By 1990, the IRS was fed up with his tax shenanigans and seized the ranch, putting the federal government in the unique position of running a brothel. It failed and the ranch was padlocked for the first time.
The IRS auctioned off the beds, the bedding, the bidets — even the room numbers — to recover some of Conforte's tax debt.
The brothel was sold for $1.49 million to a shell company overseen by Conforte and his attorney, Peter Perry. Conforte returned briefly to run the ranch, then fled to Brazil in 1991.
The brothel was sold for $1.49 million to a shell company overseen by Conforte and his attorney, Peter Perry. Conforte returned briefly to run the ranch, then fled to Brazil in 1991.
The IRS got its final say in 1997 when it filed a $16 million tax lien, followed in July 1999 with indictments of Conforte and principals in his shell company on charges including racketeering and money laundering. Millions of dollars allegedly were wired to Conforte in Brazil.
Federal agents, doing their best Men in Black, padlocked the gate where — according to Conforte — more than 1 million men had pressed the button that allowed them to be buzzed inside.
Federal agents, doing their best Men in Black, padlocked the gate where — according to Conforte — more than 1 million men had pressed the button that allowed them to be buzzed inside.
Four years later, the brothel's new owner — the federal Bureau of Land Management — put the once infamous painted lady in the desert ignominiously up for grabs on eBay. Lance Gilman snapped it up for $145,100 — adding the $100 in the final seconds of bidding.
"The Mustang Ranch was a historical site," Gilman said. "It was a business decision."
"The Mustang Ranch was a historical site," Gilman said. "It was a business decision."
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