Posted on 06/20/2008 2:34:07 PM PDT by WmShirerAdmirer
Woman linked to senator's husband agrees to reduced charge of trespassing
TROY -- An accused prostitute charged with performing a paid sex act on U.S. Debbie Stabenow's husband pleaded guilty Thursday to a reduced charge of trespassing. Alycia Martin, 21, made the plea before Troy 52-4 District Judge William Bolle after her attorney consulted with Troy city prosecutors.
Trespassing, like the original prostitution charge, is a misdemeanor.
Her plea means there will be no trial and that Stabenow's husband, Thomas Athans, won't have to appear to testify for the prosecution in open court.
Under questioning from Bolle, Martin admitted she was asked by management to leave a room at the Residence Inn on Feb. 26 and that she was not the person who signed documents to rent the room where she was arrested.
Defense attorney Frank Cusumano, Jr. said Martin wants to put her past behind her and get on with her life.
Bolle granted a request for Martin to leave the state to stay with her sister in Florida, though she will have to return to Troy for a probation interview and sentencing.
"Her only means of support was being a stripper," Cusumano said. "She has decided to step away from that."
Martin, however, has been unable to find work in Michigan and wants to explore the job market in Florida, her attorney said.
"She has zero income," Cusumano said. "She wants to start a new life for herself."
Martin is homeless, he said. Cusumano added he has represented Martin for free while he and his wife have taken care of her expenses since he took her case.
"We're a Christian family and we saw this woman was in need and decided to help," he said after Thursday's hearing.
As part of her plea agreement, Martin will be considered for sentencing under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act. Martin was 20 when she was arrested. The HYTA is a state law that allows a judge to put defendants under 21 on probation and dismiss the defendant's criminal record if the person successfully completes probation.
Athans, 47, had his attorney successfully fight defense requests for him to testify at earlier hearings in the case. Prosecutors did not call Athans to the stand in those hearings where Cusumano unsuccessfully tried to have the case dismissed on grounds of illegal arrest and search of the hotel room where police said she performed oral sex on Stabenow's husband.
Troy police were investigating a suspected prostitution ring at the Residence Inn on Livernois south of Big Beaver. Investigators set up a surveillance of the room where they said Martin was working on Feb. 26.
Athans was stopped by police on I-75 after officers said they saw him drive up to Martin's room and then leave about 15 minutes later.
Athans was not arrested and in exchange gave police a statement describing how he got a phone number for Martin on an Internet site, called her, and was directed to meet her at the Residence Inn.
He described paying Martin $150 for performing oral sex and then gave police a description of Martin and the room.
Though ticketed for driving with an expired driver's license, Athans faced no charges related to Martin's case.
Martin is also on probation in Warren for driving without a license, a misdemeanor.
Cusumano said he was struck by how differently Martin was treated by authorities compared to Athans.
"No one was considering there is this 20-year-old girl and how did (she) get here and how can (she) get out," he said.
Contact Michael P. McConnell at mike.mcconnell@dailytribune.com or at (248) 591-2571.
“..performing a paid sex act on U.S. Debbie Stabenow’s husband..”
Who is U.S. Debbie Stabenow’s husband?
Of course.
So, in other words, he was doing to her what his wife has been doing to the rest of us?
Funny, Huffington and Slate do not state party affiliation...
(D)
In 2003, Stabenow married Tom Athans, now the executive vice president of Air America. By this marriage, she has a stepdaughter, Gina. On April 2, 2008, the Detroit Free Press reported that Athans had been implicated in a prostitution sting.[2] Stabenow released a statement saying “This is very disturbing and serious. Obviously it’s a deeply difficult and personal matter.”[3]
I guess the Air America affiliation really set the Liberal media into sneaky, need-to-know mode.
Note no party affiliation.
The MSM is a joke.
2 months ago: In this photo released by the Troy Police Department, Alycia Martin is shown in a booking mug shot in Troy, Mich., in 2008. Thomas Athans, 46, co-founder of the liberal TalkUSA Radio network, and husband of U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., told police he used the Internet to make a date with a prostitute and paid her $150 for sex at a hotel on Feb. 26, 2008, according to a police report. Police arrested Alycia Martin, 20, of Westland, Mich., in the hotel room on a charge of prostitution and confiscated a cell phone, laptop and $431.
I wonder if this is what Algore envisioned when he invented the internet?
“Tom Athans (born 1961) is a notable member of the Democratic Party from the state of Michigan. He is a co-founder and former CEO of the liberal-progressive Democracy Radio, an organization that produced and supported liberal talk radio shows that formerly included the Ed Schultz Show. He is now the executive Vice-President of another liberal talk radio organization Air America. Athans is married to Senator Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat of Michigan.” Wikipedia
PUBLISHED: Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Stabenow’s husband may testify in sex case hearing
By Michael P. McConnell
Daily Tribune Staff Writer
TROY — An attorney for U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s husband objected to a defense attempt to make his client appear at a preliminary court hearing Tuesday for a former Westland woman charged with prostitution.
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Prosecutors say the senator’s husband, Tom Athans, will appear as a prosecution witness if the case goes to trial; they agreed he shouldn’t have to testify before that.
