Brothel owner Dennis Hof, deceased when elected, died of a heart attack

Dennis Hof — the brothel owner and reality television star who was elected to the Nevada Legislature a few days after his funeral — died of heart attack, according to an autopsy report released Thursday by Nye County.

The autopsy was conducted by the Clark County coroner’s office, which sometimes handles cases for Nye County. It found the 72-year-old Hof had suffered from cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes. The cause of death was natural, the 26-page report concluded.

It also noted Hof had marijuana and sildenafil — the active ingredient in Viagra — in his system.

Hof was found at the Love Ranch brothel near Pahrump, Nev., the morning of Oct. 16 after celebrating his birthday the night before with friends — including porn star Ron Jeremy, a longtime pal who was the one who found him unresponsive in the room. The party had come on the heels of a campaign event that featured former Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

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The high-profile brothel owner who dubbed himself the “Trump of Pahrump” drew national headlines when he defeated an incumbent Republican during a June primary.

That set up a showdown with a first-time Democratic candidate in this deep-red section of Nevada, and he led comfortably in polls over Lesia Romanov in the weeks before the November election. Then he died.

But the victory was still easy. Even in death, Hof won with 63% of the vote.

Hof was also dogged by allegations of sexual assault by several women, though he was never charged with any crimes and denied the accusations.

Republican Gregory Hafen, the general manager of Pahrump Utility Co., was appointed to take Hof’s spot in December after a vote by county commissioners in the legislative district.