from that meeting along with a typed transcript of the notes that includes the substance of Greene’s statement about one of the victims.63
This interview of Greene by Waldron is not listed among the activities on the sheets for Tip Nos. 369 and 370. The only interviews for Greene on the tip sheets for January 26, 1977 are his two polygraphs and his interview with Thompson, Hawkins and Simmons. We will get to the reason why Waldron’s interview of Greene is listed in neither the tip sheet nor the Flint record of Busch’s arrest shortly.
To establish probable cause for a Flint arrest, Waldron asked Greene if Busch committed any crimes in Genesee County. Greene provided a detailed description of Busch molesting a boy named Kenneth Bowman. This is the first time Bowman’s name came up in this case. Again, Bowman was not one of the victims who played on the baseball team Greg Greene coached at Donovan North Middle School. In fact, Ken Bowman lived in a different part of Flint and went to a different school, McKinley Jr. High. It cannot be emphasized enough that Ken Bowman did not come in on his own to bring charges against Greene and Chris Busch. After he was arrested, Greene gave the police Ken Bowman’s name.
Greene told Waldron about how he and Busch went to Bowman’s home in Flint, picked him up and drove him about 15 miles south to an area near Mount Holly. Busch then joined Bowman in the back seat and molested him while Greene drove around. Greene presumably chose to tell Waldron about this incident because he did not actively participate in this particular instance of Bowman’s molestation. Also, Bowman would later reveal that Greene told him that Busch had previously killed a boy. Thus, another reason that Greene likely identified Bowman was because Bowman could corroborate the information Greene gave to the police about Busch murdering Stebbins.
The handwritten notes provide better context regarding why Waldron interviewed Greene that day because Bowman was not the only victim Greene identified during this interview. The notes include the names of other young boys who Chris Busch molested. These names do not appear in the typed version of Waldron’s notes. These other boys lived in the same neighborhood as Bowman. Among them are Brent Busch and James Vincent Gunnels. Brent Busch also happens to be the adopted son of Chris Bush’s eldest brother, John. At that time, John Busch lived in Flint on Bloor Avenue with his wife Connie, Brent and his other son, Scott. James Gunnels was good friends with Brent and Scott Busch and lived nearby on Lincoln Avenue. As with Bowman, this is the first time any of their names came up in this case. Of course, we would later learn that Greene also molested all three boys. The way the charges for the molestation of each of these boys was handled reveals the OCP’s strategy for isolating and insulating Chris Busch from facing any meaningful accountability.
Greene gave Waldron the story about Chris Busch molesting Bowman at 11:35 AM on January 26, 1977. Later that afternoon, about four hours after Greene told his story, a security officer from McKinley Jr. High came to Bowman’s home. The officer told Bowman’s mother, Patricia, that Det. Waldron needed to speak with Ken at the police station.64 It is at this point that the Flint record of Chris Bush’s arrest begins.64
The report opens with Kenneth Bowman inexplicably materializing in the Juvenile Bureau of the Flint PD. Nothing about Greene tipping off Waldron that Chris Busch murdered Mark Stebbins. Nothing about Greene telling Waldron about Busch molesting Bowman. These glaring omissions were by design.
The OCP was still under the illusion on January 26, 1977 that he was in complete control of the narrative. He was certain that Busch’s fate was still exclusively in Oakland County’s hands and that nothing would come of the Flint PD’s attempt to arrest Busch. Thus, the OCP demanded that the Flint record be sanitized by making absolutely no comments, statements or musings indicating that either Greene or Busch are suspects in the OCCK case. Busch, the son of Patterson’s wealthy constituent, was obviously the primary protectee. Greene, on the other hand, was only given pseudo‐protectee status. Patterson could not risk Greene being publicly identified as an OCCK suspect because he already demonstrated his willingness to throw Busch under the bus. Every reporter from every major newspaper would be clawing at each other to get a statement from Greene about whether he acted alone. Thus, Greene would end up serving a life sentence for the Genesee County charges of molesting the victims who played on the baseball team he coached. While that sentence is more than justified, it was wildly out of step with how child molesters were handled in Michigan in the late 1970s. Under the original version of the strategy, Busch would not be arrested at all.
