The Internal Revenue Service has released tax liens totaling about $19 million against former Mustang Ranch owner Joe Conforte and A.G.E. Corporation Inc. in Washoe County.
An IRS spokesman says the agency does not provide information about liens, or its action in releasing liens, beyond the basic information provided in the county's public records.
The documents say that all the taxes covered by the liens agains Conforte and A.G.E. Corp. now have been paid.
Records show that the IRS filed a lien for $2.84 million against Conforte, who listed a Sparks address, in 1996.
In 1997, the IRS filed liens for about $16 million against A.G.E. Corp., claiming the company was a front for Conforte and his wife, Sally. In 2004, the IRS filed a lien for another $2.2 million against A.G.E. Corp. All the liens were released by the IRS on May 19.
State records show that A.G.E. Corp. Inc. was headed by Robert Del Carlo, a former Storey County Sheriff who later served as general manager of the Mustang Ranch. The corporation's incorporation was revoked by the state government in 2004.
Conforte operated the brothel in Storey County but ran afoul of the taxman on several occasions. Ultimately, he fled to South America to avoid prosecution.
When the IRS auctioned off the brothel for back taxes, Conforte was indicted for allegedly buying it back for pennies on the dollar through dummy corporations, thereby escaping his tax liability. The property was forfeited to the federal government. The government sold the brothel in 1990 to recover some of the back taxes.
