ATLANTA - Yo, somebody tell Tony. The Sopranos have got nothing on the sex, violence and star power of the Gold Club trial.
The months-long federal case, being played out at Atlanta's Richard B. Russell Federal Building, has captured worldwide headlines and the attention of millions hungry for details in the Deep South's first front-page foray into the organized-crime world chronicled in HBO's popular series.
It's got mob bosses, sports stars, the King of Sweden and the Queen of Pop.
It's got a defendant called "Mikey Scars" and a defense lawyer who launched into his own strip tease on top of a courtroom table.
In short, the racketeering and prostitution case promises enough salacious details to make it Georgia's version of the O.J. Simpson trial.
"Certainly, this is one of the three or four most high-profile cases in Georgia legal history," said University of Georgia law school professor Ron Carlson, who has been attending the trial.
Steve Kaplan, the owner of the Atlanta strip club, is charged with being a part of New York's Gambino crime family, engaging in loan sharking, prostitution, credit-card fraud and obstruction of justice.
His six co-defendants are Jacklyn Bush, a former club dancer charged with prostitution; Larry Gleit, the club's chief financial officer; former Atlanta policeman Reginald Burney; club managers Norbert Calder and Roy Cicola; and alleged mob captain Michael "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo.
Since the trial began last month, testimony has mostly focused on Mr. Kaplan's alleged involvement with the Gambinos, once led by famed Mafioso John Gotti.
"It's an aspect of American culture that people in all parts of the country is fascinated with," Mr. Carlson said. "Everybody wants to find out more about the Mafia, La Cosa Nostra, organized crime.
"This is Georgia's window into that."
Last week, testimony in the case revealed stories about a cast of characters only Al Capone could love.
John DiGiorgio, Mr. Gotti's nephew and a convicted loan shark, sprinkled his testimony with wise-guy attitude and slang while linking Mr. Kaplan's family to his enterprise.
"He offered me the opportunity to loan money out and split the juice with him," Mr. DiGiorio said, referring to how he started loan sharking with Mr. Kaplan's now-deceased father, George.
Despite being a government witness, the former owner of Bobby and Johnny's Chicken and Ribs made it clear that he's no snitch and was only testifying because the government had him on tape.
The same day, David Campo - real name David Mauricio Cajiao - a Colombian-born former drug dealer and car thief in the government's witness protection program, testified wearing a fake beard, glasses and a ball cap pulled over his eyes.
He described doing drugs and sipping champagne with John Gotti Jr. at Mr. Kaplan's Florida nightclub, Club Boca, and said the club fronted money for a planned drug rip-off that he took part in.
And that wasn't the rough stuff.
In earlier testimony, mobster John Givens explained in a matter-of-fact tone how he would torture people who hadn't paid back loans he claimed Mr. Kaplan financed.
One technique included shoving lit cigars up victims' noses, slitting open their nostrils with a knife when the cigar wouldn't fit.
FROM THE OUTSIDE, there's not much special about the Gold Club, a gray and yellow, warehouse-size building on Piedmont Road, save for the freshly-scrubbed college guys who offer valet parking in the club's fenced lot. But inside, it defies the stereotype of the seedy, smoky strip joint.
Smiling, tuxedoed floor managers introduce themselves by name at the door and chat with patrons about what the club offers, including $200-an-hour "VIP rooms." There are no bar stools or tables, only rows of comfy chairs where dancers circulate, offering $20 private dances.
Walls are covered in mirrors and neon, which includes an image of a giant, gold lion's head over the main stage. Glass coolers house stacks of $350 champagne bottles.
A Budweiser costs $5. The mixed drinks dancers are prone to hit patrons up for run to $12.
Madonna, Donald Trump, Michael Jordan, George Clooney, Bruce Willis, Mick Jagger, Chipper Jones, Hulk Hogan and Swedish King Carl Gustav are among the celebrities said to have been entertained there.
If the Gold Club is the top of the line in Atlanta adult entertainment, it's not for lack of competition. The city, known for everything from the Braves to the Olympics to Gone With The Wind, and despite being in the heart of the Bible belt, features a bustling sex industry that those in the convention and tourism business reluctantly acknowledge as one of the things that makes Atlanta attractive to visitors.
"If you have a convention in town, they're going to want to sometimes party later in the evening," said Marlene Colon, the manager of Celebrations Over Atlanta, an event-planning company. "With our clients, if that's something their people want to do after hours or after the events, that doesn't really affect us."
The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, which did not return telephone calls for this article, features a discrete link to adult clubs on its Web site.
But Ms. Colon, who said she never uses strip clubs when planning events, said she doubts the international publicity the Gold Club trial is generating will hurt the city's reputation as a destination for conventioneers.
"If we were talking about killings, yes it would," she said. "We're talking about (alleged crime at) one club. It's like a joke."
IN THE CASE, it will be the government's job to show that the bar was used as a home base for organized-crime activities that included illegally bilking customers out of thousands of dollars on their credit cards and pimping dancers to members of the New York Knicks pro basketball team and other celebrities.
But it won't be easy.
The assembled defense lawyers, Mr. Carlson said, are "extremely talented and collectively form a formidable set of opponents for the government."
