Binion probe turns to wife of suspect in silver theft

Thursday, April 8, 1999 | 11:18 a.m.

A Clark County grand jury heard more testimony today in its investigation into the murder of gaming executive Ted Binion.

Thressa Mattsen, the wife of Pahrump silver-theft suspect David Mattsen, appeared before the panel at 9 a.m.

While waiting to testify, Mattsen told the Sun that she had no idea why she was subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury.

But after she spoke to Chief Deputy Attorney General David Roger, who is spearheading the probe, Mattsen said the prosecutor wanted to ask her questions about Binion's girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, and Murphy's reported lover, Montana contractor Rick Tabish.

The grand jury has been calling witnesses since Feb. 11.

Murphy and Tabish are believed to be the targets of the investigation, which is looking at how lethal doses of heroin and the prescription sedative Xanax found their way into Binion's body on Sept. 17.

Mattsen, who says she is a born-again Christian, said before her appearance that she was upset that homicide detectives had taken her "daily journal to the Lord" and her personal book of telephone numbers during a raid last month at her Pahrump home.

Detectives, she said, also confiscated newspaper clippings of the Binion investigation.

She said that the seizure of the diary, in which she would record her daily prayers, violated her right to freedom of religion and that she was seeking its return.

Detectives had searched the Mattsen home looking for more clues to Binion's murder. They found seven weapons, some of which were believed to have belonged to Binion's estate.

David Mattsen, who served as Binion's former Pahrump ranch manager, was arrested with Tabish in Pahrump after they allegedly had dug up a fortune in silver owned by Binion less than 36 hours after his murder. Both men are facing a series of charges related to the attempted theft.

Mattsen, who sat with his wife outside the grand jury room today while she waited to testify, declined comment. But he was not happy his wife had been hauled before the panel, and he made it clear he was not a fan of Murphy.

Before she spoke to Roger, Mattsen said she was prepared to assert her husband-wife privilege and not testify against her husband if asked to do so. But she later indicated Roger wasn't interested in asking her questions about her husband.

Mattsen said the investigation has torn apart her life and that she could provide no insight into Binion's death.

She described Binion as the "most loving and giving man" she had ever known.

"He always treated me with respect," she said.

The grand jury opened its probe in February on the same day Murphy asserted her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in District Court more than 200 times when asked about valuables missing from Binion's $30 million estate.

Tabish later took the Fifth when asked similar questions, and both have refused to cooperate with homicide detectives.

David Mattsen's Las Vegas attorney, James "Bucky" Buchanan, has previously suggested that homicide detectives were trying to pressure his client to cooperate in the murder investigation.

Police have been weighing the possibility of charging Mattsen with possessing the seized firearms illegally. Detectives believe he is an ex-felon barred from owning any weapons and are waiting for certified copies of his convictions before deciding whether to seek the charges.