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{{AFC submission|d|npov|u=Owilli2019|ns=118|decliner=Paul Carpenter|declinets=20210204170826|ts=20210203025418}} <!-- Do not remove this line! -->

{{AFC comment|1=Sentences like "Thus even in death, Joe Conforte seems to mock the world by not having proof he is gone." certainly have no place in an encyclopedia [[User:Theroadislong|Theroadislong]] ([[User talk:Theroadislong|talk]]) 18:27, 4 February 2021 (UTC)}}

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{{short description|Nevada brothel owner}}
{{short description|Nevada brothel owner}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Joseph Conforte
| name = Joseph Conforte
| birth_name = Giuseppe Christophe Conforte
| birth_name = Giuseppe Christophe Conforte
| birth_date = December 10, 1925
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|12|10}}
| birth_place = Augusta, Sicily
| birth_place = Augusta, Sicily
| death_date = March 4, 2019
| death_date = March 4, 2019 {{Death date and age|2019|4|3|1925|10|12|df=yes}}
| death_place = Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| death_place = Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| death_cause = Natural
| nationality =
| nationality = Sicilian
| citizenship = United States, Brazil
| citizenship = United States, Brazil
| education = 2 years high school
| occupation = Brothel owner, restaurateur, boxing manager
| occupation = Brothel owner, restauranteur, boxing manager
| movement = Legal prostitution
| movement = Legal prostitution
| criminal_charges = 33 counts under RICO, pattern of racketeering
| criminal_charges = 33 counts under RICO, pattern of racketeering
| criminal_status = Fugitive
| criminal_status = Fugitive
| spouse = Sally Conforte
| spouse = [[Sally Conforte]]
}}
}}
'''Joseph Conforte''' (December 10, 1925 &ndash; March 4, 2019) was an American [[Prostitution in Nevada|legal brothel owner]] from [[Sparks, Nevada]], professional [[boxing promoter]], [[restaurateur]], and [[philanthropist]]. Conforte owned and ran [[Mustang Ranch]]. Wanted by the FBI, he escaped the U.S. and lived in Brazil during his older years.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzXehArGsrc |title=CNBC's 'American Greed' - The Mustang Ranch {{!}} American Greed |date=2009-03-03 |last=CNBC Ambition |access-date=2024-08-30 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgQCHSuim1w |title=One-on-One With Mustang Ranch Owner in Brazil |date=2008-05-01 |last=8 News NOW {{!}} KLAS-TV |access-date=2024-08-30 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYEi3CEH2mE |title=Donahue Show - Mustang Ranch |date=2017-01-13 |last=Atomic TV |access-date=2024-08-30 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=ncs-import |title=Is Joe Conforte dead? Online sources indicate he is |url=https://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/2019/jul/26/is-joe-conforte-dead-online-sources-indicate-he-is/ |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=www.nevadaappeal.com |language=en}}</ref>
'''Joseph''' "'''Joe'''" '''Conforte''' (December 10, 1925 -- March 4, 2019) was a legal brothel owner from Sparks, Nevada, spokesperson for the legal prostitution movement, a professional [[boxing promoter]], [[restauranteur]], [[philanthropist]], and Nevada statesman who embarrassed the United States Department of Justice and swindled the IRS and got away with it. He impacted federal law and the laws of Nevada and was a fixture of pop culture, affecting people's attitudes and opinions about prostitutes and prostitution. He is sometimes called the Godfather to legal prostitution. He was the underworld boss of Northwestern Nevada.


==Early years==
== Early life ==
Born in [[Italy]], Conforte was the original owner of the [[Mustang Ranch]] and a prominent advocate for [[Prostitution in Nevada|legal prostitution]], becoming a fixture in [[Sparks, Nevada]].<ref>{{cite court|litigants=Joseph Conforte v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue|opinion=A-584 Rehnquist|court=U.S. Supreme Court|date=January 12, 1983|url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/459/1309/|postscript=459 U.S. 1309 (1983)}}</ref> He was married to [[Sally Conforte]] (née Burgess).<ref name=seattle1/>
Born Giuseppe Christophe Conforte in [[Augusta, Sicily]], December 10, 1925, the youngest of one brother and three sisters. His birth date is often mistaken as January 6, 1926. His mother died of breast cancer in 1931 when he was five.<ref name="Death Record Francesca Imprescia">''Italia, Siracusa, Siracusa, Stato Civile (Tribunale), 1900-1942, Imprescia, Francesca''</ref> His father had relocated to Boston, Massachusetts to find gainful employment and then Giuseppe and his siblings were raised by their aunt and uncle. When Giuseppe obtained a certain age, he was a balitila or balilla-- a member of the youth fascist party under Mussolini.


Conforte was born Giuseppe Christophe Conforte in [[Augusta, Sicily]], December 10, 1925, the youngest of one brother and three sisters.<ref name="Farrell">{{cite news|last=Farrell|first=Barry|title=The Killing At the Notorious Mustang Ranch|publisher=New West|date=August 2, 1976|page=35}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Death Notice: Agostino Conforte|publisher=Nevada State Journal|date=November 28, 1972|page=16}}</ref> His birth date is often mistaken as January 6, 1926.<ref>{{cite news|title=Why Conforte has different birthdays|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=March 23, 1984}}</ref> His mother died when he was five.<ref>[https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89CT-Q9NS] Death Record, Italia, Siracusa, Siracusa, Stato Civile (Tribunale), 1900-1942, Imprescia, Francesca</ref>
==Coming to America==
Giuseppe, along with sisters Serafina and Pasqualina, traveled to [[Ellis Island]] on The Rex steamliner in December 1937. Giuseppe was given the name Joseph by immigration services. He and his sisters lived with their father, Agostino Conforte (1887-1972), in the Dorchester suburb of S. Boston. Agostino had remarried to a woman with two daughters older than Joseph.


Giuseppe traveled to [[Ellis Island]] on the ''Rex'' steamship in December 1937.<ref name="Farrell"/><ref name="RS"/> Giuseppe was given the name Joseph by immigration services. Conforte's father Agostino ran a small produce shop in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston where he taught young Joe how to sell fruits and vegetables. Agostino also sold bootleg alcohol. As printed in ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', 1972: "...this poor immigrant boy from Augusta, Sicily. When he stepped off the boat in New York 35 years ago, he was simply the pudgy, uneducated son of a Massachusetts bootlegger."<ref name="RS">{{cite magazine|first=Robin|last=Greene|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/joe-conforte-crusading-pimp-169026/|title=Joe Conforte, Crusading Pimp|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=November 23, 1972|page=26}}</ref>
==Coming of Age==
Agostino ran a small produce shop where he taught young Joe how to sell fruits and vegetables. Agostino also sold bootleg alcohol.<ref name="RS">{{cite magazine |first=Robin|last=Greene|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/joe-conforte-crusading-pimp-169026/|title=Joe Conforte, Crusading Pimp|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=November 23, 1972|page=26}}</ref>


Conforte ran away from home to Manhattan in New York City at age fifteen.<ref name="Farrell"/> He moved to Los Angeles in 1942 and soon leased the produce side of the Shermart Market in West Hollywood.<ref name="Farrell"/>
Joe completed his freshman year in high school in Boston and dropped out his sophomore year.


