Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Closed Old Bridge Ranch will stay that way

Old Bridge owner David Burgess is seeking a stay of the license removal so he can remain in business while he continues to reorganize under federal bankruptcy statutes.

But District Judge Michael Fondi rejected his petition on Tuesday, along with its contentions of payoffs.

"Petitioners' pleadings are fraught with colorful and slanderous allegations," Fondi wrote. "Many are based on hearsay with no indication of their source of authenticity. By themselves, these allegations are not adequate to support the extraordinary relief ... requested."

The judge's ruling came one day after Burgess' lawyer, Roderic Carucci, filed documents here that includes an affidavit from Peter Perry, a former attorney for absentee brothel boss Joe Conforte, that included the payoff charges.

Perry said that Storey County Sheriff Bob Del Carlo and former county Commissioner Shirley Coletti took cash from Conforte as did former District Attorney Virgil Bucchianeri.

He said Marshall Bouvier, another former district attorney, received money from the late Sally Conforte, who was Joe Conforte's wife and David Burgess' aunt.

Perry's affidavit said that Conforte still has a hidden interest in the Mustang Ranch, which was sold at an Internal Revenue Service auction before Conforte fled to South America, and wants to gain control of the adjacent Old Bridge Ranch, which is in bankruptcy reorganization.

Perry also has been sued by the current owners of the Mustang Ranch for defamation and slander for Perry's claims that Conforte is the real owner of the ranch.

George Flint, speaking for Ms. Colletti, the Mustang Ranch and the Nevada Brothel Association, said Ms. Colletti categorically denied the statements in Perry's lawsuit.

"Mr. Perry might be advised to tread very carefully on the character of a former county commissioner," Flint said. "Of late, Mr. Perry has been very quick to spread his own brand of sour grapes, probably in large part due to the fact that he has lost his job as general counsel for the Mustang Ranch."

Bouvier said any exchange of money came when he was representing Mrs. Conforte in a divorce action against Joe Conforte that later was dropped.

Bouvier is president of A.G.E. Enterprises, which is listed as one of three owners of the Mustang Ranch, and which filed Friday's lawsuit against Perry.

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