Banker Seizes House That Isn’t a Home

RENO — A bank president has become a licensed owner of a house of prostitution.

“I don’t want to run the place, but I have to protect my depositors,” banker Sidney Stern said Monday. Stern, president of Nevada First Thrift bank, will officially foreclose on the Salt Wells Guest Ranch in Fallon, Nev., on April 14.

He said the present owners defaulted on a loan, and he and his wife were forced to get a license in order to maintain the value of the asset. The amount of the loan was not disclosed.