He enlisted in the United States Army on November 1, 1945, before his twentieth birthday. Because of his fake birth date, he was drafted late.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&cat=all&tf=F&q=conforte%2C+joseph&bc=&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=812490|title=Conforte, Joseph: Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938-1946|date=1945|publisher=U.S. National Archives and Records Administration}}</ref> He was in the military police in the army and discharged in January 1950 as a staff sergeant.<ref name="The Conforte chronology">{{cite news|title=The Conforte chronology|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=September 23, 1990|page=15}}</ref><ref>[https://nevadahalloffame.org/joe-conforte/ "Joe Conforte"], ''Nevada Hall of Fame website'', 2019.
He moved to Los Angeles in 1942 and soon leased the produce side of the Shermart Market at the corner of San Vicente and Santa Monica Blvd. He ran afoul of local authorities when he was caught shorting the weights of boxes of strawberries.<ref>Conforte, Joe; Toll, David. "Breaks, Brains & Balls" (Virginia City: Gold Hill Publishing Company, 2011), book 1, chap. 4, Kindle.</ref>
Retrieved November 14, 2021.</ref>


==Early career==
Teenage Joe Conforte gravitated to the criminal element while living in Los Angeles. He learned to gamble. He visited prostitutes. Being young and Sicilian, operating his own produce store that happened to be on the edge of Mobster [[Mickey Cohen]]'s territory, Joe also familiarized himself with certain members of organized crime and they him.
Joe Conforte operated illegal brothels in Oakland, California in 1952 and 1953. He moved to Wadsworth, Nevada in 1955 and started the Triangle River Ranch brothel. His operation grew and soon he met and teamed up with Sally Burgess, with whom he had a series of run-ins with law enforcement:<ref name="Vogliotti 1975 83–176">{{cite book|last=Vogliotti|first=Gabriel|date=1975|title=The Girls of Nevada|url=https://archive.org/details/girlsofnevada00vogl|via=Archive.org|publisher=Citadel Press|access-date=February 10, 2021|pages=83–176|isbn=0-8065-0378-5}}</ref><ref name="Godfather">{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Ken|title=Nevada's world-famous brothel|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=November 14, 1986|page=18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Ex-Vice King Sues on Arrests|publisher=Nevada State Journal|date=August 26, 1960|pages=1, 12}}</ref>


* Clark County, Nevada Undersheriff Lloyd Bell (1959): "We don't care where you (Conforte) stay. But don't stay in this county, or we'll pick you up again."<ref>{{cite news|title=Bagnio Owner Finds Clark Climate 'Cool'|publisher=Reno Evening Gazette|date=October 26, 1959|page=10}}</ref>
Joe Conforte turned eighteen in 1943 and for various reasons drove across the country, seeking adventure. He met his first wife, Susan Stallings, and they married in Noonan, Georgia on May 20, 1945.
* Washoe County, Nevada Sheriff C.W. (Bud) Young (1959): "My deputies have been told to pick Conforte up wherever he shows his face in Washoe County."<ref>{{cite news|title=Conforte Nabbed Twice in Battle With Raggio|publisher=Nevada State Journal|date=December 5, 1959|page=18}}</ref>
* Ormsby County (State Capitol), Nevada Sheriff Howard Hoffman (1961): "He was told not to let the sun set on him here in Ormsby County."<ref>{{cite news|title=Conforte, law often clash|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=November 14, 1986|page=18}}</ref>


The Confortes expanded their prostitution business across Nevada.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lyon County Closes Houses Of Ill Fame|publisher=Reno Evening Gazette|date=December 8, 1959|page=13}}</ref>
==Military service==
Because of Joe's fake birth date, he was drafted late, enlisting into the Army on November 1, 1945, before his twentieth birthday. After basic training in Fort MacArthur, San Pedro, California, he was sent to Guam, where he volunteered for the Military Police. In 1946, he was discharged under the marriage/family hardship provision. He re-enlisted in 1947 and was stationed in Fort Ord in Monterey, California where he earned promotions to T-5 Corporal and then Buck Sergeant. 1948, he requested special training at Fort Riley, Kansas and was promoted to Staff Sergeant of the Military Police. November 1, 1948, the term of his second enlistment ended. He quickly re-enlisted again with the rank of Staff Sergeant, and received Criminal Investigation training in Camp Gordon, Georgia. In July 1949, he returned to Guam and served in the 220-2nd Military Police brigade. He was discharged a third and last time on January 25, 1950, under the recently enacted pay raise leave provision.


In 1960, Conforte was convicted of extortion by threat of Washoe County District Attorney [[William Raggio]], and was sent to prison.<ref>{{cite news|last=MacKenzie|first=Walt|title=Local Vice Figure Jailed|url=https://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/2014/oct/09/local-vice-figure-jailed/|date=October 9, 2014|publisher=Nevada Appeal|location=NevadaAppeal.com|access-date=February 16, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Jury Convicts Conforte of Plot|publisher=Nevada State Journal|date=June 3, 1960|page=1}}</ref>
==Family==
Joe Conforte was married and divorced to Susan Stallings. They bore a child named Anita. In August 1961, he married Jessica "Sally" Burgess and stayed married until her death in 1992. No children with Sally. Between 1946 and 1995, Joe had a total of eight children by several mothers, including Susan.


Conforte married Sally Burgess in August 1961.<ref name=seattle1>{{cite web|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19920909&slug=1511818|title=Sally Conforte, 75, of Mustang Ranch|last=AP|date=September 9, 1992|website=Archive Seattle Times|publisher=The Seattle Times|access-date=February 12, 2021}}</ref>
==Career==
Joe Conforte operated illegal brothels in Oakland, California in 1952 and 1953. He moved to Wadsworth, Nevada in 1955 and started the Triangle River Ranch brothel with two ladies working for him.


In 1963, Conforte pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion while in state prison for extortion.<ref>{{cite news|title=Conforte Asks Reduction In Tax Evasion Sentence|publisher=Nevada State Journal|date=August 16, 1963|page=7}}</ref>
His operation grew and soon he met and teamed up with Sally Burgess, and they became partners in crime.


In December 1965, Conforte was released from prison.<ref>{{cite news|title=Conforte Released|publisher=Nevada State Journal|date=December 3, 1965|page=1}}</ref>
What followed was a series of run-ins with law enforcement, expansion of their prostitution business into an empire, five years in prison for Joe, his comeback, and attempts by his nemesis, Washoe County District Attorney [[William Raggio]], to keep him out with the creation of the 'evil reputation ordinance'. A judge ruled the ordinance unconstitutional and in 1966, after four long years away, Joe was back.<ref name="Evil Reputation Ordinance">{{cite news|title='Consorting' Law Declared Invalid|publisher=Nevada State Journal|date=October 13, 1966|page=1}}</ref>


Joe Conforte took over the Mustang Bridge Ranch brothel in Storey County in 1967. The [[Nevada Gaming Commission]] had Joe on a list to be included in their Black Book of Excluded Persons that year but did not add him for reasons the FBI would later look into.<ref>{{cite news|last=UPI (Carson City, Nevada)|title=Nevada's Black Book Revamped|publisher=The Argus|date=November 30, 1967|page=2}}</ref>
In 1967, Joe and [[Sally Conforte]] took over the Mustang Bridge Ranch brothel in [[Storey County, Nevada]].<ref>{{cite news|last=AP|title=Nevada's Most Infamous Brothel, Mustang Ranch, Back In Business|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/nevadas-most-infamous-brothel-mustang-ranch-back-in-business|date=August 5, 2007|publisher=FOX News Network, LLC|location=FoxNews.com|access-date=February 12, 2021}}</ref>
<ref name="Mustang Chronology">{{cite news|title=Mustang Chronology|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=August 8, 1999|page=14}}</ref><ref name="The Conforte chronology"/>


That year, the [[Nevada Gaming Commission]] had Conforte on a list to be included in their Black Book of undesirables but did not add him for unexplained reasons.<ref>{{cite news|last=UPI (Carson City, Nevada)|title=Nevada's Black Book Revamped|publisher=The Argus|date=November 30, 1967|page=2}}</ref>
February 26, 1971, Nevada's Governor [[Mike O'Callaghan]] signed SB214, known as the anti-vice bill, actually the county option brothel bill, into law, giving counties the ability to license and regulate brothels while outlawing Clark County-Las Vegas to keep Joe out.<ref name="Nevada's County Option Brothel Law">{{cite web|title=N.R.S. 244.345, 8: limitation on licensing of houses of prostitution|url=https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-244.html#NRS244Sec345|website=Nevada State Legislature}}</ref>


February 26, 1971, Nevada's Governor [[Mike O'Callaghan]] signed anti-vice bill SB214, also known as the county option brothel bill, into law, giving counties the ability to license and regulate brothels while outlawing Clark County-Las Vegas to keep Conforte out.<ref>{{cite news|title=Prostitution Ban Measure Approved|publisher=Nevada State Journal|date=February 23, 1971|page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Governor Signs Anti-vice Bill|publisher=Nevada State Journal|date=February 26, 1971|page=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=N.R.S. 244.345, 8: limitation on licensing of houses of prostitution|url=https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-244.html#NRS244Sec345|website=Nevada State Legislature}}</ref>
Mustang Bridge Ranch, with Sally Conforte as licensee, was first in the nation to be state sanctioned. The event lead to instant fame for Joe Conforte who assumed the role as leader of the legal prostitution movement.

