Brothel Changes Federal Hands

It's weird enough that the federal government owns a brothel in the first place, without the original federal owners passing its ownership on to another federal agency. But the Internal Revenue Service has transferred ownership of the Mustang Ranch to the Bureau of Land Management, who now has to decide what to do with the legendary property.

The BLM took title February 21 on the 340-acre ranch, forfeited to the Feds in 1999 after its parent companies and manager Joe Conforte were convicted in a federal fraud and racketeering case. The Mustang's ladies were evicted and the place was padlocked, said the Reno Gazette-Journal, and the Feds say there won't be another brothel operation or prostitution of any kind on the property in the future.

So what will be done on the property? The BLM said the process is beginning to determine the best possible use for the Mustang Ranch land, with the agency seeking as much public opinion as possible.

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