Porn

A celebrity porn broker who agreed to plead guilty for allegedly demanding over 1 million U.S. dollars from actor Tom Cruise for stolen wedding photos, committed suicide at his home, media reported Sunday.

David Hans Schmidt, dubbed the "Sultan of Sleaze," was arrested in July for trying to extort Cruise for the stolen photos of his 2006 Italian wedding to actress Katie Holmes.

Schimidt was found dead in his townhouse in Phoenix around 3 p.m. Friday after police noticed a tracker placed on him following his arrest had not moved and he had not checked in for "some time," said Lt. Anthony Lopez, a Phoenix police spokesman.

The 47-year-old broker was expected to enter a formal guilty plea during an Oct. 11 hearing in a Los Angeles-area federal court and faced up to two years in prison.

Nancy Kardon, Schmidt's attorney, told the media that she spoke with her client two days ago to discuss strategy and the prospects of keeping him out of prison.

"He was optimistic that we would do what was necessary to get him probation," Kardon said. "I think he really felt like we had a shot."

Schmidt is best known for arranging the sale of celebrity sex tapes and nude photos. He has been trying to auction off Paris Hilton's diaries, along with photos of her in various stages of undress and other personal items that had been locked away in a Los Angeles-area storage locker until a few months ago.