This episode was really against-type, although the obvious bias was still the same. Instead of finding an "innocent" small-town and gleefully reporting the dark side of it, this one takes an anything-but-innocent town and glorifies it and sympathizes with the chief crook. It makes - gosh, what a surprise - the U.S. government the "bad guys. " We see a lot of people giving their two cents on this case and 98 percent of them are on the side of a "slimeball" (the only negative description of someone interviewed) and see nothing wrong with promoting prostitution.
One of the few people who did call Joe Conforte something bad (see above) pointed out how he had bribed all the local politicians and all the other crooked things he did, but the program just shrugs it off. Never mind Joe skipped the country, leaving his family behind with no "goodbyes" while he lives a comfortable life in South America. I guess that's okay. Heck, Joe even gets the last say in this episode, which is always a clue where the show's writer stands.
The fact that Conforte was the rich owner of "The Mustang Ranch" and his business was good for the pockets of the town of Virginia City seems to matter more to City Confidential. Gosh, all the prostitutes interviewed here picture the guy as a cross between Robin Hood and Billy Graham. Give me a break!
Fortunately, even though City Confidential doesn't like it, the U.S. government did not give Conforte a break and if you can read between the lines, you discover he isn't the good guy he's pictured on this show.....and that government was correct in going after him. He didn't pay $8 million in taxes. Can anyone say "Al Capone?"
The program did have some very funny lines about Virginia City. They admit, "In most cities, prostitutes and pimps keep a pretty low profile, but here they run for office!" They describe "The Mustang Ranch" as "the Yankee Stadium of whorehouses."
Joe did more than just not pay millions of dollars in taxes. He skimmed mucho dinero with his below-board wheeling-and-dealing and the fact that generally he made fools of the IRS and the government, makes him a hero on this TV show. But, hey: who likes the IRS, anyway?