That was the headline which ran in Friday's New York Daily News. The Daily News reported that exotic dancers were flown in from Atlanta to perform lesbian sex acts and offer sexual favors to members of the New York Knicks during a private X-rated show in a Charleston, S.C., hotel, according to federal sources close to the investigation.
The sex romp, which allegedly occurred in April 1997 as the Knicks prepared for the playoffs, was staged by Atlanta strip club mogul Steven Kaplan, a longtime associate of John A. (Junior) Gotti, sources said.
While Kaplan and two hookers named Diva and Frederique were named in the indictment, the Knicks were not, and, according to the Daily News, face no allegations of wrongdoing.
Kaplan, who made no bones about wanting to own an NBA team, is accused of providing dancers and hookers to celebs and athletes as part of a $50 million criminal operation with ties to organized crime.
The indictment states that Kaplan and other defendants "transported female dancers from the Gold Club to the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston, S.C., so that dancers could perform a lesbian sex show and have sex with members of a professional basketball team. Sources close to the case confirmed that the team in question was the Knicks but would not say if any of the Knicks actually had sex with the dancers.
The Knicks were the only pro team in Charleston at the time in question, from April 20 to 23, 1997 when they held a minicamp at the College of Charleston before the start of the playoffs. The Knicks later lost to the Miami Heat in the second round after several star players were suspended for leaving the bench during a brawl.
A Knicks source said the club found out about the sex probe during the summer, but a spokeswoman declined to comment. NBA officials said they were unfamiliar with the charges and could not comment. The federal indictment also claims Kaplan arranged to have strippers perform oral sex and lesbian sex shows for other unnamed pro basketball players. A source said those players were not Knicks. Besides the Knicks, and other basketball players, a pro football star and a "celebrity executive" are also involved.