Waldron’s notes from Kenneth Bowman’s interview from January 26, 1977 are shown below:
Ken Bowman’s story was consistent with what Greg Greene told Waldron earlier that day. Bowman stated that Greene introduced him to Busch in May of 1976 when both men came to Bowman’s house. They were driving Busch’s blue Chevy Vega with a white stripe on the side.65 Bowman was 13‐years‐old at the time and got in the car with Busch and Greene. They drove to a remote area where Busch asked Bowman to go for a walk with him in the woods, but Bowman refused fearing that Busch would kill him. Busch got in the back seat of the car with Bowman and molested him while Greene drove. The Flint PD report submitted by Waldron was limited to providing a more detailed description of Busch molesting Bowman near Mount Holly and ends with Busch and Greene taking Bowman back to his house. Even though the above report ends with a warrant being authorized by the Genesee County Prosecutor for Busch’s arrest, the OCP still had a trick up his sleeve. We will address this in a moment.
Note how in the record above that there is no mention that Chris Busch was identified as an OCCK suspect. Not even any mention of the presence of OCTF officers in Flint. The above report does not mention it, but we know that there were OCTF officers in the interview room with Sg. Miller and Kenneth Bowman.
It is important to pause here for a moment to recall the opposing forces that were working the OCCK case. The first was dedicated to legitimately investigating and catching the perpetrators. The second was dedicated to undermining the investigation and protecting a child‐raping murderer. Det. Doan and most of his fellow OCTF officers fall into the former category. Doan created the record in Tip No. 369 that Chris Busch was an OCCK suspect. Doan prepared a report following his interview of Greene confirming that Busch murdered Mark Stebbins. Doan prepared another report unequivocally indicating that Greene was polygraphed twice on January 26, 1977. The OCP actively and ineptly worked to undo the record Doan created. This basically explains why Doan and other OCTF officers were willing to assist Waldron in his effort to arrest Busch for a crime that occurred outside their jurisdiction. We know that Doan was in the room during Bowman’s interview that afternoon because Doan prepared his own report.66
Doan’s report briefly addresses the incident when Busch molested Bowman in his car. The remainder of the report focuses on Greg Greene and behavior Bowman described that made Greene sound like a prime OCCK suspect.
- Greene brutally anally raped Bowman and forced him to perform oral sex.
- Greene choked Bowman unconscious while he molested him.
- Greene tied up some of his molestation victims.
- Greene told Bowman that he thinks Chris Busch killed a boy.
- Greene had a friend in Ferndale, the town where Mark Stebbins lived.
- Greene wanted Bowman to act as a lure near a kids store so that he could kidnap a young boy. The OCTF had hit the probable cause jackpot for arresting Greene. Despite the above revelations and their extreme relevance to the OCCK case:
3. The OCP did not authorize a warrant for Greg Greene’s arrest.
The OCP did take an affirmative step in the wake of Bowman’s statement about Greene, but it was in the exact opposite direction of what anyone would have expected him to do. In view of Bowman’s extremely damaging statement implicating Greg Greene, the OCP responded by initiating the evidence destruction/fabrication plot described in the previous chapter. The two polygraph tests Greene took on January 26 were destroyed and the first of two fraudulent, replacement polygraphs was created the next day on January 27, 1977. The January 27th test was invented to “fix” the record and eliminate Greene as an OCCK suspect. This was the OCP’s trump card because in the late 1970s, a favorable polygraph test had the effect of removing suspicion.
Falsifying evidence was just the beginning. Recall that Waldron’s report indicated that on January 26th the GCP authorized a warrant for Chris Busch’s arrest. That warrant, however, never issued. Someone pointed out a possible problem wherein Bowman’s molestation by Chris Busch near Mount Holly may not have taken place in Genesee County. Waldron’s report dated January 27, 1977 indicates that uncertainty arose after the GCP authorized the warrant.
It seems odd that the Flint PD and the GCP would second guess themselves after requesting and authorizing an arrest warrant. Who could have suggested that the warrant for Busch’s arrest might be flawed? It is worth remembering that the Chief Assistant OCP, Dick Thompson, was in Flint on January 26, 1977 per Tip No. 370.
It is not difficult to imagine Thompson “helpfully” pointing out this potential problem because the OCP’s office was all about making sure proper procedure was being followed. To be sure, it is imperative that police follow proper procedure and that arrest warrants are based on correct information. But the OCP was obviously more concerned about the prime directive of protecting Chris Busch at all costs than following proper procedures.
Bowman’s second interview, like the first, took place on a school day meaning that he was not available until the afternoon. Waldron indicates that he and Sgt. Rivard (MSP Pontiac) of the OCTF were present during the interview. Thus, the pretense of no OCTF involvement in the Flint investigation of Chris Busch was dropped. During this second interview, it was clear that the incident Bowman described the previous day of being molested in the car with Busch and Greene occurred in Oakland County. The officers confirmed this with Bowman using a map to identify the specific location. Because the Genesee warrant prepared the previous day was based on an incident that occurred in Oakland County, it was invalid.
