Investigating America’s Most Notorious Strip Club: The FBI, the Gold Club, and the Mafia

Retired FBI agent Sewell guides readers through the investigation of Atlanta’s Gold Club, an ultra-successful strip club that was found to be a significant source of income—with annual revenues of as much as $20 million—for the Gambino organized-crime family. The book shows how entrepreneur and mafia associate Steve Kaplan bought the club in 1994 and built it into an establishment that attracted numerous professional athletes and other celebrities. In 1996, the FBI started investigating the Gold Club for allegations of prostitution, credit card fraud, obstruction of justice, extortion, money-laundering, bribing police, and paying protection money to the New York–based Gambino family. Sewell, a rookie FBI agent at the time, was assigned to the case in 1997 and eventually became the lead investigator due to his ability to cultivate informants. His book is divided into two parts. The first fascinating section follows the FBI’s methodical approach to investigating the Gold Club, including its use of surveillance, search warrants, and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division. Part Two uses trial transcripts and media coverage to bolster Sewell’s acerbic commentary on the fate of the Gold Club. Two Gold Club–associated defendants were acquitted, but Kaplan eventually pled guilty to racketeering, paid a multimillion-dollar fine, and closed the club.