Jersey Mike broke this story of Captain Janks back in February.

From Michael Klein Inquirer Columnist'Captain Janks' in stir.

Thomas Cipriano of North Wales, the Howard Stern phone prankster who goes by Captain Janks, is sitting in Montgomery County prison in lieu of $2,500 bail, accused of taking appearance fees from tavern owners and not showing up.

Plymouth Township police arrested him Thursday. He'd been wanted after missing a March 13 date at Old Mansion House Bar and Grill in Conshohocken, and a Feb. 22 date at Edge Hill Tavern in Glenside, Plymouth and Cheltenham police said.

Cipriano has a preliminary hearing set for Monday in Ottsville, Bucks County, before District Justice M. Kay DuBree in yet another case, in which he allegedly scammed management at the Indian Rock Inn in Upper Black Eddy.

Cipriano, 43, turned himself in to police in February to face a theft charge after the owner of Landslide Restaurant and Saloon in rural Bethlehem Township, N.J., said she paid him $350 but he never showed.

"Jersey Mike" Van Jura, talent buyer for Appalachian Brewing Co. in Harrisburg, says his blog, jerseymike.org, has become a clearinghouse for tavern owners' complaints about Cipriano. Van Jura says he grew suspicious after he turned down Cipriano's request for advance payment.