Prior to this moment, if you continued to harbor a scintilla of skepticism about whether the OCP was engaged in a scheme to protect Chris Busch, I applaud you. I do not want you to take anything that I say here at face value. A healthy dose of skepticism is the very thing that has always been lacking in any analysis of the OCP’s handling of the OCCK case. But the facts above leave no room for skepticism or nuance. Even after Ken Bowman confirmed that he was, in fact, molested in Oakland County giving the OCP unimpeachable probable cause:
4. The OCP again did not authorize a warrant for Busch’s arrest.
The fact that the incident Bowman described on January 26, 1977 happened in Oakland County is extremely inconvenient to the subsequent coverup. Multiple Oakland County police officers were aware of Bowman being molested by Chris Busch in their jurisdiction. More importantly, several police officers outside Oakland County were also aware of Chris Busch’s crimes. It will be demonstrated in the following chapters how containing Busch’s molestation of Bowman in Oakland County would be impossible.
Having invalidated the GCP’s warrant, the Patterson and Thompson felt a huge sense of relief. They did not care about how bad it looked that they knowingly refused to authorize a warrant for a crime that they likely helped prove took place their jurisdiction. All that mattered was that the situation was again in the OCP’s exclusive control. That feeling, however, was short lived when Waldron did the most obvious thing in the world to anyone with the exception of Brooks Patterson and Dick Thompson. He continued the interview with Bowman to determine if Busch ever molested him in Genesee County.
Bowman described an incident from July 1976 when Busch enticed the boy with $10 and molested him behind Northwestern High School, which is definitely in Flint.67 This was all the GCP needed to redraft the warrant for Busch’s arrest and have it signed by a judge on January 27, 1977. Things were looking promising for the force that was dedicated to catching those responsible for child rape and murder. Unfortunately, they didn’t realize they were playing in the opposing force’s casino with a stacked deck.
Chris Busch’s arrest was carried out on the morning of January 28, 1977. At the time of his arrest, Chris Busch was living in Alma, Michigan which is about a 75‐mile drive from Flint. He owned a restaurant called The Scotsman, which he opened about two months earlier. Busch was arrested at his restaurant on the morning of January 28, 1977. His arrest was carried out by six officers: Waldron of Flint PD, trooper Kenneth Anderson of Ithaca, Det. Sgt. Lombardi of Alma and three members of the OCTF: Rivard, Cattell and Doan.68 Waldron read Busch his rights. Busch said that he did not wish to make a statement nor did he ask to or make any phone calls. The officers granted Busch’s request to gather clothes from his house in Alma to take to Flint. Busch consented to a search of his home stating that he had nothing to hide. The officers found half a pound of marijuana and a suitcase full of pornographic material featuring young boys including 8 mm movie reels. They also found another suitcase containing rope.69
Doan and Waldron drove Busch from his home in Alma to Flint. During the drive, Busch stated that he waived his right to counsel and proceeded to tell the officers the following:
- He participated in the Big Brothers program and molested several of his “Little Brother” victims.
- He stated that he owned a blue Chevy Vega, the same vehicle with a white stripe—the same vehicle Bowman described in which Busch molested him.
- He had been involved with young boys since he was 12, which is earlier than the popular narrative that his child molesting behavior began when he was in high school at prestigious boarding school, Le Rosey in Switzerland.
- He confirmed Bowman’s story about molesting him by Northwestern High School.
- He confirmed Bowman’s story about molesting him in Oakland County in the back of his car while Greene drove.
- He described other molestation incidents that took place in Detroit and Alma. The above was reported by Waldron as part of the record for Genesee County.70
Upon arriving in Flint, Busch was taken to Jedge Newblatt’s home for his arraignment because the courthouse was closed due to the blizzard.71 The judge placed a $75,000 bond on Busch, the same amount as Greene who was arraigned two days earlier.
Det. Doan prepared his own report for Chris Busch’s arrest.72 Doan’s notes indicate that after his arraignment, Busch, against the advice of counsel, agreed to take a polygraph test later that evening. The fact that Busch was being represented by counsel and the consequence of his consenting to a polygraph test will be addressed in the next chapter.
