Mattsen wants public funds for defense

Monday, Aug. 21, 2000 | 11:37 a.m.

David Mattsen, awaiting trial in the theft of Ted Binion's $6 million silver fortune, says he's "penniless" and needs taxpayer money for his defense.

Mattsen, who once tried to collect the $100,000 reward money in the Binion murder case, and his lawyer, James "Bucky" Buchanan, filed court papers late Friday seeking $15,000 in taxpayer funds to help pay for his legal expenses.

In a five-page motion, Buchanan said his client "stands in the same shoes" as Sandy Murphy, who once was awarded up to $20,000 in public funds for her defense prior to her May 19 conviction on charges of killing Binion and stealing his valuables, including the buried silver in Pahrump.

"I have seen that other defendants in the trial have received expense money," Buchanan wrote. "It seems fair to state that defendant Mattsen can also receive some relief because of his pecuniary position and the fact that he has been fighting this case ... with his own funds, which now have left him penniless."

Buchanan said the district attorney's office recently sent him a bill for $6,359 for 14 boxes of records in the silver theft case, an expense Mattsen cannot afford.

If his client doesn't receive any taxpayer help, he will have to return the discovery and won't be able to get a fair trial, Buchanan said.

Mattsen, 54, and his co-defendant, Michael Milot, are set to stand trial in the courtroom of District Judge Joseph Bonaventure on Nov. 13.

The two men, along with Montana contractor Rick Tabish, were arrested in Pahrump two days after Binion's Sept. 17, 1998, death and charged with digging up the silver from an underground vault and trying to steal it.

Tabish and Murphy, following a seven-week trial, later were convicted on theft and murder charges relating to Binion's death. Bonaventure had agreed to try Mattsen and Milot separately from the murder defendants.

In June Bonaventure denied a request from Buchanan to be appointed to defend Mattsen at taxpayer expense. Buchanan then informed the judge that he intended to seek public money for legal expenses.

Mattsen has been a central figure in the well-publicized Binion case and at one point even was regarded as a potential murder suspect.

For months prosecutors toyed with the idea of striking a deal with Mattsen to testify against Tabish and Murphy, but they backed out, saying he lacked credibility.

Cellular phone records show that Mattsen, who once managed Binion's 125-acre ranch in Pahrump, was in constant contact with Tabish in the hours immediately before and after the former casino executive's death.

Prior to the murder trial, Mattsen told the Sun and others close to the case that he was at Binion's Las Vegas home the evening before his death and saw Tabish and Murphy restrain him with rhinestone handcuffs.

But his story conflicted with other prosecution witnesses, who saw Binion outside his home in the early morning hours of Sept. 17.

Several days after Tabish and Murphy were convicted, Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger accused Mattsen of trying to provide false information about Binion's demise to investigators.

During the trial, Richard Wright, one of Binion's lawyers, testified that Mattsen had sought to claim the $100,000 reward offered by Binion's estate while he was trying to strike an agreement to cooperate in the case.

Wright said this morning that others have asked for the reward money since the trial, but the estate has yet to decide to distribute the $100,000.