Mustang Bridge Ranch, with [[Sally Conforte]] as licensee, was first in the nation to be licensed under the new state law.<ref>{{cite news|last=Phillis|first=Michael|title=Conforte continues to thwart licensing challenge|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=January 27, 1991|page=13}}</ref> The event lead to instant fame for Joe Conforte who assumed the role as leader of the legal prostitution movement.


==1970s fame and legal prostitution spokesperson==
==1970s fame and legal prostitution spokesperson==
Joseph Conforte and/or Mustang Bridge Ranch were featured on television and in magazines, including:
1971: Joe Conforte and/or Mustang Bridge Ranch were featured on TV shows 60 MINUTES and Mantrap (Canada), and in Look Magazine--photos by [[Marvin E. Newman]]. 1972: the Donahue Show, Rolling Stone--photos by [[Annie Liebovitz]]. 1973: Mantrap, and Tomorrow with [[Margo St. James]]. 1974: Oui. 1975: Hustler, and "The Girls of Nevada" by Gabriel Vogliotti. 1976: Documentary movie "Mustang: The House That Joe Built", and New York and New West magazines.


*1971: TV shows ''[[60 Minutes]]'' and ''Mantrap'' (Canada), and in ''Look'' magazine—photos by [[Marvin E. Newman]]
Joe Conforte spoke publicly about the need and benefit of legal prostitution to organizations such as the Lions Club, Rotary Club, on national and regional TV shows, and on talk radio. He was behind a 1971 initiative in California to legalize brothels in that state.<ref name="Look">{{cite magazine |first=Gerald|last=Astor|title=Legal Prostitution Spreads in Nevada|magazine=Look|date=June 29, 1971|page=36}}</ref>
*1972: ''[[The Donahue Show]]'', ''[[Rolling Stone]]''—photos by [[Annie Leibovitz]]
*1973: ''Mantrap'', ''[[The Tomorrow Show|Tomorrow]]''
*1974: ''[[Oui (magazine)|Oui]]''
*1975: ''[[Hustler (magazine)|Hustler]]'', ''The Girls of Nevada'' by Gabriel Vogliotti,<ref name="Vogliotti 1975 83–176"/> documentary movie ''Mustang: The House That Joe Built'' filmed at Mustang Bridge Ranch,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/mustang-house-joe-built|title=Mustang: The House That Joe Built|author=<!--Not stated-->|date=1975|website=Golden Globes|publisher=Hollywood Foreign Press Association|access-date=February 10, 2021}}</ref> interview by Mike Wallace of ''60 Minutes'', and a cameo in the movie ''[[Charley Varrick]]'' filmed at Mustang Bridge Ranch
*1976: ''New York'' and ''New West'' magazines


Conforte spoke publicly about the need and benefit of legal prostitution to organizations such as the Lions Club, Rotary Club, on national and regional TV shows, and on talk radio. From ''Rolling Stone'', 1972: "...[he] has appeared nationally in magazine and television profiles, and is widely heralded as a folk hero for his fearless, one-man crusade to legalize prostitution in Nevada--and then "the whole goddamn country.""<ref name="RS"/>
Joe Conforte started Joe Conforte Sports Promotions to manage professional boxers. In 1976, he began sponsoring heavyweight [[Bernardo Mercado]] (Colombia) who went on to beat Trevor Berbick in 1979 to win the World Boxing Council Continental Americas Heavy Title. Mercado beat [[Earnie Shavers]], the hardest puncher of his time, in March 1980, but lost to [[Leon Spinks]] later that year in an elimination bout to determine who would fight for the world title.<ref>[https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/394 Bernardo Mercado's Professional boxing Record] BoxRec.com</ref>


He was behind a 1971 initiative in California to legalize brothels in that state.<ref name="Look">{{cite magazine|first=Gerald|last=Astor|title=Legal Prostitution Spreads in Nevada|magazine=Look|date=June 29, 1971|page=36}}</ref>
The grand opening of the [[Mustang Ranch]] brothel on May 15, 1976, was overlooked by the news media. Two weeks later, the Mustang Ranch was mentioned in almost every newspaper around the globe.

In 1976, Conforte began sponsoring heavyweight [[Bernardo Mercado]] (Colombia) who went on to beat Trevor Berbick in 1979 to win the [[World Boxing Council]] Continental Americas Heavy Title.<ref>{{cite news|last=Harper|first=Dennis|title=Mercado's right does the job|publisher=The Brandon Sun (Winnipeg, Canada)|date=April 4, 1979|page=10}}</ref> Mercado beat [[Earnie Shavers]], the hardest puncher of his time, in March 1980, but lost to [[Leon Spinks]] later that year in an elimination bout to determine who would fight for the world title.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bock|first=Hal|title=No miracle for Ali this time|publisher=Reno Evening Gazette|date=October 3, 1980|page=48}}</ref><ref>[https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/394 Bernardo Mercado's Professional boxing Record] BoxRec.com</ref>

The grand opening of Joe and Sally Conforte's [[Mustang Ranch]] brothel on May 15, 1976 received little to no coverage by the news media.<ref name="Bonavena slain"/>{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}


==Infamy and crime==
==Infamy and crime==
Conforte reportedly controlled organized crime in Northwestern Nevada, and was quoted in the Nevada State Journal on March 21, 1976: "Conforte said if organized crime elements move into Northern Nevada against his warnings, "Then there's going to be a war.""<ref name="The Meeting">{{cite news|last=Oliva|first=Mark|title=The Meeting: Police Link Conforte With Crime Family Figure|publisher=Nevada State Journal|date=March 21, 1976|page=3}}</ref> In March 1976, the Washoe County Grand Jury released its Final Report on Joseph Conforte, exposing his Mob ties and political connections across the country.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Report: Investigation Began With Conforte Land Deal|publisher=Nevada State Journal|date=March 16, 1976|pages=1, 2, 10–11}}</ref><ref name="The Meeting"/> In a statement, Conforte retorted: "The grand jury as it exists today in Washoe County is a colossal fraud. You can put 17 angels with one attorney in a grand jury room for two years, such as these grand jurors have been, and end up with 17 devils."<ref>{{cite news|last=McMillan|first=Doug|title=Conforte: Report Brings Laughter|publisher=Nevada State Journal|date=March 16, 1976|page=2}}</ref>
Much of Joe Conforte's fame is born from infamy.


