Former brothel worker sent to prison for elder exploitation
RENO - An ex-worker at the former Mustang Ranch brothel outside of Reno has been sentenced to two to five years in prison for elder exploitation, embezzlement and theft.
Washoe District Judge Janet Berry rejected 43-year-old Sharnel Silvey's plea for probation during Wednesday's sentencing hearing.
Deputy District Attorney Roy Stralla said Silvey was the caretaker with power of attorney for a 70-year-old Reno man who looked like a concentration camp victim when he died on his couch in his own excrement in November 2008.
He said that after Silvey found Lawrence Gunderson that way, she cleaned out his bank account of $18,000, went on a shopping spree, paid off her car and visited a spa.
The judge called the case "horrific."
