ALBANY -— A spa business operated by the spouse of a Times Union editor was targeted in a prostitution investigation by members of an Albany County sheriff's drug unit that was disbanded earlier this year after a series of Times Union stories that raised questions about the unit's operations.
The Albany police chief on Thursday described the raid as unusual, and the county sheriff said he is initiating an internal investigation.
The police raid of the North Pearl Street business, Green Garden Asian Spa, took place March 15. A Chinese immigrant, Mia Lin, 53, was strip-searched at the business by Albany city police and arrested on a misdemeanor count of prostitution. She was never jailed, but was issued an appearance ticket. Lin was employed by Bin Cheng, who is the wife of J. Robert Port, the Times Union's senior editor for investigations.
"Neither the editor nor his wife have been implicated in any criminality whatsoever," said Albany Police Chief Steven Krokoff. "We have nothing that indicates that he had any idea or any knowledge of anything criminal going on."
Krokoff's comments Thursday were his first on the investigation. He previously had not responded to written questions about the investigation submitted by the Times Union on March 20 and again on May 10. The Times Union also filed a formal Freedom of Information Law request with the city two weeks ago for records in the case, but the city has not yet released any documents.
The police raid was spearheaded by an Albany city detective, Scott Gavigan, who had worked for the sheriff's drug unit when the investigation began in that department last fall.
In April 2011, the Times Union began reporting stories examining the drug unit's operations, including its members' use of criminal-seizure assets to purchase expensive take-home vehicles. The unit has been headed by Inspector John Burke since 1991.
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