A week after the Mustang Ranch opened in May 1976, seventh-ranked heavyweight boxer from Argentina, [[Oscar Bonavena]], was shot and killed at the front gate by Joe Conforte's enforcer, Willard Ross Brymer.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rogers|first=Thomas|title=Bonavena Is Slain; A Top Heavyweight|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/05/23/archives/bonavena-is-slain-a-top-heavyweight.html|date=May 23, 1976|work=The New York Times|location=NYTimes.com|access-date=February 16, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Bonavena slain">{{cite news|last=Oliva|first=Mark|title=Boxer Bonavena slain at Mustang, Conforte bodyguard arrested|publisher=Reno Evening Gazette|date=May 22, 1976|page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=May 22, 2018|title=May 22, 1976: Prizefighter murdered outside Mustang Ranch|url=https://www.rgj.com/story/life/2018/05/22/may-22-1976-prizefighter-murdered-outside-mustang-ranch/632321002/|work=RGJ Archives|location=Reno, Nevada|access-date=February 10, 2021}}</ref> Conforte was accused of conspiring to murder the boxer but charges were never filed against him.<ref>{{cite news|last=Frady|first=Steven R.|title=Bucchianeri denies he withheld death threat letter|publisher=Nevada Appeal (Carson City)|date=September 8, 1978|page=5}}</ref>
By 1976, he'd been accused of being evil, had been coined Reno's Frankenstein, had narrowly avoided inclusion into the Black Book, and was commonly perceived as a corrupter of the innocent. Legalization of brothels and the resulting accolades Joe received in the early 70s, however, tipped the scales of public opinion back to his favor.


In 1977, Conforte was convicted of tax evasion and fraud, and sentenced to twenty years in prison; fraud charges were added due to his regularly destroying his financial records.<ref>{{cite news|last=UPI (Reno, Nevada)|title=Conforte Dealt 20-Year Prison Sentence|publisher=Las Vegas Sun|date=October 29, 1977|page=4}}</ref>
The scales tipped again when, in March 1976, the Washoe County Grand Jury released its Final Report on Joe Conforte, exposing his Mob ties and political connections across the country, resulting in Joe Conforte suing the grand jury, newspaper editor Warren Lerude, and the [[Nevada State Journal]] and [[Reno Evening Gazette]] for printing the grand jury's unsubstantiated lies about him in various articles. Warren Lerude made no retractions.<ref name="Lerude">{{cite news|title=No Retraction: Journal, Gazette Stand By News Stories About Conforte|publisher=Nevada State Journal|date=April 2, 1976|page=1}}</ref>


In 1979, Conforte, while on appeal for tax evasion, was arrested for attempted bribery of the Lyon County, Nevada District Attorney John Giomi.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Zappe|first1=John|last2=Oliva|first2=Mark|last3=McMillan|first3=Doug|title=Conforte charged with bribery|publisher=Reno Evening Gazette|date=July 3, 1979|page=21}}</ref>
Two weeks after the Mustang Ranch opened in May 1976, seventh-ranked heavyweight boxer from Argentina, [[Oscar Bonavena]], was shot and killed at the front gate by Joe Conforte's enforcer, Willard Ross Brymer. It was a shot heard around the world.


==Fugitive (1981-1983)==
Joe was accused of conspiring to murder the boxer but charges were never filed against him. Once again, his reputation hit rock bottom.
In December 1980, Conforte fled the country to avoid prison for the tax evasion conviction and also prosecution for the attempted bribery of John Giomi. Conforte lived as a fugitive of U.S. justice in Brazil for three years.<ref name="Fugitive">{{cite news|last=O'Driscoll|first=Patrick|title=Brothel owner wants to return to Brazil|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=December 16, 1983|page=back page}}</ref> While living as a fugitive, Conforte claimed he had bribed federal judge [[Harry E. Claiborne]] (Nevada 1978–1986) who was his former attorney. The [[Department of Justice]] granted Conforte a reduced sentence in exchange for his testimony.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cooper|first=Dick|title=Conforte plea bargain disclosed|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=February 25, 1984|page=1}}</ref> Conforte gave himself up to the U.S. federal authorities in Miami in December 1983.<ref name="Fugitive"/> He provided testimony of alleged bribes paid to Claiborne before a Reno grand jury and Claiborne was indicted based on those claims.<ref>{{cite news|last=Phillis|first=Michael|title=Role reversal for Judge Claiborne|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=December 11, 1983|page=1C}}</ref>


To the embarrassment of the Department of Justice, in [[Harry E. Claiborne]]'s bribery trial, Conforte flubbed the date of one of the two bribes and Claiborne had a solid alibi on the other bribe Conforte alleged to have made. Jurors were deadlocked and the trial ended in a mistrial.<ref>{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Ken|title=Claiborne left hanging; new trial set for July, Mistrial called after 8 days of deliberation|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=April 14, 1984|page=1}}</ref> Conforte was prosecuted separately for the crime of attempted bribery of the Lyon County district attorney and sentenced to eighteen months in state prison to run concurrently with his federal sentence.<ref>{{cite news|last=Melton|first=Wayne|title=Conforte gets 18 months|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=December 10, 1983|page=1}}</ref>
In 1977, Joe Conforte was convicted of tax evasion and fraud; fraud added for regularly destroying his financial records.


==Bankruptcy court==
In 1980, Joe fled the country to avoid prison for the tax evasion and lived as a fugitive of U.S. justice in Brazil for three years.
1982, while in Brazil, Conforte deeded his assets to Sally and she filed for bankruptcy in Reno.<ref>Sally Conforte, Chapter 11, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Reno, Nevada, BK 82-966, Docket from November 26, 1982</ref>


December 1984, Conforte was released from federal prison after serving twelve months of what was an original twenty-year sentence for tax evasion and fraud.<ref>{{cite news|title=Conforte released from federal prison|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=December 12, 1984|page=1C}}</ref>
While on the lamb, Joe Conforte claimed he had bribed federal judge [[Harry E. Claiborne]] (Nevada 1978-1986). The [[Department of Justice]] offered Joe a reduced sentence in exchange for testimony against Claiborne.


Conforte served no jail time for the state crime of attempted bribery of the Lyon County district attorney.
After Joe Conforte was convicted of tax evasion in 1977, he appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, sought tax re-determination in U.S. District Courts, and sued the Commissioner of Internal Revenue in U.S. Tax Court. When things appeared to not go his way, he filed a writ of certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming his rights were trampled upon. In 1983, while still in Brazil, Joe's writ was denied a hearing. Justice [[William Rehnquist]] wrote the opinion stating a fugitive has no right to appeal--a case that is often cited as the precedent in fugitive appeal cases around the country.<ref>Conforte v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 459 U.S. 1309 (1983), opinion by Rehnquist A-584|url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/459/1309/</ref>


The IRS drastically reduced the tens of millions of dollars of taxes Joe and Sally Conforte owed to $7.3 million.<ref>{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Ken|title=Brothel owner wants land sale to cut tax bill|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=November 26, 1983|page=1}}</ref>
Joe Conforte gave himself up to the U.S. federal authorities in Miami in December 1983. He provided testimony of alleged bribes paid to Claiborne and Claiborne was indicted by a grand jury based on those claims. Joe Conforte was sent to federal prison for twelve months of what was an original twenty-year sentence for tax evasion and fraud. The IRS then drastically reduced the tens of millions of dollars of taxes Joe Conforte owed.


Conforte created a public offering of Mustang Ranch stock that could have satisfied the remainder of his debt to the IRS, but three attempts at the IPO failed. Joe then blamed the IRS for interference through his bankruptcy attorney.<ref name="Mustang Chronology"/> Conforte's attorney, Peter A. Perry declared on September 21, 1990: "...[IRS] attempts at frustrating the sale[s] were not done in good faith in complete contravention of the agreement between Confortes and IRS to convert the Ranch to a Chapter 7."<ref>Joseph Conforte dba Mustang Ranch, debtor BK 90-1331, Request for Judicial Notice, October 29, 1990, Exh. A: Perry Declaration dated September 21, 1990 in Sally's BK 82-966</ref>
To the embarrassment of the Department of Justice, the jury in Harry Claiborne's bribery trial failed to convict after Joe Conforte flubbed the date of one of the two bribes and Claiborne had a solid alibi on the other bribe Joe Conforte alleged to have made.


