Little progress is reached in Mattsen deal

Thursday, Feb. 24, 2000 | 11:13 a.m.

The lawyer for David Mattsen said this morning the district attorney's office is "dragging its heels" in negotiations for his client to testify against Ted Binion's accused killers.

"They didn't respond that favorably, so we left the meeting," attorney James "Bucky" Buchanan said. "They just hemmed and hawed around."

Mattsen, 54, charged in the theft of Binion's $6 million silver fortune in Pahrump, did not attend Wednesday's two-hour meeting, which took place in the office of Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Connell, Buchanan said.

O'Connell is prosecuting Mattsen on federal firearms charges stemming from a March 1999 raid on his Pahrump home. Police found seven weapons during the court-authorized search, and they later asked federal authorities to charge Mattsen with illegally possessing the guns.

Mattsen, the onetime Pahrump ranch manager for Binion, agreed to discuss cooperating with prosecutors in the Binion case after U.S. District Judge Philip Pro refused to toss out the firearms charges. Mattsen faces a March 6 trial and up to five years in prison if convicted on the charges.

Buchanan acknowledged that he made no offer to prosecutors of what information Mattsen could provide in an agreement to cooperate.

Buchanan said he was insisting on full immunity from prosecution on anything his client offered, as well as a dismissal of the federal and state charges.

He said he didn't know if more negotiations would take place today, but he left the door open.

"If they want to talk, we'll sit down and talk," he said.

But Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger, the lead prosecutor in the Binion case, said this morning that "the ball is in Mr. Buchanan's court.

"He hasn't offered us anything yet," Roger told the Sun. "I need to know exactly what Mattsen's going to say before I can accept any plea offer. I'm willing to listen to anything they have to say."

Mattsen, meanwhile, did not appear to be a happy man Wednesday.

Minutes before his federal court hearing, Mattsen confronted a Sun reporter about a Sunday column in the newspaper speculating he might be ready to cooperate with prosecutors.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" he yelled at the reporter, before storming off and shouting obscenities.

Prosecutors, who have sought Mattsen's cooperation for months, believe he can shed light on the mystery surrounding the 55-year-old Binion's September 1998 death.

Mattsen was considered part of the inner circle of Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish, the two people charged with killing Binion. Police have cellular-phone records that show calls between Mattsen and the murder defendants in the immediate hours before and after Binion's death.

If Mattsen reaches a deal with prosecutors, it would be considered a major break in the case.

"Providing he tells the truth, this could open up a lot of new avenues," said private detective Tom Dillard, who has been investigating Binion's death for the former casino executive's $50 million estate. "Mattsen could be in a position to fill in the blanks on the day of the murder."

Tabish's lawyer, Louis Palazzo, took the news of Mattsen's possible cooperation in stride.

"I'm not at all concerned," he said. "If he provides truthful testimony, it certainly doesn't negatively impact our case."

Murphy's attorney, John Momot, added: "If everybody tells the truth, we won't have a problem. We're looking forward to going to trial."

Buchanan said talk of Mattsen receiving part of the $100,000 reward offered by the Binion estate did not come up during Wednesday's meeting.

Law enforcement sources told the Sun several months ago that Mattsen sought to cooperate against Tabish and Murphy but prosecutors rebuffed him because he wanted too much money to testify.

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