The Gold Club was a strip club in Midtown Atlanta that operated until 2001, the same year the owner admitting racketeering charges.

Operations

The Gold Club was one of the most prominent strip clubs in Atlanta Georgia,[1] located on Lindbergh Road.[2]

Owner Steve Kaplan[1] was the subject of a 14 week trial in 2001[3] after prosecutors alleged that the club was used for prostitution, money laundering, bribery and credit card fraud.[1] Kaplan was also accused of having links to the Gambino crime family.[4]

The club was managed by Thomas "Ziggy" Sicignano, who acted as a witness for the prosecution during the trial.[1] Steven Sadow represented Kaplan during the court case, brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.[3] As part of a plea deal during the trial,[5] Kaplan confessed to racketeering.[6] Judge Willis Hunt sentencing Kaplan to sixteen months in prison.[7] Details of the plea deal included agreeing to close the club, 400 hours of community service, and a $5 million fine.[7]

The club was the focus of the 2001 Court TV program Sex, Sports & the Mob: Atlanta's Gold Club, written and directed by Steven Dupler.[8] After the club's 2001 closure,[6] Atlanta City Council agreed to attempt to purchase the location[2] although it was next used as a church before opening as The Gold Room nightclub in 2009.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "CNN.com - Sex, sports and the mob: The Gold Club trial - June 15, 2001". CNN. 15 June 2001. Archived from the original on 2021-11-28. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  2. 1 2 Esters, Kelli; Good, Joshua B. Good (7 August 2001). "From nude bar to park? Atlanta City Council votes to try to buy Gold Club". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on 10 Dec 2001. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  3. 1 2 Firestone, David (2001-08-03). "Top Defendants in Strip-Club Trial Strike Deal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-03-23. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  4. ↑ Simmons, Bill (27 September 2007). "Idiot's Guide to Gold Club Trial". Grantland. Archived from the original on 2023-06-06. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  5. ↑ "Gold Club owner pleads guilty to racketeering in deal with prosecutors | Maryland Daily Record". 2001-08-02. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  6. 1 2 3 Coffee, Gertha (19 October 2009). "Gold Room to fill spot vacated by Gold Club". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Archived from the original on 2023-08-24. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  7. 1 2 Harris, Art; Polk, Jim (8 January 2022). "CNN.com - Ex-Gold Club owner gets 16 months - January 8, 2002". www.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 2022-10-01. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  8. ↑ "WILL YES MEAN NO FOR WPOP?". Hartford Courant. 2001-12-14. Archived from the original on 2023-08-24. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
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