Leading the charge is Mr. Kaplan's attorney, Steve Sadow, who was introduced to Mr. Kaplan by a former club employee. He was present in 1999 during the FBI's early morning raid of the club, signing off on money and materials confiscated by the government.
A hard-nosed defender, Mr. Sadow has peppered the testimony of government witnesses with objections and tenaciously argued with Judge Willis B. Hunt - usually outside of the jury's presence - over rulings and court proceedings.
Earlier in the trial, an FBI agent was reprimanded by the judge for throwing a videotape at Mr. Sadow in the courtroom.
Dwight Thomas, the lawyer for Mr. Burney, called government attorneys "persecutors" instead of prosecutors during his opening statements and suggested that their plan to call to the stand black professional athletes, instead of rich white clients, was racist.
Bruce Harvey, the attorney for former dancer Jacklyn "Diva" Bush, caused one of the trial's biggest stirs so far when, during his opening, he climbed on a table and swung his jacket around, demonstrating his client's profession.
In a trial expected to last at least another three months, the attention-grabbing move by Mr. Harvey could pay off, according to Mr. Carlson.
"I suspect that the jury will not forget that as they think through the issue of 'is she simply a dancer?"' Mr. Carlson said "He did take some hits from the judge for the dramatic display, but over the long haul, it will probably help."
In contrast, Mr. Carlson said Mr. Leach has done a more "workmanlike," if no less effective, job of laying out the government's complicated case.
So far, government witnesses have spelled out the workings and hierarchy of the Gambinos' crime syndicate - a syndicate Mr. Leach says Mr. Kaplan helped finance.
It's far too early, Mr. Carlson says, to predict how the case will turn out.
But it could come down to whether jurors accept the testimony of admitted mobsters and other witnesses whose crimes, in some cases, they may decide are worse than the ones Mr. Kaplan and his associates are accused of.
"Can you win a case against a place that primarily is involved in nudity and some consensual sex, at least according to the defense, with witnesses whose past history is much starker than that?" Mr. Carlson said. "Clearly, the government would prefer to have people with past records like choir boys ... but you take your witnesses as you find them."
A look at some of the key players in the Gold Club trial:
Steve Kaplan: The Gold Club's owner is accused of pimping dancers to pro athletes and other high-profile clients, ordering beatings of people who didn't pay back high-interest loans and other crimes. Prosecutors say the New York native was connected to the Gambino crime family and its alleged boss, John Gotti. His lawyers describe him as loud, brash and pushy but say he was a victim of the mob, not a conspirator.
Dino Basciano: A convicted felon who served six years for attempted murder, Mr. Basciano is a self-described former "soldier associate" (read: "enforcer") for the Gambino and Luchese crime families. Mr. Basciano testified that Mr. Kaplan made payments to co-defendant Michael DiLeonardo, a k a "Mikey Scars," an alleged Gambino captain. Defense lawyers grilled Mr. Basciano, who has testified in five federal cases, saying he contradicted himself and traded testimony for reduced sentences for his own crimes. He faced up to 50 years in prison on the attempted-murder charge.
Jamal Anderson and Terrell Davis: Prosecutors say they intend to call Mr. Anderson, the Atlanta Falcons running back, and Mr. Davis, the Super Bowl champ and Savannah State University alum, to testify that Gold Club managers encouraged dancers to have sex with celebrities. Defense lawyers complained that the prosecutors were calling only black athletes instead of high-profile white clients, like Donald Trump and Bill Gates, who they say also patronized the club.
Art Leach: Assistant U.S. Attorney and lead prosecutor in the case, Mr. Leach has brought a workmanlike approach to the trial so far, but has had to withstand being called a government "persecutor" by attorneys, at least one of which has called his case racist. Mr. Leach has repeatedly objected to defense lawyers' constant appearances on television and in other media.
Jacklyn Bush: Known as "Diva" to patrons, Ms. Bush is a former Gold Club dancer charged with prostitution in the case. She was "the Michael Jordan of sexual activity" according to one government informant, who claims Mr. Kaplan urged her to have sex with celebrities to enhance the club's image. Her attorney has suggested Ms. Bush may have engaged in consensual sex at the club, but not prostitution.
Bruce Harvey: Ms. Bush's attorney, Mr. Harvey is a colorful character with a braided pony tail hanging down his back and tattoos, including one of a rattlesnake, on each hand. During opening arguments, Mr. Harvey climbed on a table and removed his jacket to demonstrate that his client is a dancer, not a call girl.
Michael DiLeonardo: Allegedly a "made guy" in the Gambino crime family, Mr. DiLeonardo, a k a "Mikey Scars," is accused of funneling protection money from Mr. Kaplan to the Gambinos. Lawyers for the alleged mob captain, a well-dressed charmer who chats freely with reporters and other court observers during breaks, asked the judge to allow him to remove an ankle monitoring device he's required to wear since his conviction on other charges.
Judge Willis B. Hunt Jr.: A former Georgia Supreme Court justice and chief justice of that court from 1994-95, Judge Hunt has a reputation for being an even-handed, even-tempered judge. He's tried to move the trial along as quickly as possible but has found that with seven separate defense attorneys taking on government lawyers, that's not always easy.
Reach Doug Gross at (404) 589-8424 or mnews@mindspring.com.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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