i think the democrat senator's husband got a better deal...but maybe the quality was not the same?
TROY, Mich. — The husband of U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., told authorities he used the Internet to arrange a $150 sexual tryst with a prostitute at a metropolitan Detroit hotel, police said Wednesday.
Thomas Athans, 46, co-founder of the liberal TalkUSA Radio network, was stopped by police investigating prostitution at the hotel, according to a police report.
Athans, in a statement issued by his attorney, apologized and said he "fully cooperated with law enforcement. My family and I are dealing with this matter in a personal and private way."
Stabenow said, "I think it's important to continue to do my job and to focus on people in Michigan who are hurting every day and expect that I'm going to fight for them every day."
The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News first reported on the case on their Web sites Wednesday.
Troy police had set up a stakeout at the Residence Inn after learning of suspected prostitution at a room there, the police report said. Officers said they saw Athans enter the room Feb. 26 and leave 15 minutes later.
They stopped his car and told him they were investigating prostitution. He told the officers he had used the Internet to make a date with a prostitute and paid her $150 for oral sex at the motel, the report said.
Police did not bring any sex charges against Athans but later mailed him a ticket for driving with a suspended license.
Athans' license was suspended last year for failure to pay a ticket for driving without proof of insurance, according to the Michigan Department of State. Court records show he paid a $115 fine, and the state restored his license March 11.
Athans was cooperative and "didn't drop any names or ask for preferential treatment," said department spokesman Lt. Gerry Scherlinck.
Stabenow was in Washington on Feb. 26, according to Senate records.
Police said they arrested Alycia Martin, 20, of Westland, in the hotel room on a charge of prostitution. She was arraigned March 12 and freed on $100 bail pending an April 22 hearing.
Stabenow and Athans married in February 2003. Athans, an Air Force veteran, worked as an aide in Stabenow's Detroit office before their marriage.
Athans started TalkUSA Radio in 2006 after leading programming at Air America, the liberal network that declared bankruptcy that year.
Stabenow, 57, has two adult children from her first marriage to Dennis Stabenow. The couple divorced in 1990.
Stabenow has long been a major figure in Michigan's Democratic politics, serving 16 years in the state Legislature. In 1994, she lost a race for governor. Two years later, she was elected to the U.S. House and four years later upset incumbent Republican Spencer Abraham for the U.S. Senate seat.
