Raid may spur gun charges in Binion case

Thursday, March 18, 1999 | 11:24 a.m.

Homicide detectives say they have confirmed that a man accused of trying to steal a fortune in silver from murdered gaming executive Ted Binion is an ex-felon who may have had weapons in his possession illegally.

David Mattsen, a former Binion ranch hand whose Pahrump home was raided by Metro Police last week, could face additional criminal charges, Homicide Lt. Wayne Petersen said Wednesday.

"There's certainly the possibility that his life could get more complicated," Petersen told the Sun.

Petersen said police computer records show Mattsen has felony convictions in Wisconsin, but detectives were waiting for certified copies of those convictions before turning over information about his criminal past to Nye County sheriff's deputies for possible prosecution. Ex-felons are barred from possessing weapons.

Detectives found seven handguns and rifles that may belong to Binion at Mattsen's home last week when executing a search warrant in the murder investigation. Mattsen currently faces charges of trying to steal a fortune in silver from Binion after his Sept. 17 death.

Mattsen's Las Vegas lawyer, James "Bucky" Buchanan, said Wednesday he doesn't believe his client has a felony record.

"We'll deal with it when it comes up," he said of the possible new charges.

He said he believes the search conducted at Mattsen's home was illegal because Metro Police don't have jurisdiction in Pahrump.

Buchanan charged again Wednesday that Metro was trying to drum up more charges against his client to pressure him to cooperate in a murder probe he said is going nowhere.

"They're looking at my client as their salvation," Buchanan said, adding that no deal was in the works.

Mattsen is charged in the attempt by three men to dig up and steal as much as $4 million in silver from Binion in Pahrump less than 36 hours after his death. Also charged is Rick Tabish, a Montana contract reported to be romantically involved with Binion's girlfriend, Sandy Murphy.

A preliminary hearing in the case, which had been set for Friday, was postponed until Aug. 16.

Petersen said police still haven't determined whether the weapons confiscated from Mattsen belong to Binion's estate. But Buchanan said last week that he believed the guns were Mattsen's.

Last month, Mattsen asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and refused to answer questions in District Court about valuables missing from Binion's estate.

In another development Wednesday, the Southern California lawyer who represents a key witness being sought by homicide detectives said there were "serious inaccuracies" reported by the media about his client's role in the investigation.

Chet Bennett, of Huntington Beach, issued a statement today saying his client, Linda Susan Carroll, is not missing, as reported by the media, and has been "hounded by police and investigators."

Police have issued a warrant for Carroll's arrest as a material witness in the murder probe.

Bennett described Carroll as a "close friend" of Binion and Murphy and said she's upset over the former gaming executive's death.

The attorney said he has agreed to allow his client to meet with the Clark County district attorney's office.

"We have yet to establish a mutually agreeable date for this meeting; however, I anticipate Ms. Carroll will cooperate with the authorities at the appropriate time," Bennett said.

Carroll spent several hours with Murphy the night of Binion's Sept. 17 death at the home of his neighbor, Janice Tanno.

Tanno telephoned the Sun on Wednesday to say she didn't consider herself a friend of Murphy. But Tanno declined to discuss any details of Murphy's stay at her home.

"I'll tell that to the grand jury," she said.

The district attorney's office has been questioning witnesses before a county grand jury as part of the murder investigation.