Hell, back in 1990, the Government seized the Mustang Ranch brothel in Nevada for tax evasion and, as required by law, tried to run it. They failed and it closed. Now we are trusting the economy of our country, our banking system, our auto industry and possibly our health plans to the same nit-wits who couldn't make money running a whore house and selling whiskey!"

URBAN LEGEND - Still, sounds like it would be true

Comments: Though the intent of this missive is humorous and it makes a worthy point namely, mixing government and business can create more problems than it solves it rests on a factual error. In reality, the federal government did not attempt to operate Mustang Ranch after it was seized in a bankruptcy proceeding in September 1990.

It's true that the feds had planned on keeping the business going until the brothel could be sold at auction (a scheme that became the butt of numerous jokes on late-night TV), but a U.S. judge refused to allow the bankruptcy trustee to assume the Ranch's business license. Instead, the IRS foreclosed on the property and auctioned it off a few months later.

Though various sources persist in claiming that the IRS itself ran the brothel in the interim, the available evidence suggests otherwise. Just two weeks after the government took possession of Mustang Ranch, county commissioners banned prostitution there, saying they were tired of the "circus" surrounding the case. The ban remained in place until the business reopened in December 1990 under "new" ownership (unbeknownst to officials at the time, the original owner, Joe Conforte, had repurchased the Ranch under an assumed name).

So, while it's accurate enough to say that the federal government "owned" Mustang Ranch for approximately three months in 1990, the claim that government officials tried to run the brothel and failed appears to be unfounded.

thanks for shattering another of my happy thoughts. I'm running out of them quickly as the current congress and it's fearful leader destroy more on a daily basis.

"The Mustang Ranch was burned down in 1975 in an apparent arson, but Conforte rebuilt it. In 1976, heavyweight contender Oscar Bonavena was shot to death by a Mustang Ranch bodyguard.

Conforte dealt mostly in cash and kept few records. By 1990, the IRS had seized the ranch, putting the federal government in the unique position of running a brothel.

The government failed and the ranch was padlocked for the first time. The IRS auctioned off beds, the bidets -- even the room numbers -- to recover some of Conforte's tax debt."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2007-08-11-398857697_x.htm

The government would never admit to failed attempts at running ANYTHING (i.e. social secutiy / medicare / housing market / auto industry / etc. etc. etc.) much less a freaking a whore house.

The government has the ability to run a whore house, and run it well. They have been screwing the American people for years, and we've been paying the to do it.

"The government has the ability to run a whore house, and run it well. They have been screwing the American people for years, and we've been paying the to do it."

True. But they never admitted it.