Hollywood Madam Settles Down -- but Not Too Much
Once notorious madam Heidi Fleiss now runs a laundromat and raises birds.
July 18, 2007 — -- Neighbors know her as the lady who raises exotic birds and locals recognize her as the owner of a 24-hour laundromat.
But, the world remembers Heidi Fleiss as the Hollywood Madam. In 1993 she was charged with five counts of pandering and one count of selling cocaine.
Fleiss, a pediatrician's daughter, was accused of running a high-class prostitution ring. Authorities claim she delivered expensive call girls to high rollers around the world.
Before O.J. Simpson's trial of the century, Fleiss' courtroom drama captivated the media.
Her customers worried their names might be revealed in court. But, even today, Fleiss refuses to release any client's identity.
"I don't know if there's a madam code, but I think it has to do with you as an individual and your core -- sounds stupid, but your morality and your core values and what you stand for and what you believe in," she said. "And it's just not in me to do something like that."
Fleiss was convicted of tax evasion and money laundering and spent three years in federal prison.
"It's hard. It's hard core," she said. "I was in a federal -- not where Martha Stewart was. You know she goes in with the Betty Crocker thing, and I go in with a pimp jacket."
Fleiss was released from prison eight years ago. The felon has lived a quieter and relatively invisible life. Today she rents a modest house in the desert town of Pahrump, Nev., near Las Vegas.
"I don't go out as much," Fleiss said. "My life is not quite as reckless as it used to be."
Fleiss said she stills feels flattered when people call her the Hollywood madam.
"I don't care who it is -- it's flattery," she said.
The 41-year-old ex-con has turned her criminal experience into an entrepreneurial advantage.
She has authored several books and recently opened Dirty Laundry, a washeteria in a Pahrump shopping plaza.
She thought it would be a good business since people need clean clothes.
While, Fleiss may be reinventing herself, she is not necessarily cleaning up her image.Her next business venture is a brothel full of men. It would serve women only and sit on 60 acres in Crystal, Nev. --
Related Stories
ABC News Live