Captain Janks cuts a deal
The Howard Stern prankster pleaded guilty to charges of stiffing bar owners out of personal-appearance fees.
Tom Cipriano -- who as Howard Stern sidekick "Captain Janks" built a career out of prank-calling TV programs -- has cut a deal with Montgomery County court to settle charges that he stiffed numerous bar owners out of appearance fees.
Cipriano pleaded guilty to a charge of deceptive business practices. He blamed his problems on drug addiction.
In a deal before Judge Steven O'Neill and brokered by Assistant District Attorney Brad Richman and public defender Carol Sweeney, Cipriano was sentenced to eight years' supervised probation and ordered to pay $5,926 in restitution to 13 bar owners. Richman said that if he repays within three years, Cipriano can petition to have the remainder of the probation terminated.
Cipriano told the judge that he has been clean for a year.
Cipriano was tossed in Montgomery County Prison last April after a line of bar owners came forward to allege that he had not shown up for the appearances.
Richman collected the assorted cases from various jurisdictions and consolidated them so they could be prosecuted together.
Previous coverage here.