While arrangements were being made for the polygraph, Waldron and the OCTF officers interviewed Chris Busch. After being again reminded of his rights, including the right to an attorney, Busch waived them and agreed to speak with the police. Busch stated that he enjoyed molesting young boys and discussed picking them up at nine mile and Woodward in Ferndale, thirteen mile and Woodward in Royal Oak and Hartfields Bowling Alley and the nearby 7/11. He stated the places in this order to three OCTF officers who were dispatched to follow up on a tip that Busch murdered Mark Stebbins. These are the places in order where the first three OCCK victims, Stebbins, Robinson and Mihelich, were last seen alive. He also repeated his using Big Brothers in Oakland County and in Alma as a source for molestation victims. He told the officers that he had been using Big Brothers for this purpose since 1971. He identified one of his victims who lived in Berkely, Michigan, located in Oakland County, by name. Busch denied involvement in Stebbin’s murder but talked about how he and Greene discussed their fantasy of kidnapping a young boy, tying him up and sexually abusing him. In the fantasy, either Busch or Greene would stay with the boy while the other worked so that someone would always be with their victim. Doan’s notes of the interview and shown below.
The OCTF officers could feel their suspect circling the drain. The polygraph test of Chris Busch felt like all but a formality. If probable cause was a sidewalk crack, Busch’s admissions cleared it like an Olympic pole vaulter. By the time Thompson arrived in Flint, the OCTF officers already had Chris Busch’s admissions that went light years beyond the basic requirements for probable cause. Despite his damning admissions:
5. The OCP again did not authorize a warrant for Busch’s arrest.
Regardless, the officers were giddy with anticipation that an arrest in the OCCK case would be forthcoming. Perhaps the OCP was waiting for the polygraph result as the final nail in the coffin. After all, look how seriously the OCP was taking this matter. Brooks Patterson had dispatched his Chief Assistant, Dick Thompson, to be in Flint that evening. Thompson was driving from Oakland County to Flint through a blizzard of historic proportions to attend Busch’s polygraph test. Doan would later comment how everyone thought this was a big deal because of the hundreds of polygraph tests that were taken in the OCCK case, this was the first time anyone from the OCP office was going to sit in. And not just any assistant prosecutor, Brooks Patterson’s second in command was going to be there. The relevant excerpt from Det. Cory Williams’ notes from February 21, 2008 is shown below:73
I’m sure you get the point by now and it seems like I am beating a dead horse. But we still need to say what these men did over and over again. We need to underscore the fact that Patterson and Thompson deliberately passed on five distinct opportunities to authorize warrants for the arrest of two of the most likely suspects the OCTF had encountered to date. The OCTF officers did not expect to be blindsided by Assistant Chief OCP who made his way to Flint in zero visibility conditions to finish the job he started when he destroyed and falsified the results of Greg Greene’s polygraphs. We need to remember that Patterson and Thompson are the same men who had authorized four warrants to raid a movie theater for showing an adult film. These criminals who masqueraded as public servants have avoided even the slightest suspicion since 1977.
Footnotes:
62 NCJRS re OCCK Task Force at 16.
63 The handwritten notes dated January 26, 1977 did not include Waldron’s name, but the typed transcript indicates that it is based on these notes. It is important to note that Waldron did not transcribe these notes and enter them into the Flint PD record of Chris Busch’s arrest. As far as Chris Busch’s arrest in Flint is concerned, Waldron’s handwritten notes do not exist. The reason will be explained later in this chapter. We only know of these notes because one month after Waldron made them, the OCP was finally pressured to authorize a warrant for Chris Busch’s arrest. At that time, the police in Oakland County requested everything Waldron had on Chris Busch’s arrest. Waldron provided his official report and these handwritten notes that the police in Oakland County transcribed and included in their record. The reason why the OCP finally moved forward with arresting Busch will be explained in a subsequent chapter.
64 OCP 67‐69, Trial Testimony of Kenneth Bowman, April 14, 1977.
65 OCP 37‐41, January 28, 1977, Record and Application for Warrant for Chris Busch’s arrest.
66 OCP 35, January 26, 1977 Narrative Report of Det. Lourn Doan re Interview of Kenneth Bowman.
67 OCP 38.
68 OCP 38‐39.
69 OCP 39. Recall that the first OCCK victim, Mark Stebbins, showed evidence of ligature marks indicating that his wrists and ankles were tied with rope.
70 Id.
71 OCP 39‐40.
72 MSP 322‐24.
73 OCP 470, Notes of Det. Cory Williams from interview with Lourn Doan and Roy Itami, February 21, 2008.
Guarded By Jackals 