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Thirty years ago, Heidi Fleiss was notorious for running a high-class prostitution ring, catering to the sex needs of the most powerful, wealthy men in the world.
Now, she no longer cares “about people having sex.”
Fleiss was arrested in 1993 for hooking up sex-hungry clients, including the likes of Charlie Sheen, with workers in the trade.
In September 1996, she was convicted on federal charges of tax evasion and sentenced to seven years in prison, but was released to a halfway house after 20 months.
In a new interview with People, Fleiss revealed she has a new, very different passion: Parrots.
“I later moved to Nevada to be in the sex business,” she told the magazine of her desire to open an all-male brothel that catered to women.
But something shifted and the former “Hollywood Madam” now lives a quiet life on a ranch and spends a lot of her time rescuing macaws.
“I don’t care about people having sex now,” she said with a laugh. “I’ve been there and done that.”
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The 58-year-old has spent the last decade caring and rehabilitating parrots on her property after freeing the caged animals from captivity.
“These birds have no other option other than to live in a cage, die in a cage,” Fleiss explained.
“Once I realized this problem existed, I couldn’t continue living my life without doing something about it.”
Fleiss recognized that it was her time behind bars that prompted her to rescue birds.
“Maybe it had something to do with going to prison and knowing what it was like to live your life in a cage. I was scared to death in there every day,” she said.
As for her former life, Fleiss admitted she’s “made mistakes” and “lived a life of adventure and excitement” but revealed now, “the most beautiful thing I ever experienced was watching these birds not only go from solitary confinement but then adjust to freedom. Maybe even find a mate and raise a family.”
Fleiss has a non-profit to save the birds, which is a costly endeavor.
She said she relies on generous benefactors to keep bird food and medicine in stock and joked that it’s a shame that her rich former clients are no longer around to help with the cost.
“They were very powerful and had a lot of money,” she said of the men she provided sex workers for.
“It’s too bad they’re all dead because otherwise, all these birds would be saved.”