Columnist Jeff German: Mattsen’s window to strike deal is closing

Sunday, Feb. 20, 2000 | 10:05 a.m.

Jeff German is the Sun's senior investigative reporter. He can be reached (702) 259-4067 or by e-mail at german@lasvegassun.com.

It's crunch time for David Mattsen.

Time is running out on any chance he might have to make a deal with prosecutors in the Ted Binion murder case.

This is a big week for the 54-year-old Mattsen -- the former Binion ranch manager charged in the plot to steal the casino executive's silver fortune in Pahrump two days after his slaying. Mattsen and his lawyer, James "Bucky" Buchanan, go before U.S. District Judge Philip Pro Wednesday in a last-ditch attempt to get federal firearms charges dismissed before his Feb. 28 trial.

If they don't prevail, Mattsen faces an almost certain future behind bars unless he cooperates in the murder case.

"It's a chess game right now," Buchanan says. "If we lose the motion to suppress the evidence, we'll have to decide our next move before the trial."

Mattsen was indicted in October by a federal grand jury on charges of being an ex-felon in possession of firearms. The indictment stems from a March raid on his Pahrump home conducted by Metro homicide detectives investigating Binion's Sept. 17, 1998, slaying.

Buchanan believes the only reason his client was charged was to pressure him into cooperating in the Binion case.

He says Mattsen isn't likely to look for a deal with prosecutors if Pro tosses out the firearms charges.

"If he dismisses our case, then we'll ride out the (Binion) trial and see what happens," he says.

The silver theft case is slated to follow the murder trial, which is set to get under way March 13 and last up to three months.

Prosecutors believe Mattsen can provide valuable information about Binion's death. And apparently Mattsen does, too. He once offered to cooperate, but prosecutors turned a deaf ear after he asked for much more than the $100,000 reward money being offered by Binion's estate in return for his testimony against the gambling figure's accused killers.

Police have cell phone records that show Mattsen was in contact with Rick Tabish and Sandy Murphy, the two people charged in Binion's slaying, in the hours immediately before and after Binion died. Tabish and Murphy also are charged along with Mattsen in the theft of some $6 million in silver bars and coins in Pahrump.

Prosecutors definitely have an interest in gaining Mattsen's cooperation, but that interest waned a bit last week when another witness close to Tabish and Murphy agreed to cooperate against the murder defendants.

After being arrested in Missoula, Mont., on a material-witness warrant, Jason Lee Frazier, a 28-year-old Tabish friend and business associate, told all about an alleged plot by Tabish to pay witnesses to provide him with an alibi on the morning of Binion's death.

Frazier decided to cooperate after he was promised that he wouldn't be prosecuted for his testimony.

Though it remains to be seen how friendly he'll be at the murder trial now that prosecutors have persuaded a judge to keep him behind bars on $1 million bond, Frazier is said to have given investigators a wealth of information about the alibi scheme.

Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger, the lead prosecutor in the case, said last week that he believes Frazier's testimony will all but eliminate Tabish's alibi on the morning Binion was killed.

That makes him the top priority right now for prosecutors looking to shore up their case against Tabish, as the trial fast approaches.

Mattsen could get lost in the shuffle if he waits too long to make his move.

If Mattsen comes up short in his bid to get his federal weapons case dismissed, he likely will face up to five years in prison if convicted. That's a long time for a 54-year-old man who should be thinking about the security of retirement. The trial should be a cakewalk for Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom O'Connell, one of the most experienced federal prosecutors in town.

It would seem that Mattsen's only option to avoid a stiff prison term is to cooperate in the murder case and make it worthwhile for prosecutors.

If he does, there are strong indications it might be worthwhile for him too. Many believe Mattsen would be entitled to all or a significant share of the $100,000 reward money.

For Mattsen, it all may come down to a choice of spending time in prison or the reward money offered by Binion's estate.

It's called crunch time.