==Forfeiture==
During this time, Joe deeded his assets to Sally and she filed for bankruptcy. After Joe's release from prison in December 1984, he opened a Swiss bank account under the alias Jose' C. Montoya and began skimming profits from Mustang Ranch and sending them to the Swiss account with the aid of several accomplices.<ref>"Application and Affidavit for Search Warrant, Affidavit of Kemp Shiffer in Support of Search Warrant"|date=December 15, 1994|''United States v. Joseph Conforte, Peter Perry, CR-N 95-00049 HDM''</ref>
In 1990, her health in decline, Sally deeded her assets to Joe and he prepared to file his own bankruptcy when federal prosecutors obtained emergency forfeiture in court while armed [[U.S. Treasury Department]] agents seized the Mustang Ranch and other property.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Mullen Jr.|first1=Frank|last2=Cox|first2=Don|title=Bankrupt Mustang closes shop|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=September 19, 1990|page=1}}</ref> The IRS placed a trustee to operate the brothels in hopes of getting back the taxes Joe and Sally Conforte owed.<ref name="Spotlight">{{cite news|last=Voyles|first=Susan|title=Bordello puts Nevada back in national spotlight|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=September 22, 1990|page=5}}</ref>


Uncle Sam attempting to run a whorehouse became comedic fodder on late-night TV:
Joe Conforte created a public offering of Mustang Ranch stock that could have satisfied the remainder of his debt to the IRS, but three attempts at the IPO failed. Joe then blamed the IRS for interference.
* [[David Letterman]]: "Overseeing the ranch might be just the thing to get Washington mayor Marion Barry interested in government work again."<ref name="Spotlight"/>
* [[Jay Leno]]: "If anybody has the experience to run a brothel, the honor should go to Congress."<ref name="Spotlight"/>


==IRS swindle and retirement==
Sally deeded her assets back to Joe and Sally Conforte, husband and wife, as part of the bankruptcy court's plan of restructuring her finances. In 1990, her health in decline, Sally deeded her assets to Joe and he prepared to file his own bankruptcy when [[U.S. Treasury Department]] lawyers sought emergency forfeiture in court while armed agents seized the Mustang Ranch. The IRS placed a trustee to operate the brothel in hopes of getting back the taxes Joe and Sally Conforte owed, but [[Storey County]] commissioners and the sheriff, who controlled county liquor and brothel licensing, rezoned the area of Mustang Ranch to outlaw prostitution, forcing the IRS to sell.
In 1985, Conforte opened a Swiss bank account under the alias José C. Montoya and began skimming profits from Mustang Ranch and sending them to the Swiss account with the aid of several accomplices.<ref>{{cite court|litigants=United States v. Joseph Conforte, Peter A. Perry|court=U.S. District Court - Reno Nevada|postscript=CR-N 95-00049 HDM|date=December 15, 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Henderson|first=Mike|title=Witnesses testify Conforte paid officials to keep brothel|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=June 23, 1999|page=11}}<!-- , Application and Affidavit for Search Warrant, Affidavit of Kemp Shiffer in Support of Search Warrant. --></ref>


In 1990, [[Storey County, Nevada]] commissioners and the sheriff, who controlled county liquor and brothel licensing, demanded the IRS trustee overseeing the Mustang Ranches obtain a brothel license. When the IRS trustee tried to apply, however, the commissioners rezoned the area of Mustang Ranch to outlaw prostitution, forcing the IRS to sell.<ref>{{cite news|last=Fitten|first=Ron|title=IRS still plans to sell Mustang, despite bar on prostitution|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=October 4, 1990|page=1B}}</ref>
Using a proxy, Joe secretly bought the Mustang Ranch back from the government at pennies on the dollar of what he owed. Joe's brothel license with Storey County had been maintained throughout all this. The shell company that took control of Mustang Ranch hired Joe to run the place. Joe retired to Rio de Janeiro in 1991, after which the Mustang Ranch was sold to another company that was later found to be a subsidiary of the offshore A.G.E. Corporation of which Joe was the main shareholder.


Using a proxy, Joe Conforte secretly bought the Mustang Ranch back from the government at pennies on the dollar of what he owed.<ref>{{cite news|last=Phillis|first=Mike|title=Sold! For $1.49 million|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=November 14, 1990|page=1}}</ref> Conforte's brothel license with Storey County had been maintained throughout all this. The shell company that took control of Mustang Ranch hired Joe to run the place. Conforte was quoted speaking to the Storey County Commission, December 18, 1990: "The doors are already open. I'm here for one reason and one reason only, as a common courtesy, to let you know how it is."<ref>{{cite news|last=Brenn|first=Courtney|title=Mustang alive and kicking, Brothel opens amid confusion over legality|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=December 19, 1990|page=1}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}
Sally Conforte died in 1992.


Conforte retired to Rio de Janeiro in 1991.<ref>{{cite news|last=Henderson|first=Mike|title='This time I'm serious'|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=August 23, 1991|page=1B}}</ref> The Mustang Ranch was sold to another company that was later found to be a subsidiary of the offshore A.G.E. Corporation of which Joe was the main shareholder.<ref>{{cite news|last=Timko|first=Steve|title=IRS thinks Conforte still owns Mustang|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=January 30, 1997|page=1D}}</ref>
Joe Conforte was indicted by the United States in 1995 in absentia for thirty-three violations under the [[Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act]] (RICO), including a pattern of racketeering. A superseding indictment in 1998 added the A.G.E. Corporation and co-conspirators. Attempts at extradition from Brazil failed.

[[Sally Conforte]] died in 1992.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bremner|first=Faith|title=Mustang Ranch's Sally Conforte dead at 75|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=September 8, 1992|page=1}}</ref>

In November 1995, the United States indicted Joe Conforte in absentia for thirty-three violations under the [[Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act]] (RICO), including a pattern of racketeering. A superseding indictment in August 1998 added the A.G.E. Corporation and co-conspirators.<ref>{{cite court|litigants=United States v. Joseph Conforte, Peter A. Perry|court=U.S. District Court - Reno Nevada|postscript=CR-N 95-00049 HDM}}</ref> U.S. Department of Justice attempts to extradite Joe from Brazil failed.<ref>{{cite news|last=Henderson|first=Mike|title=Brazil won't return Conforte|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=October 23, 1999|page=1}}</ref>

Former IRS Special Investigator Kemp Shiffer: "Is Joe Conforte a crook? Absolutely he is. He did everything we said he did. Extortion, conspiracy, bribery, racketeering, money laundering, wire fraud; he is guilty of it all. He's a crook, but he is a brilliant crook. The man stayed a step ahead of us the entire time. I worked that case for thirteen years... He slid right through and out of the country."<ref>{{cite news|last=Breen|first=Erin|title=Conforte IN EXILE|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=May 30, 2004|page=10}}</ref>

In 1999, Mustang Ranch was again seized by the federal government and shuttered.<ref>{{cite news|last=Henderson|first=Mike|title=Feds lock door at the Mustang|publisher=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=August 10, 1999|page=1}}</ref> The nearby [[Wild Horse Adult Resort & Spa|Wild Horse Saloon]] acquired some of the buildings and furniture along with the name, and started doing business as Mustang Ranch Lounge.<ref>{{cite news|last=Griffith|first=Martin|title=Judge rules Mustang Ranch can utilize its famous name|url=https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/judge-rules-mustang-ranch-can-utilize-its-famous-name/|date=December 13, 2006|publisher=Tahoe Daily Tribune|location=TahoeDailyTribune.com|access-date=February 16, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=
https://www.rgj.com/story/life/food/2019/05/01/reno-restaurant-mustang-ranch-brothel-lounge/3555547002/ |title=Famed Mustang Ranch brothel east of Reno wants you to drop by — for a meal |website=Reno Gazette Journal |date=May 1, 2019 |accessdate=February 9, 2021}}</ref>

