MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — Self-proclaimed "King of All Pimps" Jason Itzler has been sending high-priced prostitutes to meet johns at Midtown hotels, prosecutors said Friday during a bizarre court appearance in which the suspect ranted about saving the life of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus.
Itzler was still without an attorney on Friday but pleaded not guilty to promoting prostitution, money laundering and criminal sale of a controlled substance at his arraignment on a new indictment.
The chatty Itzler's ripped light blue jeans fell to the ground when he was handcuffed and escorted back to his holding cell in between brief court appearances Friday afternoon.
After showing the courtroom his jockeys, he pleaded for a low bail so he could be freed before his next court appearance Tuesday.
"Um, could I possibly have a low bail if I promise not to flee?" Itzler asked Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Thomas Farber.
"A week is a long time. I think I deserve a low bail," he added.
Farber set bail at $500,000, at the DA's request, but said he would be open to argument to lower it at a future bail hearing.
Itzler, 44, formerly ran "NY Confidential" a high-priced prostitution ring that he claimed former Eliot Spitzer call girl Ashley Dupre used to work for.
He pleaded guilty and served jail time at Rikers for that case and was released in 2007.
He was also convicted of trying to smuggle drugs through Newark International Airport, prosecutors said.
This time he allegedly charged "several thousand dollars per hour" to johns who found his services promoted on the Internet.
On July 25, he received $19,500 for a three-day encounter with one of his girls at a Midtown hotel, prosecutors said. He also allegedly sold $4,700 worth of cocaine to that same customer.
During his brief courtroom rant he also made a confusing claim about Cyrus.
"I saved Billy Ray Cyrus's life. That's what this is about," he said, without explanation.
A friend who was there to support him said he did not know what the comment about the singer meant.
Prosecutors said he has been moving around since his release from jail and has recently been living in New York.
