oe Francis, the self-made, self-promoting multimillionaire behind the Girls Gone Wild video empire, used to come to South Florida whenever he could.

He loved jetting in on his 22-seat Gulfstream, hobnobbing with South Beach glitterati and recruiting young women to bare their breasts for his videos, which he hawks on late-night infomercials.

Joe Francis                         But now, Francis vows to stay where he is -- in a Nevada slammer, awaiting a federal tax-evasion trial -- rather than be extradited to Florida, where, he says, spiteful jailers and prudish prosecutors in Bay County have waged a four-year campaign to humiliate and destroy him.

''Look, Miami is one of my favorite places in the world, but it's hard to believe that Miami and Bay County are even part of the same state,'' Francis, 34, said in a telephone interview with The Miami Herald from the Reno jail. ``They do things their own way up there. I was tortured.''

Francis' detractors, and there are many, say the cocky, foul-mouthed entrepreneur has only himself to blame.

''I think he's a jerk and that he deserves everything he gets,'' Bay County resident Tom Tomlin told NBC affiliate WJHG-TV on Thursday. ``That's it. Case closed.''

Francis was arrested in Panama City Beach in 2003 after investigators learned that Girls Gone Wild crews had filmed two underage girls in a motel-room shower during spring break. The young women were 17, though they signed forms attesting they were 18.

The video series consists of dozens of titles, all featuring college-age girls flashing the camera, often in drunken, spring break settings. The series has drawn the ire of conservative groups and even some of its own customers, who said Francis' company continued to charge them for unwanted videos.

He was released on bail hours after being booked in 2003. And he remained free almost four years waiting for the case to play out.

But during that time, several women filed a federal lawsuit against him, alleging they were victimized emotionally and physically when Girls Gone Wild filmed them. In April, a judge gave Francis a choice: settle or go to jail.

He didn't settle.

And it didn't help that he ended mediation talks with female attorneys with a vulgar remark.

(He eventually settled, and he says the dollar amount is enough that the women ``will never have to work again as long as they live.'')

The contempt citation sent Francis back to Bay County's jail, where officials said they found contraband in his cell -- prescription drugs and cash. That led to a 35-day stint in the clink and revocation of his bond from the 2003 charges.

According to Francis, his jailers would parade him around naked and shackled, torment him by keeping his meals just out of arm's reach, deprive him of his cholesterol pills and sleeping medication and reduce him to tears almost daily.

''The abuse was constant,'' Francis said. ``They wouldn't even hand me toilet paper.''

By comparison, he said, the Reno detention center is a Hilton. (He should know. He dated Paris.)

After Francis' monthlong stay in Bay County's jail, federal authorities whisked him to Nevada to face the tax charges, where he's been for more than five months. He could easily post the $1.5 million bond in Nevada but then would face extradition to Florida, where he says Bay County will torment him anew.

The tax case is scheduled to go to trial in April.

Francis' Bay County case will likely go to court after the tax trial wraps up. He was originally charged with more than 70 counts in his Panama City Beach arrest, but all but four charges have been dropped.

While he awaits his days in court, Francis spends his time updating his website (meetjoefrancis.com) from jail and reaching out to reporters to tell them about the injustice he feels he's received.

''They seized my plane, they seized my Ferrari, they tried to destroy me,'' Francis said, speaking from a pay phone in a jail hallway. ``I'm not going to just sit here and let it happen.''

On Tuesday, with the aid of Miami defense attorney Roy Black, Francis filed a 62-page motion asking a judge to throw out his Bay County charges.

In it, he alleges all sorts of prosecutorial misconduct -- namely, that Bay County State Attorney Steve Meadows may have tainted a potential jury pool by smearing Francis on a recent VH-1 documentary.

Meadows' office was still preparing its counter to Francis' motion on Thursday.

''Our response probably won't be as entertaining but more factual,'' spokesman Joe Grammer said. He declined to comment about Francis' allegations of jail mistreatment.

In South Florida, meanwhile, Francis' friends are hoping his legal troubles soon come to an end so he can return to the party scene that helped him make his fortune. Francis makes an estimated $30 million a year from video and apparel sales.

''He spent his birthday with us at Cameo the week before he went away to jail,'' said David Grutman, owner of Miami Marketing Group. ``I think he gets a bum rap sometimes. He's kind of vilified in the press, but he's really a sweet guy. And celebrities love him, too.''

Grutman said Francis called him from jail a few months ago to ask for help coordinating a Girls Gone Wild event during fashion week.

'Someone said to me, `Joe's on the phone,' '' Grutman recalled. 'I couldn't believe it. I was like, `Hey, you out yet, buddy?' He said, 'No, I'm still in here.' ''