Storey officials consider brothel future

Scott Sonner

Wednesday, Aug. 4, 1999 | 9:28 a.m.

VIRGINIA CITY -- A court order to close two Mustang Ranch brothels near Reno next week could cripple the neighboring rural county that depends on the bordellos for hundreds of thousands of tax dollars, county commissioners say.

But a lobbyist for the Nevada Brothel Owners Association told the Storey County Commission Tuesday he's had dozens of inquiries from people who want to buy the houses of ill fame, including a Reno cardiologist and a veterinarian from Connecticut.

And a federal prosecutor said that while the keys to the brothels will be turned over to federal agents Monday, the ultimate fate of the property won't be determined for months or even years.

A federal judge ordered the Mustang Ranch brothels closed effective Aug. 9 after a jury last month convicted the owners, A.G.E. Corp. and Shirley Colletti -- former Mustang madam and former Storey County commissioner -- of fraud, racketeering and conspiracy charges.

Prosecutors said they worked to conceal the fact that Joe Conforte - the former owner on the lam in South America -- was using A.G.E as a front to hide his continued illegal ownership of the brothels.

The closures will leave one brothel in Storey County, about 9 miles east of Reno.

Storey County Commission Chairman Charles Haynes said Tuesday it is possible he'll move to rescind the ordinance that legalized prostitution at bordellos in the county in 1971.

"There's been a lot of speculation as to what the future of prostitution in Storey County will be," Haynes said Tuesday during a meeting at the county courthouse.

Of more immediate concern is whether the county will have to severely cut its services or consider property tax increases to make up for $233,00 in lost revenue in the form of brothel, liquor and boarding house licenses paid annually by the brothels slated for closure, he said.

"With a county budget as small as Storey County's, I don't think we can afford to lose a minimum of $230,000," Haynes said. "It could be as much as 1/16th of our entire county budget."

Greg "Bum" Hess, another member of the three-man commission, said he currently opposes outlawing brothels in the county but he'll keep an open mind.

George Flint, lobbyist for the 32-member Nevada Brothel Owners Association, said regulated prostitution is preferred to street walkers. He said potential buyers are lining up in anticipation of a chance to get the brothels back from the federal government.

"I believe you might end up two years from now with five brothels instead of three," Flint said.