Strip Club Owner Agrees to Plea Deal

Aug. 2 -- The owner of the Gold Club, accused of paying dancers to have sex with his celebrity clientele and cheating his customers, pleaded guilty today to one count of racketeering and agreed to give up the Atlanta strip club.

As part of the plea deal, Steve Kaplan also agreed to pay a $5 million fine and serve a three- to five-year prison sentence. The federal government will be in charge of the Gold Club temporarily.

Kaplan, who is worth an estimated $50 million, will have a formal sentencing hearing in two to four weeks. He remains free on bond.

He could have faced 195 years in prison if convicted on all charges. One charge of racketeering has a maximum sentence of 20 years.

Looking Out for His Friends

Steve Sadow, Kaplan's attorney, said his client accepted the plea bargain after 14 weeks of testimony because he wanted to do what was best for his employees and friends linked to the Gold Club.

"It was a very good deal for all concerned but most importantly, as [far] Steve Kaplan is concerned, those that have been friends and employees for years now know that they fear no loss of freedom," Sadow said. "They have a guaranteed future and that was always the most important thing in this case. And once that was accomplished, we got what we wanted.

"I would not call Steve Kaplan a fall guy," Sadow continued. "I would call Steve Kaplan someone who understands the need to repay the loyalty and friendship of those people that were on trial with him."

Kaplan and six others were charged with obstruction, credit card fraud, loan-sharking and prostitution, among other charges. Prosecutors said Kaplan funneled profits from the Gold Club to New York's Gambino crime family.

Three of his co-defendants pleaded guilty to a single charge each of concealing a felony and will receive a year's probation. Gold Club managers Norbert Calder, 35, and Roy Cicola, 35, and dancer Jacklyn Bush, 32, will be sentenced on a later date. The maximum sentence for concealing a felony is three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.