Jersey Mike

A few months back, I recounted an incident which occurred to me as a talent buyer and promoter involving Captain Janks from the Howard Stern Show which broadcasts on Sirius Satellite Radio.

In a nutshell, Janks- a member of Howard’s “Whack Pack” (and, um, gas station attendant near Philly)- calls smallish music venues and bars, offers to make an appearance coupled with ten plugs on the Howard Stern Show, giveaway a Sirius Satellite Radio and, subsuquently, pack the bar with fans.

After convincing the buyers that he needs payment in full prior to the appearance (fees have ranged from $500-$1,000), he takes the check to the bank, cashes it and then fails to show up at his appearance. He’ll make an excuse like getting into a car accident on the way to the show.

About a week after my post went live, Janks called me back- absolutely livid- that I’d call the other venue that he was booked at to warn them of this scam. My favorite quote from the conversation? “Jersey Mike! I’m gonna make sure everyone knows your name!”

Oh yeah, Janks? Bring it, bro.

Since my first post on this, I’ve gotten several emails and phone calls from venue owners and promoters in this region who, too, have fallen victim to Captain Janks Appearance Scam.

A buyer for a venue in Delaware recounted his experience – Janks actually drove to Delaware, met with the venue and told them that he’d book two appearances. The first would be a “dry run” and the second, several weeks later, would bring Janks and a camera crew documenting his “20 year anniversary” with the Howard Stern Show.

Janks never showed.

Just last night, a woman from Mt Joy, PA left a comment on the original post- stating “This creep has taken us for $500.00…we have a bar&grill in Mt Joy Pa. He apparently made his rounds one day around Lancaster County and took quite a few of the bars money!! What a SHIT!! We know of atleast 6 so far that were scammed!”

Initially, I intended to post my story and, more or less, forget about it. But the overwhelming response from other promoters has sparked the consumer advocate in me and I’ve decided to do some follow up on this.

Attempts to reach someone at the Howard Stern Show have been unsuccessful, so I decided to take this issue directly to Sirius.

I called and spoke with Erika Kirschner in the Advertising department on Wednesday, February 4 to alert her that Janks was using, not only Howard Stern’s name, but Sirius Satellite Radio’s as well. She was receptive and informed me that she will forward the info on to someone in her office.

The purpose of this post, now, is to ensure that Sirius Satellite Radio does, in fact, acknowledge that someone who is directly associated with their company is fraudulently using their name to bilk venues and promoters out of their money.

Today, I’m emailing Sal Reséndez and the generic Investor Relations address to inform as much of the staff at Sirius as possible to what’s happening.

It’s simply incorregeable that this continues to happen. And if Howard is going to ignore it and allow it to continue, then I’ll make this a new cross to bear and see to it that Janks gets the justice that’s due to him.