He wasn't arrested or charged but according to the police report that was obtained by the Free Press under the Freedom of Information Act, he agrred to fully cooperate with the investigation of Internet-based prostitution at hotels in the city.
Senator Debbie Stabenow is the co-founder of a liberal talk radio network and she issued a statement after the media reports hit the wire that, "This is very disturbing and serious. Obviously it’s a deeply difficult and personal matter."
Before starting his current firm TalkUSA Radio in 2006, Athans was the head of syndicated programming at Air America, the liberal network that declared bankruptcy that year. TalkUSA launched one syndicated talk show last year.
Athans has strong ties to Democratic Party officials and liberal activists; Sen. Hillary Clinton publicly acknowledged him during her speech in Detroit last month.
According to the Washington Post, Clinton and other senators attended a fund-raiser in 2004 for Athans’ previous network, Democracy Radio, which raised $1.8 million to launch the talk show of Ed Schultz. Athans dissolved Democracy Radio in May 2006.
What is it with politicians and/or their spouses that have them being linked to prostitution rings more than ever these day?
First Spitzer and now this.
Detroit News.com has a little more detail:
Athans told police he stopped at the hotel to see a female friend he met online. After calling her on his cell phone, he was given a room number and met the woman at the door. Once inside he placed $150 on a counter top. The woman collected the money and performed oral sex on him, Athans told police.
Officers entered the room and found sex toys, condoms, $431 in cash and a laptop computer. They arrested the woman, identified as Alycia Lorraine Martin, and charged her with prostitution. She was released on a $100 bond and has been ordered to appear in Troy District Court for a pre-trial hearing April 22.
I wonder if Debbie Stabenow will stand by her cheating husband as Silda Spitzer and other politically connected wives seem to.
There is a point where a person's dignity must come before allowing this type of public humiliation, yet I haven't seen too many public figures choose that dignity as of yet, lately.
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