‘Paranoid’ Mattsen refuses to surface

Thursday, March 2, 2000 | 11:28 a.m.

David Mattsen remained in hiding in Las Vegas this morning reluctant to cooperate with prosecutors, his lawyer said.

"He won't come out of hiding," attorney James "Bucky" Buchanan told the Sun. "He's still in fear for his life. He feels as though someone has a contract on him."

Prosecutors are seeking the 54-year-old Mattsen's testimony against Ted Binion's accused killers, Rick Tabish and Sandy Murphy.

Mattsen, a former Binion ranch manager in Pahrump, is charged with helping Tabish and Murphy steal the wealthy gambling figure's silver fortune two days after his September 17, 1998, death.

Buchanan said he spoke with Mattsen on the telephone Wednesday night and came to the conclusion that he didn't believe his client's life was in jeopardy.

"I think he's just paranoid and reacting to the overall pressure," Buchanan said. "He won't tell me where he is."

Buchanan refused to identify who Mattsen believes wants to harm him other than to say it was "someone in this whole chain of events."

Mattsen, he said, promised to be in federal court Monday when his weapons trial is scheduled to start. Mattsen faces 11 counts of being an ex-felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.

"He doesn't want any deal," Buchanan said. "He wants to go to trial."

Buchanan said he planned to inform Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Connell today that Mattsen doesn't intend to negotiate a deal in the case. Mattsen faces as much as five years in prison if convicted.

Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger, the lead prosecutor in the Binion case, said this morning he still was hopeful of striking a deal in the silver theft case and obtaining Mattsen's testimony against Tabish and Murphy.

"I'm still interested in hearing what he has to say about Ted Binion's murder," Roger said.

On Tuesday Buchanan told the Sun that he believed Mattsen had gone "off the deep end" during negotiations with prosecutors. He said friends found the white pickup truck Mattsen was driving at a local bar on Nellis Boulevard Tuesday afternoon.

The Sun first reported Tuesday that Mattsen was concerned about his safety and was hiding out.

Sources close to the Binion case said Mattsen had said that he no longer trusts anyone, including prosecutors and his own lawyer.

Roger said Tuesday that investigators have uncovered "significant circumstantial evidence" suggesting Mattsen was at Binion's house the day of the slaying.

The prosecutor said Mattsen had a "window of opportunity" to be at the home during the morning hours, when police believe Binion was killed.

Police have cellular phone records that show numerous phone calls between Mattsen and Tabish in the hours before and after Binion's death. And Mattsen's wife can't account for his whereabouts for a good portion of the morning of Sept. 17, 1998.

Talks between Mattsen and prosecutors faltered Monday after Mattsen tried to meet with Binion's sister, Becky Behnen, at the Horseshoe Club.

"That set up a chain of events that led to the downfall of the negotiations," Buchanan said.

District Attorney Stewart Bell said he learned that Mattsen had made a "pest of himself" at the Horseshoe Club.

Buchanan has predicted that his client could "clear up some holes" in the well-publicized murder case.

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