Man accused in Binion theft indicted on federal charges

Friday, Oct. 8, 1999 | 11:29 a.m.

A Pahrump man charged with helping Ted Binion's accused killers steal his silver fortune has been indicted on federal firearms and ammunition charges.

David Lee Mattsen, 54, was charged late Wednesday with seven counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and four counts of a felon in possession of ammunition.

The 11-count indictment, handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom O'Connell, is the result of a March raid on Mattsen's Pahrump home by Metro Police homicide detectives investigating Binion's Sept. 17, 1998, slaying.

Detectives found seven weapons, including one that may have belonged to the 55-year-old Binion, during the court-authorized search.

Police records showed at the time that Mattsen, who once managed Binion's 125-acre ranch in Pahrump, had several felony convictions outside Nevada. It is illegal for a felon to possess firearms or ammunition.

Following the raid, the case was turned over to federal authorities who specialize in weapons charges.

Mattsen faces a March 13 trial in District Court in the theft of an estimated $4 million in silver from Binion in Pahrump two days after his death.

The former ranch hand was charged in the plot with Binion's two accused killers, 27-year-old Sandy Murphy and her reported lover, Rick Tabish. The silver was stored in an underground vault built by Tabish, a 34-year-old Montana contractor, in downtown Pahrump.

Mattsen, whose name was misspelled on the federal indictment, was summoned to appear for arraignment on the gun charges before U.S. Magistrate Lawrence Leavitt on Oct. 15.

According to the indictment, Mattsen was charged with illegally possessing two rifles, two shotguns, and three revolvers. He also was charged with having numerous cartridges of ammunition in his possession.

Mattsen's lawyer, James "Bucky" Buchanan was out of town and could not be reached for comment. But at the time of the March raid, Buchanan said he believed the search of Mattsen's home was illegal because it was conducted by Clark County authorities rather than sheriff's deputies in Nye County, where Pahrump is located.

Buchanan also accused Clark County prosecutors of trying to drum up more charges against his client to pressure him to cooperate in the murder probe.

Mattsen now likely would face additional jail time if convicted in both cases.

Though Mattsen has not been charged in Binion's murder, prosecutors believe he has information that could shed light on the casino man's death.

Cellular phone records obtained by homicide detectives showed Mattsen had telephone conversations with Tabish in the hours before and after Binion's slaying.

Binion's body was found on the floor of his den next to an empty bottle of the prescription sedative Xanax. Police believe his killers pumped his body with drugs, suffocated him and then staged his death scene. Heroin and Xanax later were found in Binion's stomach.

Mattsen is seeking a separate trial from Tabish and Murphy.