Wednesday, July 7, 1999 | 12:47 p.m.
RENO, Nev. - The fraud and racketeering trial of a former county commissioner and Mustang Ranch manager was handed to a jury today after a defense attorney blamed all the misdeeds on former Mustang Ranch brothel baron Joe Conforte.
Calling Conforte an "arrogant pimp," Richard Sherman challenged the 33 counts of racketeering, conspiracy, wire fraud and bankruptcy fraud against Shirley Colletti, who once was the bordello's madam, and the corporation that owns the Mustang Ranch.
"The government has demonstrated that he may have taken money from the corporation, but that's all," Sherman said. That would make A.G.E. Corp. the victim, not a criminal, he said.
The government alleges Conforte arranged to purchase the Mustang Ranch and other assets seized by the Internal Revenue Service by fraudulently using two companies know as Mustang Properties Inc. and A.G.E. Corp. as fronts for his ownership.
Sherman, who represents A.G.E. Corp., said the Mustang Ranch is a "cash cow," that only Conforte could have bankrupted. Since Conforte sold the brothel to A.G.E. Corp., the business has been prosperous and legitimate, he added.
Defense attorneys say the government's case rests on a cast of tarnished characters including former Conforte attorney Peter Perry, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud and is awaiting sentencing.
Federal prosecutor Michael Barr said in his closing statement Tuesday that the A.G.E Corp. and the other players in the Mustang Ranch constituted a "large conspiracy of greedy people" whose intent was to hide the true ownership of the Mustang Ranch brothel.
Conforte, indicted but not on trial in these proceedings, remains a fugitive who is believed to be in South America.
Colletti, a longtime friend of Conforte, is still employed by A.G.E. as the financial consultant for the brothel. The federal indictment accused Conforte of using current employees of A.G.E. to make checks and wire transfers totaling over $4 million to Conforte's representatives from 1993 through 1996.
