Jason Itzler, Radar's favorite self-proclaimed "King of All Pimps" (and the subject of a lengthy 2005 New York Magazine cover story), has had a field day with the Ashley Alexandra Dupré story.

What the expert-hungry press needs to beat this thing all the way into the ground is a public pimp, and boy does Itzler know it. He's now extended his stay in the public eye by claiming that he actually worked with the maybe 32-year-old Dupré when he was running NY Confidential, his $500,000-a-month prostitution ring.

According to the New York Daily News, Itzler, who once famously said he could turn Paris Hilton into a $250,000-an-hour hooker, claims Dupré caught his eye when he was checking into a Manhattan hotel back in 2004 (making her either 19 or 29, depending on who you believe), and that the "awesome, awesome, supercool girl" quickly became his best-seller. Dupré hasn't talked to the press since the Times story hit (calls to her cell phone from Radar were not returned), making it impossible to vet his claim, but there's good reason to believe he's blowing smoke.

Last winter, while still imprisoned in Rikers Island, Itzler repeatedly called Radar to tell us that everyone from Jeremy Piven to Leonardo DiCaprio had signed on to play him in a movie adaptation of the New York story, despite numerous denials from the reps for both actors. (There seemingly was interest from Hollywood at one point, though it's unclear how much he drummed up himself.) At the time, even the Daily News' own Joanna Molloy admitted that Itzler is mostly talk, noting, "the phone is Jason's air."

Now that he's back on the streets and has a "legitimate" business to peddle, it's not all that surprising that Itzler suddenly "remembered" that he knew Dupré. Though maybe we're just being cynical!