Colletti plans to fight conviction all the way to Supreme Court

Joe Conforte's embattled former brothel manager says she isn't giving up despite the fact her conviction was upheld last week by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

Shirley Colletti, who now lives in Las Vegas, was convicted of money laundering and racketeering and ordered to serve a 46-month prison sentence. The brothel complex -- Mustang Ranch and the Triangle 15 miles east of Reno -- was seized by the federal government after the 1999 convictions and remains closed.

The government hasn't yet announced what it plans to do with the property except to say they don't want it to find its way back into Conforte's hands as a brothel.

Storey County has made several proposals for the property, including making it a senior center or an employment training center.

Colletti's lawyer, Scott Freeman, said Wednesday they plan to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"We'll take it as far as it'll go," he said. "She's a very tough lady and she's not going down without a fight."

Colletti was manager of the brothel operation during the time it was managed by AGE Enterprises. The government maintained it was a front for longtime owner and federal fugitive Conforte, who now lives in Brazil.

Conforte fled to avoid tax charges more than 10 years ago and lives in a condominium overlooking Ipanema Beach. Officials there have refused to extradite him.

Colletti was convicted in July 1999 of illegally taking as much as $5 million from the brothel and arranging for it to get to Conforte.

Until the final disposition of the case, Colletti -- who is a former Storey County commissioner -- remains free on bond.