Plea Deals Halt Lurid Trial

The king of Sweden never took the stand. Neither did Madonna.

But the splashy, celebrity-studded trial against Atlanta’s premier strip joint titillated this town (and the tabloids) for three months straight, and Thursday there was almost a sigh of disappointment that it’s coming to an end.

Steven E. Kaplan, owner of the Gold Club, brought the proceedings to a halt by pleading guilty to one count of racketeering. Four associates also struck deals with prosecutors to minimize their punishment.

The group had faced 86 counts, ranging from money laundering, extortion and credit card fraud to prostitution and paying off police. Authorities said Kaplan used the club, said to be one of the country’s most lucrative such establishments, to funnel money to the Gambino crime family in New York.

Under terms of the surprise plea bargain, Kaplan will pay a $5-million fine and surrender the club to the government, which plans to shut it down. The pudgy, 42-year-old former roller rink manager will also get three years in prison.

Three of his associates will get probation for admitting they didn’t report crimes they witnessed, and one will be punished for a financial misdemeanor.

The plea deal essentially wraps up the action in a case of “The Sopranos” meets the South. Leggy blonds broke down on the stand, mob wise guys talked about “whacking” people and celebrities divulged dirty secrets. Last week, NBA star Patrick Ewing testified he received sexual favors from nude dancers while Kaplan watched.

“It was taken care of,” the 7-foot center told the jury when asked if he paid for the sex.

The prosecution alleged the Gold Club paid dancers to have sex with celebrities in order to attract them and their followers. Mick Jagger, George Clooney, Madonna and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden were all patrons, witnesses said.

But despite hours of colorful testimony, prosecutors struggled to gain traction in proving more damaging claims that Kaplan was the mastermind behind a criminal empire stretching from the swanky Buckhead neighborhood in Atlanta to the Gambinos. Former mobsters testified Kaplan, originally from New York, was buddies with John Gotti, the imprisoned crime boss. But nobody ever established he was raking it in for the mob.

“The government has been straining,” said University of Georgia law professor Ron Carlson. “They haven’t found that level of moral indignation.”

At times, the courtroom spun out of control. One defense lawyer jumped up on a table and began to perform a striptease.

“Counsel,” warned U.S. District Judge Willis B. Hunt Jr., “please keep your feet on the floor.”

The plea agreement offered a way out for both sides. Kaplan faced 195 years in prison if convicted on all charges, and a key prosecution witness just began testimony this week. Yet the government was coming under increasing criticism for staging an elaborate and costly trial.

Kaplan’s lawyer, Steve Sadow, said the deal “manages to wipe the slate clean for Steve Kaplan, so from this day forward he doesn’t have to worry about any more disputes or controversies with the federal government.”

There’s no doubt Kaplan’s business will be missed by some. The Gold Club drew 200,000 customers a year, generating $20 million in revenue and employing hundreds of young women. Prosecutors want to bar the club’s heavy black doors within a week.

The trial may continue for two other defendants, a former Atlanta police officer charged with tipping off the club about raids and a captain in the Gambino crime family. Both men refused Thursday to plead guilty.

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Times researcher Edith Stanley contributed to this story.