Troy, Mich. —- The husband of U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) told authorities that 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 who were 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 in an interview that she wanted "folks to know that I'm grateful for their prayers and support and this is a family matter that is very difficult but we are going to work through it."

"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," she said.

Athans started TalkUSA Radio in 2006 after leading programming at Air America, the liberal network that declared bankruptcy that year. He and Stabenow were married in 2003.