Jason Itzler
Jason Lubell Itzler, born February 23, 1967,[1] is an American businessman, attorney, YouTuber, and the founder of the escort agency New York Confidential. He has been imprisoned for money laundering, drug charges and prostitution.[2]
Early life and education
Jason Lubell Itzler was born as Jason Lubell Sylk[3] and is the only son of Ronnie Lubell and Leonard Allen Sylk.[3] Following his parents’ divorce, Itzler moved to New York with his mother.[3] While growing up, Jason was influenced by his grandfather, Nathan Lubell, who was a founding partner in the Riviera in Las Vegas. He also owned an amusement park in Coney Island for his four young daughters.[3] Jason's mother remarried Ron Itzler,[3] a lawyer in the firm of Fischbein, Badillo, Wagner, and Itzler, and so the family moved to the suburbs in New Jersey. Jason attended a number of private schools, including the Elisabeth Morrow School, the Dwight-Englewood School, the Hotchkiss School, and Tenafly High School. Jason spent many of his evenings at the New York Friars Club, and summers in the Catskills, where he worked as a cabana boy at the Concord Hotel.[3] Jason graduated from The George Washington University with degrees in political science and art history.
Itzler enrolled in the Shepard Broad College of Law in the late 1980s and graduated with a J.D. in 1993.
Business ventures and convictions
While in law school, he started a phone sex operation called M2 Communications, Inc., where he would charge $4.98-a-minute, and soon become a young millionaire. The company averaged $1,500,000 a month.[3] Due to his mother's untimely death from cancer in 1994, he abandoned his business and was eventually forced to declare bankruptcy in 1997.[3] His next company was called SoHo Models, one of the first companies to supply Webcam porn, which he ran out of a rented an 8,000-square-foot loft on the corner of Canal and Broadway in New York City.
In 2001, Itzler was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport for trying to smuggle ecstasy into the United States.[4] After serving seven months in jail for the drug charge, he was released on parole in 2003, after which he started an escort service named New York Confidential.[4][3] To meet the condition of his parole that he maintain legitimate employment, Itzler was fraudulently listed as a paralegal in the office of his attorney, Paul Bergrin.[4]
New York Confidential was run out of Itzler's Art Deco apartment in Hoboken, New Jersey.[3] The company was doing well and the office was moved to a 5000 sq ft. loft at 79 Worth Street in Manhattan.[3] In 2004, Itzler was averaging a gross of $55,000 a night.[3] "That's because we were the best," said Itzler. "At NY Confidential, I told my girls that the pressure is on them because we have to provide the clients with the greatest single experience ever, a Kodak moment to treasure for the rest of their lives. Spreading happiness, positive energy, and love, that's what being the best means to me. Call me a dreamer, but that's the NY Confidential credo."[3] It was this attention to detail and customer satisfaction that made the group successful, attracting a wide array of clients, including senators and famous athletes.[3] There were even talks of franchising Confidentials in other cities, such as Las Vegas.[3]
In 2005, authorities arrested Itzler, who pleaded guilty to money laundering and promoting prostitution in 2006, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.[4][5][6]
On May 14, 2012, Itzler was sentenced to four years in prison for prostitution, money laundering, and drug charges after an investigation the previous summer found evidence that he had sold cocaine and provided a prostitute to a Manhattan customer.[7]
Personal life
Itzler is Jewish and has been engaged seven times.[3] He has dated his own girls, including the number one escort Natalie McLennan, known as Natalia.[3] Natalia made as much as $2,000 per hour with a two-hour minimum working as an escort at New York Confidential.[3] Asked if the work affected her relationship with Itzler, Natalia says he would sometimes get jealous of the time she spent away from him, but not of the men.[3] It would only bother him if she slept with another man for free.[3] In 2010, Natalia pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted money laundering in connection to New York Confidential.[8] Itzler has had Hanuman and "Super Lucky" tattooed on his arms since the early 1990s.[9]
Media
Itzler has been featured on The View.[10] He appeared several times on The Opie and Anthony show, including phoning in from prison. He also appeared as a guest twice on The Howard Stern Show.[citation needed]
References
- ^ Cyrus R. Mylie , Jr. (September 1, 2011). "Jason Itzler Indicted for Promoting Through "Rockstar Models & Partygirls" Agency" (Press release). The New York County District Office. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
- ^ Buettner, Russ (May 9, 2012). "After Guilty Plea, Pimp Fires His Lawyer at Sentencing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Mark Jacobson (July 10, 2005). "The $2,000 an-Hour Woman". New York magazine. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Ryan, Joe (May 4, 2009). "N.J. lawyer pleads guilty to helping run N.Y. prostitution ring". The Star-Ledger. Newark, NJ. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ Hartocollis, Anemona (January 11, 2007). "A Tough Defense Lawyer Finds He's in Need of One". The New York Times. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ "Dimple Kapadia's mother Betty passes away at 80". The Economic Times. The Times Group. December 1, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
- ^ Preston, Jennifer (May 14, 2012). "Self-Promotional Pimp Draws 4 Years". New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
- ^ Eligon, John (December 7, 2010). "Natalia, Face of NY Confidential, Gets Time Served". The New York Times.
- ^ Eligon, John (September 13, 2011). "Jason Itzler, Self-Described 'Fake Pimp' Drops Names in Court". The New York Times.
- ^ Shea, Danny (March 31, 2008). "The View" Hosts, Then Beats Up On, "King Of Pimps". The Huffington Post.