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Gold Club trial delayed due to lawyer's illness

The Gold Club is Atlanta's highest-profile, all-nude strip bar.

From Art Harris
CNN Atlanta Bureau

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Opening statements in the racketeering trial for the operators of a prominent Atlanta nude dance club have been delayed due to the illness of the lead defense attorney.

Jury selection will begin on schedule Wednesday, and although attorney Steve Sadow has lost his voice due to a bad cold, he will be on hand in the courtroom, according to his secretary.

Sadow represents Steve Kaplan, owner of the Gold Club, a magnet for superstar athletes and celebrities situated in the city's upscale Buckhead district.

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Kaplan and six others face charges of participating in an underworld criminal conspiracy that included prostitution, money laundering, credit card fraud, extortion and bribery.

Opening statements had been expected to start Wednesday but now will probably not begin until at least Monday.

Sadow has a reputation as an inveterate jury picker, often ignoring the advice of jury consultants, and even his co-counsel, in selecting a panel.

Twelve jurors and six alternates must be chosen from an already winnowed pool of 41 prospects -- a task that may not take more than a single day.

Prosecutors allege that Kaplan and the club have ties to the Gambino organized crime family.

Convicted mobster John A. "Junior" Gotti has been moved to the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary and may be called as a witness in the case, although his attorney has said he will not cooperate and will take the Fifth Amendment.

At least four well-known athletes -- Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks, former Chicago Bulls star Dennis Rodman, Terrell Davis of the Denver Broncos and Jamal Anderson of the Atlanta Falcons -- have been subpoenaed to testify that they had sex with Gold Club dancers, CNN/Sports Illustrated has reported.

Lawyer: 'Junior' Gotti to take Fifth in Gold Club case
Gotti suffers cancer relapse
Like father like son: 'Junior' Gotti goes to jail
Atlanta strip club owner indicted on racketeering charges

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