Pro wrestler Randy "Macho Man" Savage has apparently snapped into a little more than just a Slim Jim. Macho Man along with fellow WCW stars Diamond Dallas Page, Scott Steiner and Perry Saturn were just some of the names named by the Feds in their ongoing probe of the activities at the Gold Club, a prestigious gentlemen's club in Atlanta.
Today the New York Daily News reported that the alleged mob-connected strip club also provided thousands of dollars worth of strippers and booze to other professional athletes including Dennis Rodman, Patrick Ewing and ex-Knick Charles Oakley, according to federal sources and investigative records.
According to the ongoing federal probe, the Gold Club gave free liquor and sex shows to Rodman and wrestlers Savage, Page, Steiner and Saturn, according to the sources and records. According to reports, the club gave the athletes phony money called Gold Bucks that it normally sells to patrons for the purposes of renting one of the club's 19 VIP Gold Rooms for watching nude lap dances in private.
As part of the investigation, the FBI and IRS have discovered records of all the Gold Club customers who were provided free drinks and Gold Bucks by owner Steve Kaplan, according to sources familiar with the investigation. Kaplan has been identified for years as a close associate of the Gambino crime family and was indicted last month on charges that the strip joint served as a skimming operation for the mob.
According to the 97-page Federal indictment, Kaplan provided strippers on numerous occasions to perform oral sex on unnamed pro basketball players inside his Gold Rooms. No ballplayers were named in the original indictment and none so far face allegations of wrongdoing.
NBA spokesman Chris Brienza said league rules do not prohibit players from receiving free food and booze from restaurants and bars. But the rules do prohibit behavior that is "materially detrimental or materially prejudicial to the team or the league."
Brienza declined to talk about the racketeering case, but acknowledged that players getting comped by a reputed mob associate could be of concern. He reiterated a statement that the league was "monitoring the situation."
Gold Club records seized by the feds and reviewed by the Daily News indicate that over the course of five nights in April 1998 Kaplan approved comp slips for "Patrick Ewing and friends" for a total bill of $2,233, including a $991 tab in a single night. Ewing so far has not commented. Oakley who left the Knicks last June was comped for $1,313. Oakley has not commented either. Records also show that Rodman dished out $411, $516, $786, $895, $926 and $946 in Gold Bucks during visits spanning 1995 to 1998, according to the records. Rodman's agent, Steve Chasman, said, "Dennis spends a lot of money on entertainment, but he doesn't have any knowledge of any of this stuff."
Rodman has been a pretty bsuy boy of late in the court system. Just recently battery charges had been dropped against Rodman and actress Carmen Electra for their fight at a hotel after a night of partying in
South Beach clubs. Rodman's attorney Roy Black said that the fight was a disagreement "typical of what happens between a married couple."
"This simply wasn't a crime ... but because of their celebrity, everyone took notice," Black said. Rodman and Electra were charged with simple battery, a misdemeanor, after the fight Nov. 5 in which both received minor injuries. Rodman's shirt was torn and the room was in disarray when officers arrived. Electra had a bruise on her arm, an injury to her left temple and a swollen lip from Rodman allegedly throwing her purse at her face. She also cut a toe on her left foot after being thrown outside their hotel room, the police report said. Rodman and Electra were arrested and later released on $2,500 bail each after several hours in custody.
And, just yesterday, an ex-stripper named Dixie Johnson agreed to dismiss the federal lawsuit she filed in June 1998 against Rodman. Johnson, 48, claimed Rodman sexually assaulted her in April 1998 by grabbing one of her breasts at the Las Vegas Hilton.
Gregory Hafen, a Las Vegas attorney who represented Rodman in the case, would not say whether the dismissal meant the parties had reached a settlement. Johnson claimed she was sent by her former employer, Stripper Elite Entertainment, to entertain Rodman at the Hilton.
Regarding Savage and the other wrestlers, World Championship Wrestling, which has also employed Rodman on a number of occasions, would not comment about the Gold Club incident.
Kaplan's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, has denied his client has any ties to the mob, and declined to discuss the involvement of pro hoop stars in the case. In the federal indictment against Kaplan, Atlanta U.S. Attorney Richard Deane charged that during the years Kaplan has owned the Gold Club, he has skimmed million, for the mob. Kaplan also allegedly provided athletes with strippers for sex, and between 1995 and 1999 had prostitutes perform lesbian sex shows in front of professional basketball players.
The indictment also alleges Kaplan, who reportedly has links to John Gotti, arranged a wild party in Charleston, S.C., in the spring of 1997 that included a lesbian sex show in front of at least several unidentified Knicks players. The Knicks were in Charleston at the time, preparing for that season's playoffs.
Knicks representative have so far declined to make any statements.
