07/23/2001 - Updated 10:55 PM ET http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2001/07/23/stripclub.htm NBA star testifies in mob trial By Larry Copeland, USA TODAY ATLANTA — Basketball star Patrick Ewing testified Monday that dancers at the Gold Club on two occasions performed sexual acts on him while the club owner and a former manager looked on. Ewing, who is not charged in the case, is the first celebrity to testify in the lengthy federal racketeering trial. Prosecutors allege that the swank strip club funneled cash to New York's Gambino crime family. His testimony gave a bounty of salacious gossip to trial watchers and jurors, who have mostly heard technical proceedings to this point. "For most people, just keeping all the names straight without losing the substance of the testimony is extremely difficult," says Ron Carlson, a law professor at the University of Georgia. "But with a readily identifiable basketball star like Patrick Ewing, you will remember what he said he did with the club dancers." Ewing, 38, who played most of his career with the New York Knicks and signed as a free agent last week with the Orlando Magic, said he visited the club in the Buckhead section of Atlanta about 10 times. He said owner Steve Kaplan and former manager Thomas "Ziggy" Sicignano lavished attention on him twice. On his second or third visit to the club, during the 1996 Olympics, Ewing said he was escorted to one of the club's upstairs VIP rooms, called "Gold Rooms." He said Kaplan, a Knicks fan, and Sicignano soon came in to meet him. Two or more dancers were also in the room at the time, he said. "The girls danced. They started fondling me. I got aroused," Ewing testified calmly. "They performed oral sex. I hung around for a little bit longer and talked to them, then I left." He said he did not pay for the dancers' attentions. "I was told it was taken care of," he said. "I was told that by either Steve or Ziggy." Ewing said a similar, second episode occurred in 1997 or 1998. Ewing, who wore a blue pinstriped suit, a blue shirt and a dark necktie, testified for about a half-hour and left the courtroom without speaking to reporters. He said during cross-examination by Kaplan's attorney, Steve Sadow, that he did not go to the club seeking sex. Ewing said that he did not feel he was involved in prostitution and that he did not consider himself a "john." Also Monday, Jana Pelnis, a former Gold Club dancer who now works at a day-care center, testified under a plea agreement that she was one of the dancers who entertained Ewing. She said Kaplan had a flashlight during one of the episodes in the darkened room and shined it on the participants to watch them perform. She testified she was paid $400 for one of the performances. Pelnis, 29, also said she performed sex or watched other dancers perform sex acts on Denver Bronco football running back Terrell Davis and Philadelphia 76ers basketball star Dikembe Mutombo. Neither player has been charged with or accused of any crime in this case. Kaplan and six others are charged with obstruction of justice, credit card fraud, prostitution and money laundering. Sicignano testified against Kaplan and the others as part of a plea agreement. If convicted on all counts, Kaplan would face up to 40 years in prison and the others up to 20 years. During the trial, which started with jury selection in late April, federal prosecutors have maintained that Kaplan's moneymaking "formula" involved enticing big-name athletes and celebrities to the Gold Club to draw more customers. The VIPs allegedly were given free food and drinks — and occasionally sex with dancers. The Gold Club, which features full nudity, is one of the nation's most profitable strip clubs. It grossed $20 million last year, Sadow says. He says prosecutors targeted Kaplan because the club sits on pricey real estate. Among other celebrities who have reportedly visited the club: Atlanta Falcons running back Jamal Anderson, singer Madonna, real estate tycoon Donald Trump, actors Bruce Willis and George Clooney and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. None of them has been accused of a crime. LMAO...the friggin' King of Sweden at the Gold Club? Truth is indeed stanger than fiction... [This message has been edited by MrSpur (edited July 24, 2001).]
http://bbs.clutchcity.net/ubb/Forum2/HTML/002388.html Although you get points for the King of Sweden thing! ------------------ My doctor says I am bipolar. I am going to get a second opinion. I have never had intimate desires for polar bears. [This message has been edited by HOOP-T (edited July 24, 2001).]
You're telling me the most powerful man in Sweeden can't get a woman? So he has to go to strip clubs in ANOTHER COUNTRY to get some!?!? What a loser In your face Sweeden, ya don't see any Norwegian kings going to American strip clubs run by mobsters. (I used to live in Norway, and Norway/Sweeden have a rivalry going) ------------------ I'm looking for a job, so hire me "And I just have to smile and say 'well, I hope so' while I'm really thinking inside how I'd like to just strangle them and take their job."
Was he rollin' in Hotlanta with The Swedish Chef? [This message has been edited by MrSpur (edited July 24, 2001).]