==Death==
It is believed that Joe Conforte died in Brazil on March 4, 2019, at age 93 from pneumonia associated with Alzheimer's and a heart condition. No news article, death certificate, or public sources corroborate his death. May 5, 2020, racketeering indictments of Conforte from 1995 and 1998 were dismissed by Judge Howard McKibben in the Second Judicial District Court-Reno: “…the Government believes Defendant Conforte and Defendant Neves are both deceased, although the Government has not been able to secure either American or Brazilian death certificates.”<ref>{{cite court|litigants=United States v. Joseph Conforte, AGE Ent., AGE Corp., Shirley Colletti, Joann Olcese, Eduardo Neves|court=U.S. District Court - Reno Nevada|postscript=CR-N 95-00049 HDM}}</ref> Conforte's place of burial or entombment is also unknown.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

==See also==
*[[Love Ranch]]


==References==
==References==
Line 109: Line 133:


==External links==
==External links==
* [https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/portrait/G8M3-N94 Joseph Conforte Genealogy]
* [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/274/259/ United States vs Sullivan, 274 U.S. 259 (1927)]
* [https://www.cnbc.com/video/2009/03/03/the-mustang-ranchamerican-greed.html The Mustang Ranch/American Greed] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215023508/https://www.cnbc.com/video/2009/03/03/the-mustang-ranchamerican-greed.html |date=2021-02-15 }}
* [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/424/648/ Garner vs. United States, 424 U.S. 648 (1976)]
* [https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/portrait/G3JJ-9N8 Joseph Conforte Geneology]


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Conforte, Joseph}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conforte, Joseph}}
[[Category:1925 births]]
{{draft categories|
[[:Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[:Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:American brothel owners and madams]]
[[:Category:Boxing manager]]
[[Category:American fraudsters]]
[[:Category:Legal brothel owner]]
[[Category:Italian emigrants to the United States]]
[[:Category:Restauranteur]]
[[Category:American gangsters of Italian descent]]
[[:Category:Nevada statesman]]
[[Category:People of Sicilian descent]]
[[:Category:Philanthropist]]
[[Category:Prostitution in Nevada]]
[[:Category:Celebrity]]
[[Category:United States Army non-commissioned officers]]
[[:Category:Civil rights leader]]
[[:Category:Government watchdog]]
[[:Category:Taxpayer rights litigant]]
[[:Category:Conspiracy to murder]]
[[:Category:Organized crime]]
[[:Category:Fugitive]]
[[:Category:Federal witness]]
[[:Category:Extortion by threat]]
[[:Category:Tax evasion]]
[[:Category:Tax fraud]]
[[:Category:Bankruptcy]]
[[:Category:Bribery]]
}}

Latest revision as of 20:22, 30 August 2024

Joseph Conforte
Born
Giuseppe Christophe Conforte

(1925-12-10)December 10, 1925
Augusta, Sicily
DiedMarch 4, 2019 3 April 2019(2019-04-03) (aged 93)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
CitizenshipUnited States, Brazil
Occupation(s)Brothel owner, restaurateur, boxing manager
MovementLegal prostitution
Criminal charges33 counts under RICO, pattern of racketeering
Criminal statusFugitive
SpouseSally Conforte

Joseph Conforte (December 10, 1925 – March 4, 2019) was an American legal brothel owner from Sparks, Nevada, professional boxing promoter, restaurateur, and philanthropist. Conforte owned and ran Mustang Ranch. Wanted by the FBI, he escaped the U.S. and lived in Brazil during his older years.[1][2][3][4]

Early life

[edit]

Born in Italy, Conforte was the original owner of the Mustang Ranch and a prominent advocate for legal prostitution, becoming a fixture in Sparks, Nevada.[5] He was married to Sally Conforte (née Burgess).[6]

Conforte was born Giuseppe Christophe Conforte in Augusta, Sicily, December 10, 1925, the youngest of one brother and three sisters.[7][8] His birth date is often mistaken as January 6, 1926.[9] His mother died when he was five.[10]

Giuseppe traveled to Ellis Island on the Rex steamship in December 1937.[7][11] Giuseppe was given the name Joseph by immigration services. Conforte's father Agostino ran a small produce shop in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston where he taught young Joe how to sell fruits and vegetables. Agostino also sold bootleg alcohol. As printed in Rolling Stone, 1972: "...this poor immigrant boy from Augusta, Sicily. When he stepped off the boat in New York 35 years ago, he was simply the pudgy, uneducated son of a Massachusetts bootlegger."[11]

Conforte ran away from home to Manhattan in New York City at age fifteen.[7] He moved to Los Angeles in 1942 and soon leased the produce side of the Shermart Market in West Hollywood.[7]

He enlisted in the United States Army on November 1, 1945, before his twentieth birthday. Because of his fake birth date, he was drafted late.[12] He was in the military police in the army and discharged in January 1950 as a staff sergeant.[13][14]

Early career

[edit]

Joe Conforte operated illegal brothels in Oakland, California in 1952 and 1953. He moved to Wadsworth, Nevada in 1955 and started the Triangle River Ranch brothel. His operation grew and soon he met and teamed up with Sally Burgess, with whom he had a series of run-ins with law enforcement:[15][16][17]

  • Clark County, Nevada Undersheriff Lloyd Bell (1959): "We don't care where you (Conforte) stay. But don't stay in this county, or we'll pick you up again."[18]
  • Washoe County, Nevada Sheriff C.W. (Bud) Young (1959): "My deputies have been told to pick Conforte up wherever he shows his face in Washoe County."[19]
  • Ormsby County (State Capitol), Nevada Sheriff Howard Hoffman (1961): "He was told not to let the sun set on him here in Ormsby County."[20]

The Confortes expanded their prostitution business across Nevada.[21]

In 1960, Conforte was convicted of extortion by threat of Washoe County District Attorney William Raggio, and was sent to prison.[22][23]

Conforte married Sally Burgess in August 1961.[6]

In 1963, Conforte pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion while in state prison for extortion.[24]

In December 1965, Conforte was released from prison.[25]

In 1967, Joe and Sally Conforte took over the Mustang Bridge Ranch brothel in Storey County, Nevada.[26] [27][13]

That year, the Nevada Gaming Commission had Conforte on a list to be included in their Black Book of undesirables but did not add him for unexplained reasons.[28]

February 26, 1971, Nevada's Governor Mike O'Callaghan signed anti-vice bill SB214, also known as the county option brothel bill, into law, giving counties the ability to license and regulate brothels while outlawing Clark County-Las Vegas to keep Conforte out.[29][30][31]

Mustang Bridge Ranch, with Sally Conforte as licensee, was first in the nation to be licensed under the new state law.[32] The event lead to instant fame for Joe Conforte who assumed the role as leader of the legal prostitution movement.

[edit]

Joseph Conforte and/or Mustang Bridge Ranch were featured on television and in magazines, including:

Conforte spoke publicly about the need and benefit of legal prostitution to organizations such as the Lions Club, Rotary Club, on national and regional TV shows, and on talk radio. From Rolling Stone, 1972: "...[he] has appeared nationally in magazine and television profiles, and is widely heralded as a folk hero for his fearless, one-man crusade to legalize prostitution in Nevada--and then "the whole goddamn country.""[11]

He was behind a 1971 initiative in California to legalize brothels in that state.[34]

In 1976, Conforte began sponsoring heavyweight Bernardo Mercado (Colombia) who went on to beat Trevor Berbick in 1979 to win the World Boxing Council Continental Americas Heavy Title.[35] Mercado beat Earnie Shavers, the hardest puncher of his time, in March 1980, but lost to Leon Spinks later that year in an elimination bout to determine who would fight for the world title.[36][37]

The grand opening of Joe and Sally Conforte's Mustang Ranch brothel on May 15, 1976 received little to no coverage by the news media.[38][citation needed]

Infamy and crime

[edit]

