Longtime Cadillac Ranch owner Stanley Marsh 3 died more than a year ago, but allegations of sex abuse with teenage boys continue to cause big problems for his family and associates.
A lawsuit filed by Houston attorney Chad Pinkerton last week seeks up to $50 million and other damages for nine plaintiffs who claim Marsh sexually abused them from November 2009 to June 2011. They say Marsh’s wife, son, associate David Weir and employee Drew Mason knew about Marsh’s conduct and did nothing to stop it and even facilitated it by funneling money, legal documents and checks to Marsh to help pay the boys, according to report by the Amarillo Globe-News.
Court records filed by Pinkerton claim Marsh 3 would lure boys to his office with illusions of employment, pay $500 to each boy to sign nondisclosure agreements, then offer cash for them to undress and masturbate in front of him. The suit also describes incidents involving pornography, Viagra, drugs, hot tubs and zip lines.
The plaintiff’s petition details situations in which Marsh would award cash to the boys for each act and would often “in the midst of a sexual frenzy, have to acquire more cash from his financial adviser, David Weir, or have his secretary, Virginia, or Drew Mason draw checks upon his or his company’s bank account at Amarillo National Bank.”
Marsh died in June 2014 at age 76 after suffering a series of strokes. He had been indicted for several felony counts of sexual performance by a child, sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child.
Pinkerton also said Amarillo police have reopened its investigation into Marsh’s alleged conduct. Amarillo police wouldn’t confirm or deny that to the newspaper.
Pinkerton said Marsh’s family and associates “facilitated criminal enterprises” by “assisting in recruiting boys,” which falls under human-trafficking statutes.
Marsh remains best-known for setting aside land near Route 66 in 1974 so the Ant Farm art collective from San Francisco could install 10 vintage Cadillac nose-down into the soil west of Amarillo. Cadillac Ranch remains one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions has become a part of popular culture — Bruce Springsteen sang about it in his “Cadillac Ranch” song, it inspired the Cadillac Range mountains in the Disney-Pixar animated movie “Cars,” and it is featured in countless videos, photographs and television shows.
Ownership of Cadillac Ranch was transferred into a trust a few years ago and will stay in the Ant Farm’s nominal care. The art collective has stated it has no plans for the cars or the property, according to a Los Angeles Times report. So, regardless of what happens to Marsh’s estate in the wake of this lawsuit, it likely will remain as it is.
Note: This story has been edited to reflect the correct date of Stanley Marsh 3’s death.