Alycia L. Martin, 21, is accused taking $150 from Athans, 47, for sex at the Residence Inn on Livernois in Troy on Feb. 26.
Martin’s attorney, Frank Cusumano, Jr., attempted to subpoena Athans to appear at an evidentiary hearing Tuesday before Troy 52-4 District Judge William Bolle. Attorney Todd Flood filed an emergency motion arguing Athans shouldn’t have to appear at the hearing.
“It seems to be just a fishing expedition and doesn’t bring anything to this case,” Flood said of Cusumano’s attempt to have Athans testify before there is a trial.
Bolle said he would later rule on whether Athans has to appear for the hearing, which is preliminary to a trial in the case.
Though Athans provided a statement to police describing how he paid Martin cash for oral sex in a 15-minute tryst, he faces no charges in the case.
However, “If it goes to trial (Athans) will have to be here to testify,” said Troy Assistant City Attorney Allan Motzny.
Cusumano, who is representing Martin for free at the behest of her parents, has filed several motions in the case seeking to dismiss the prostitution charge and suppress evidence which he claims was the result of an illegal search of Martin’s hotel room. Bolle still has to rule on those motions and Tuesday’s hearing was adjourned until next week.
“At this hearing all that is relevant is that (police) officers had information on which to base an arrest,” Motzny said.
City prosecutors say they have offered to reduce the prostitution charge against Martin to disorderly conduct, but Cusumano has said he wants the case dismissed and will go to trial if the charge isn’t dropped completely. Cusumano has also said Athans was motivated to cooperate with police since he faces no charges while his client does.
Three Troy police officers testified Tuesday. Two employees at the Residence Inn are also scheduled to testify next week. Bolle is set to decide Friday on what day the evidentiary hearing will resume. After the hearing concludes, Bolle will decide whether to order a trial or dismiss the charge against Martin.
Police officers Tuesday outlined how they identified a suspected prostitution ring at the Residence Inn through ads on the Internet. Troy Detective Sgt. Scott Salter testified how surveillance officers in a room at the hotel saw Athans drive up and enter Martin’s room in a silver Cadillac and leave 15 minutes later. Police officers followed Athans’ car and stopped it on I-75 near M-59, Salter said. Athans cooperated after first appearing hesitant about talking to investigators, Salter said.
“He let me know he got a (telephone) number from an ad on Craigslist,” said Salter, adding that Athans gave exact details of Martin’s room, her appearance and tattoos, and what he did there.
“He placed $150 on the counter then she went upstairs,” Salter said. “She came back and he received oral sex. When the act was complete he left.”
Athans was allowed to drive away after he wrote out a statement.
Salter and several other officers then went to Martin’s room with a hotel employee, who told Martin she was being evicted.
Salter talked briefly with Martin before she became uncooperative and was arrested, he said.
“She let me know she was a dancer at topless clubs,” Salter said. “She told me she had only been doing (prostitution) for about a week.”
Police found used condoms in the room along with sex toys and lingerie, Salter said.
Police said they confiscated $421 in cash, a cell phone and laptop computer.
Copy of the Troy (Michigan) PD Arrest Report can be found at: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0402081stabenow1.html
(Probably more here than you wanted to know.)
She looks innocent. Film-star innocent.
Hmm, maybe I shouldn’t be on the Jury for this one.
Not Guilty/Guilty.
I cc’d Rush:
Hello Mr. McConnell,
In reference to your article on 6/20/08:
http://dailytribune.com/stories/062008/loc_localn02.shtml
Your silly journalists! You forgot to inform your readers that the accused, Mr. Athans’ wife is a Democrat. You seem to have left out party affiliation in your article. An archive search of other articles you have written on the topic (June 4th and June 11th) also appear to ignore the fact she is a Democrat. It seems to be a fairly large ommission, in my opinion.
Oh you mainstream media guys...the Leftist/pro-Democratic bias is so obvious, it boggles the mind.
Just another quick note, Senator Stabenow’s husband isn’t a stay-at-home Dad or schoolteacher. Tom Athans is the Executive Vice President of Air America, the Liberal/Progressive syndicated radio network. You know, the Franken/Garafalo radio network that is/was bankrupt and now trying to be revived by futile attempts to re-pass the Fairness Doctrine to quell the Conservative Movement
I’m sure that if he were part of Fox News or connected to EBI Network (Rush Limbaugh), surely it would have been mentioned. We all know that if it is a Left-Wing cause or organization, fine journalists who report “news” conveniently leave out such facts as Democrat and the fact he represents the voice of Progressiive Radio, Air America...at least in election years where the Democrats cannot be shown in a negative light.
It’s called passive-aggressive journalism and it is a dangerous precedent that the drive-by media continue to pursue.
Have a nice weekend.
Sincerely,
“Athans is married to Senator Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat of Michigan.”
I guess Debbie made him do it.
It was mercy/medicinal &*$#@ well you know the rest.
Hmmm. She looks like she'd clean up well. And she screws for money.
NOT GUILTY!
Nice and direct to the point.... but he will probably trash it with the SPAM.. :/ Hopefully he will actually read it and make some sense of it (if it’s possible with his mind frame :p) .. but, I’m not expecting that anytime soon X(
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