Conforte reportedly controlled organized crime in Northwestern Nevada, and was quoted in the Nevada State Journal on March 21, 1976: "Conforte said if organized crime elements move into Northern Nevada against his warnings, "Then there's going to be a war.""[39] In March 1976, the Washoe County Grand Jury released its Final Report on Joseph Conforte, exposing his Mob ties and political connections across the country.[40][39] In a statement, Conforte retorted: "The grand jury as it exists today in Washoe County is a colossal fraud. You can put 17 angels with one attorney in a grand jury room for two years, such as these grand jurors have been, and end up with 17 devils."[41]

A week after the Mustang Ranch opened in May 1976, seventh-ranked heavyweight boxer from Argentina, Oscar Bonavena, was shot and killed at the front gate by Joe Conforte's enforcer, Willard Ross Brymer.[42][38][43] Conforte was accused of conspiring to murder the boxer but charges were never filed against him.[44]

In 1977, Conforte was convicted of tax evasion and fraud, and sentenced to twenty years in prison; fraud charges were added due to his regularly destroying his financial records.[45]

In 1979, Conforte, while on appeal for tax evasion, was arrested for attempted bribery of the Lyon County, Nevada District Attorney John Giomi.[46]

Fugitive (1981-1983)

[edit]

In December 1980, Conforte fled the country to avoid prison for the tax evasion conviction and also prosecution for the attempted bribery of John Giomi. Conforte lived as a fugitive of U.S. justice in Brazil for three years.[47] While living as a fugitive, Conforte claimed he had bribed federal judge Harry E. Claiborne (Nevada 1978–1986) who was his former attorney. The Department of Justice granted Conforte a reduced sentence in exchange for his testimony.[48] Conforte gave himself up to the U.S. federal authorities in Miami in December 1983.[47] He provided testimony of alleged bribes paid to Claiborne before a Reno grand jury and Claiborne was indicted based on those claims.[49]

To the embarrassment of the Department of Justice, in Harry E. Claiborne's bribery trial, Conforte flubbed the date of one of the two bribes and Claiborne had a solid alibi on the other bribe Conforte alleged to have made. Jurors were deadlocked and the trial ended in a mistrial.[50] Conforte was prosecuted separately for the crime of attempted bribery of the Lyon County district attorney and sentenced to eighteen months in state prison to run concurrently with his federal sentence.[51]

Bankruptcy court

[edit]

1982, while in Brazil, Conforte deeded his assets to Sally and she filed for bankruptcy in Reno.[52]

December 1984, Conforte was released from federal prison after serving twelve months of what was an original twenty-year sentence for tax evasion and fraud.[53]

Conforte served no jail time for the state crime of attempted bribery of the Lyon County district attorney.

The IRS drastically reduced the tens of millions of dollars of taxes Joe and Sally Conforte owed to $7.3 million.[54]

Conforte created a public offering of Mustang Ranch stock that could have satisfied the remainder of his debt to the IRS, but three attempts at the IPO failed. Joe then blamed the IRS for interference through his bankruptcy attorney.[27] Conforte's attorney, Peter A. Perry declared on September 21, 1990: "...[IRS] attempts at frustrating the sale[s] were not done in good faith in complete contravention of the agreement between Confortes and IRS to convert the Ranch to a Chapter 7."[55]

Forfeiture

[edit]

In 1990, her health in decline, Sally deeded her assets to Joe and he prepared to file his own bankruptcy when federal prosecutors obtained emergency forfeiture in court while armed U.S. Treasury Department agents seized the Mustang Ranch and other property.[56] The IRS placed a trustee to operate the brothels in hopes of getting back the taxes Joe and Sally Conforte owed.[57]

Uncle Sam attempting to run a whorehouse became comedic fodder on late-night TV:

  • David Letterman: "Overseeing the ranch might be just the thing to get Washington mayor Marion Barry interested in government work again."[57]
  • Jay Leno: "If anybody has the experience to run a brothel, the honor should go to Congress."[57]

IRS swindle and retirement

[edit]

In 1985, Conforte opened a Swiss bank account under the alias José C. Montoya and began skimming profits from Mustang Ranch and sending them to the Swiss account with the aid of several accomplices.[58][59]

In 1990, Storey County, Nevada commissioners and the sheriff, who controlled county liquor and brothel licensing, demanded the IRS trustee overseeing the Mustang Ranches obtain a brothel license. When the IRS trustee tried to apply, however, the commissioners rezoned the area of Mustang Ranch to outlaw prostitution, forcing the IRS to sell.[60]

Using a proxy, Joe Conforte secretly bought the Mustang Ranch back from the government at pennies on the dollar of what he owed.[61] Conforte's brothel license with Storey County had been maintained throughout all this. The shell company that took control of Mustang Ranch hired Joe to run the place. Conforte was quoted speaking to the Storey County Commission, December 18, 1990: "The doors are already open. I'm here for one reason and one reason only, as a common courtesy, to let you know how it is."[62][citation needed]

Conforte retired to Rio de Janeiro in 1991.[63] The Mustang Ranch was sold to another company that was later found to be a subsidiary of the offshore A.G.E. Corporation of which Joe was the main shareholder.[64]

Sally Conforte died in 1992.[65]

In November 1995, the United States indicted Joe Conforte in absentia for thirty-three violations under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), including a pattern of racketeering. A superseding indictment in August 1998 added the A.G.E. Corporation and co-conspirators.[66] U.S. Department of Justice attempts to extradite Joe from Brazil failed.[67]

Former IRS Special Investigator Kemp Shiffer: "Is Joe Conforte a crook? Absolutely he is. He did everything we said he did. Extortion, conspiracy, bribery, racketeering, money laundering, wire fraud; he is guilty of it all. He's a crook, but he is a brilliant crook. The man stayed a step ahead of us the entire time. I worked that case for thirteen years... He slid right through and out of the country."[68]

In 1999, Mustang Ranch was again seized by the federal government and shuttered.[69] The nearby Wild Horse Saloon acquired some of the buildings and furniture along with the name, and started doing business as Mustang Ranch Lounge.[70][71]

Death

[edit]

