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Key witness Testimony: Club owner had dancers meet Rodman
ATLANTA (AP) -- A former manager of Atlanta's hottest strip club dropped more names of famous athletes Tuesday, testifying that his boss arranged for dancers to have sex with Dennis Rodman and 1998 NFL MVP Terrell Davis. Thomas "Ziggy" Sicignano is a key witness in the government's racketeering case against Gold Club owner Steve Kaplan and six associates. Sicignano testified that he and Kaplan arranged for two dancers to meet Rodman in his hotel room for sex once in 1998. He said Rodman was a frequent Gold Club visitor from 1996 to 1998. Kaplan also arranged a sex show for New York Knicks rookies John Wallace, Walter McCarty and Dontae' Jones in 1997 in Charleston, S.C., where the basketball team was training, Sicignano testified. He said six club dancers had sex with them. Sicignano also said dancers provided sexual favors at the club for former World Championship Wrestling executive Eric Bischoff, NBA player Jerry Stackhouse and Davis. Prosecutors have charged that Kaplan used sex to attract celebrities and build the strip club into the most profitable in the nation. As part of a bargain for a shorter sentence, Sicignano pleaded guilty to withholding information from investigators about a fraud scheme in which associates got free or discounted tickets on Delta Air Lines. Sicignano also testified that he once gave a former Atlanta police officer $5,000 in cash that Sicignano understood was to be passed on to the city attorney's office to help the Gold Club get a license to open on Sundays. Another former police officer frequently fixed traffic tickets for Kaplan and other club employees in exchange for cash, food and entertainment at the club, Sicignano said. On Monday, Sicignano said Kaplan paid dancers to have sex with former Knicks Patrick Ewing and John Starks; Reggie Miller and Antonio Davis of the Indiana Pacers; and Atlanta Braves outfielder Andruw Jones. Agents for Miller and Antonio Davis on Monday denied their clients had had sex with club dancers. On Tuesday, the Pacers issued a statement disputing Sicignano's testimony that the team stayed at the Swissotel. On both of Indiana's road trips to Atlanta, they stayed at the Hotel Nikko, which later changed its name to the Grand Hyatt. Spokesmen for the Knicks, the NBA and individual athletes all declined to comment when the allegations were raised earlier this year. The defendants face racketeering charges, including accusations of credit card fraud, prostitution, loansharking and funneling money to the Gambino crime family.
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