Captain Janks from The Howard Stern Show gets dumped by attorney (video)

   Morguefile Photo: Kevinrosseel

It's no joke.  Captain Janks, the Howard Stern Show Wack Pack member best known for his wild prank phone calls, is in deep trouble.

Captain Janks, who has been a regular call-in guest to The Howard Stern Show since 1989, is being sued by numerous bars, restaurants and clubs in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and New York for accepting payment for in-person appearances and then never showing up.  Captain Janks spent more than three weeks in a Montgomery County, Pennsylvania jail this month after failing to post bail on multiple charges of theft.  Captain Janks became a regular part of The Howard Stern Show thanks to a series of prank phone calls that he made to radio and television programs where he would slip in Stern show references.

Now, Howard 100 News reporter Steve Langford has announced that Captain Janks, whose real name is Thomas Cipriano, has lost his legal representation.  A criminal defesnse lawyer and fan of The Howard Stern Show who had been providing Captain Janks with pro-bono legal services for the last several months now states that he must drop the case and refer Janks to other counsel.  Artie Lange stated on today's show that Janks' lawyer has literally provided thousands of dollars worth of legal advice to the beleaguered Wack-Packer, and that Janks' case is only getting more complicated.  It seems that the list of club owners who have been ripped off by Cipriano just keeps growing and growning, and that the case has become too labor-intensive for the pro-bono attorney.

Artie Lange has agreed to help out Captain Janks by performing a benefit comedy performance next Friday night to raise money to pay restitution to those suing Janks.  It's unclear how much Captain Janks owes to his many comedy creditors, but in most cases, Janks received $300-400 for each scheduled appearance.

Captain Janks recently called in to The Howard Stern Show to explain his situation.  Janks reported that he his struggles with addiction are to blame for his behavior.  Captain Janks' website now states:

"Captain Janks' tour has been cancelled for '09 due to personal issues. He has been in rehab, and is also dealing with medical and personal issues. He has lost everything, ie home, car, money, etc. He apologizes to all the fans, and clubs he has been booked at to do shows, and will be in touch with those places in the near future to reschedule, or refund deposits. Again, he apologizes, and is officially retired from the business. Thank you to all for the support."

It looks like Captain Janks is going to need more than LegalZoom to get out of this one.