It is believed that Joe Conforte died in Brazil on March 4, 2019, at age 93 from pneumonia associated with Alzheimer's and a heart condition. No news article, death certificate, or public sources corroborate his death. May 5, 2020, racketeering indictments of Conforte from 1995 and 1998 were dismissed by Judge Howard McKibben in the Second Judicial District Court-Reno: “…the Government believes Defendant Conforte and Defendant Neves are both deceased, although the Government has not been able to secure either American or Brazilian death certificates.”[72] Conforte's place of burial or entombment is also unknown.[citation needed]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ CNBC Ambition (2009-03-03). CNBC's 'American Greed' - The Mustang Ranch | American Greed. Retrieved 2024-08-30 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ 8 News NOW | KLAS-TV (2008-05-01). One-on-One With Mustang Ranch Owner in Brazil. Retrieved 2024-08-30 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Atomic TV (2017-01-13). Donahue Show - Mustang Ranch. Retrieved 2024-08-30 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ ncs-import. "Is Joe Conforte dead? Online sources indicate he is". www.nevadaappeal.com. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  5. ^ Joseph Conforte v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, A-584 Rehnquist (U.S. Supreme Court January 12, 1983)459 U.S. 1309 (1983)
  6. ^ a b AP (September 9, 1992). "Sally Conforte, 75, of Mustang Ranch". Archive Seattle Times. The Seattle Times. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d Farrell, Barry (August 2, 1976). "The Killing At the Notorious Mustang Ranch". New West. p. 35.
  8. ^ "Death Notice: Agostino Conforte". Nevada State Journal. November 28, 1972. p. 16.
  9. ^ "Why Conforte has different birthdays". Reno Gazette-Journal. March 23, 1984.
  10. ^ [1] Death Record, Italia, Siracusa, Siracusa, Stato Civile (Tribunale), 1900-1942, Imprescia, Francesca
  11. ^ a b c Greene, Robin (November 23, 1972). "Joe Conforte, Crusading Pimp". Rolling Stone. p. 26.
  12. ^ "Conforte, Joseph: Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938-1946". U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. 1945.
  13. ^ a b "The Conforte chronology". Reno Gazette-Journal. September 23, 1990. p. 15.
  14. ^ "Joe Conforte", Nevada Hall of Fame website, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  15. ^ a b Vogliotti, Gabriel (1975). The Girls of Nevada. Citadel Press. pp. 83–176. ISBN 0-8065-0378-5. Retrieved February 10, 2021 – via Archive.org.
  16. ^ Miller, Ken (November 14, 1986). "Nevada's world-famous brothel". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 18.
  17. ^ "Ex-Vice King Sues on Arrests". Nevada State Journal. August 26, 1960. pp. 1, 12.
  18. ^ "Bagnio Owner Finds Clark Climate 'Cool'". Reno Evening Gazette. October 26, 1959. p. 10.
  19. ^ "Conforte Nabbed Twice in Battle With Raggio". Nevada State Journal. December 5, 1959. p. 18.
  20. ^ "Conforte, law often clash". Reno Gazette-Journal. November 14, 1986. p. 18.
  21. ^ "Lyon County Closes Houses Of Ill Fame". Reno Evening Gazette. December 8, 1959. p. 13.
  22. ^ MacKenzie, Walt (October 9, 2014). "Local Vice Figure Jailed". NevadaAppeal.com: Nevada Appeal. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  23. ^ "Jury Convicts Conforte of Plot". Nevada State Journal. June 3, 1960. p. 1.
  24. ^ "Conforte Asks Reduction In Tax Evasion Sentence". Nevada State Journal. August 16, 1963. p. 7.
  25. ^ "Conforte Released". Nevada State Journal. December 3, 1965. p. 1.
  26. ^ AP (August 5, 2007). "Nevada's Most Infamous Brothel, Mustang Ranch, Back In Business". FoxNews.com: FOX News Network, LLC. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  27. ^ a b "Mustang Chronology". Reno Gazette-Journal. August 8, 1999. p. 14.
  28. ^ UPI (Carson City, Nevada) (November 30, 1967). "Nevada's Black Book Revamped". The Argus. p. 2.
  29. ^ "Prostitution Ban Measure Approved". Nevada State Journal. February 23, 1971. p. 1.
  30. ^ "Governor Signs Anti-vice Bill". Nevada State Journal. February 26, 1971. p. 2.
  31. ^ "N.R.S. 244.345, 8: limitation on licensing of houses of prostitution". Nevada State Legislature.
  32. ^ Phillis, Michael (January 27, 1991). "Conforte continues to thwart licensing challenge". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 13.
  33. ^ "Mustang: The House That Joe Built". Golden Globes. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. 1975. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  34. ^ Astor, Gerald (June 29, 1971). "Legal Prostitution Spreads in Nevada". Look. p. 36.
  35. ^ Harper, Dennis (April 4, 1979). "Mercado's right does the job". The Brandon Sun (Winnipeg, Canada). p. 10.
  36. ^ Bock, Hal (October 3, 1980). "No miracle for Ali this time". Reno Evening Gazette. p. 48.
  37. ^ Bernardo Mercado's Professional boxing Record BoxRec.com
  38. ^ a b Oliva, Mark (May 22, 1976). "Boxer Bonavena slain at Mustang, Conforte bodyguard arrested". Reno Evening Gazette. p. 1.
  39. ^ a b Oliva, Mark (March 21, 1976). "The Meeting: Police Link Conforte With Crime Family Figure". Nevada State Journal. p. 3.
  40. ^ "The Report: Investigation Began With Conforte Land Deal". Nevada State Journal. March 16, 1976. pp. 1, 2, 10–11.
  41. ^ McMillan, Doug (March 16, 1976). "Conforte: Report Brings Laughter". Nevada State Journal. p. 2.
  42. ^ Rogers, Thomas (May 23, 1976). "Bonavena Is Slain; A Top Heavyweight". The New York Times. NYTimes.com. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  43. ^ "May 22, 1976: Prizefighter murdered outside Mustang Ranch". RGJ Archives. Reno, Nevada. May 22, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  44. ^ Frady, Steven R. (September 8, 1978). "Bucchianeri denies he withheld death threat letter". Nevada Appeal (Carson City). p. 5.
  45. ^ UPI (Reno, Nevada) (October 29, 1977). "Conforte Dealt 20-Year Prison Sentence". Las Vegas Sun. p. 4.
  46. ^ Zappe, John; Oliva, Mark; McMillan, Doug (July 3, 1979). "Conforte charged with bribery". Reno Evening Gazette. p. 21.
  47. ^ a b O'Driscoll, Patrick (December 16, 1983). "Brothel owner wants to return to Brazil". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. back page.
  48. ^ Cooper, Dick (February 25, 1984). "Conforte plea bargain disclosed". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 1.
  49. ^ Phillis, Michael (December 11, 1983). "Role reversal for Judge Claiborne". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 1C.
  50. ^ Miller, Ken (April 14, 1984). "Claiborne left hanging; new trial set for July, Mistrial called after 8 days of deliberation". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 1.
  51. ^ Melton, Wayne (December 10, 1983). "Conforte gets 18 months". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 1.
  52. ^ Sally Conforte, Chapter 11, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Reno, Nevada, BK 82-966, Docket from November 26, 1982
  53. ^ "Conforte released from federal prison". Reno Gazette-Journal. December 12, 1984. p. 1C.
  54. ^ Miller, Ken (November 26, 1983). "Brothel owner wants land sale to cut tax bill". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 1.
  55. ^ Joseph Conforte dba Mustang Ranch, debtor BK 90-1331, Request for Judicial Notice, October 29, 1990, Exh. A: Perry Declaration dated September 21, 1990 in Sally's BK 82-966
  56. ^ Mullen Jr., Frank; Cox, Don (September 19, 1990). "Bankrupt Mustang closes shop". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 1.
  57. ^ a b c Voyles, Susan (September 22, 1990). "Bordello puts Nevada back in national spotlight". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 5.
  58. ^ United States v. Joseph Conforte, Peter A. Perry (U.S. District Court - Reno Nevada December 15, 1994)CR-N 95-00049 HDM
  59. ^ Henderson, Mike (June 23, 1999). "Witnesses testify Conforte paid officials to keep brothel". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 11.
  60. ^ Fitten, Ron (October 4, 1990). "IRS still plans to sell Mustang, despite bar on prostitution". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 1B.
  61. ^ Phillis, Mike (November 14, 1990). "Sold! For $1.49 million". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 1.
  62. ^ Brenn, Courtney (December 19, 1990). "Mustang alive and kicking, Brothel opens amid confusion over legality". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 1.
  63. ^ Henderson, Mike (August 23, 1991). "'This time I'm serious'". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 1B.
  64. ^ Timko, Steve (January 30, 1997). "IRS thinks Conforte still owns Mustang". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 1D.
  65. ^ Bremner, Faith (September 8, 1992). "Mustang Ranch's Sally Conforte dead at 75". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 1.
  66. ^ United States v. Joseph Conforte, Peter A. Perry (U.S. District Court - Reno Nevada)CR-N 95-00049 HDM
  67. ^ Henderson, Mike (October 23, 1999). "Brazil won't return Conforte". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 1.
  68. ^ Breen, Erin (May 30, 2004). "Conforte IN EXILE". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 10.
  69. ^ Henderson, Mike (August 10, 1999). "Feds lock door at the Mustang". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 1.
  70. ^ Griffith, Martin (December 13, 2006). "Judge rules Mustang Ranch can utilize its famous name". TahoeDailyTribune.com: Tahoe Daily Tribune. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  71. ^ "Famed Mustang Ranch brothel east of Reno wants you to drop by — for a meal". Reno Gazette Journal. May 1, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  72. ^ United States v. Joseph Conforte, AGE Ent., AGE Corp., Shirley Colletti, Joann Olcese, Eduardo Neves (U.S. District Court - Reno Nevada)CR-N 95-00049 HDM
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