Treasure hunt a bust, prosecutor considers plea bargain

Lisa Snedeker

Monday, Sept. 25, 2000 | 4:27 a.m.

After a bizarre treasure hunt at Ted Binion's ranch produced nothing but a gaping hole in the ground, prosecutors say they are considering a plea bargain for the man who led them on the wild goose chase.

"David Mattsen has no credibility," said Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger. "We dug halfway to China. ... and found no buried treasure."

Mattsen, Binion's former ranch manager, told prosecutors he knew where Binion had buried millions of dollars worth of valuables on his ranch in Pahrump, Nev., 65 miles outside Las Vegas.

Binion had testified in proceedings leading to 1995 divorce that the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s caused him to withdraw millions of dollars, which he then buried somewhere on the 125-acre ranch.

Mattsen testified earlier this month that he was told by Binion of the treasure's location before the former casino executive was slain at his Las Vegas home in Sept. 17, 1998.

Mattsen faces criminal charges for trying to steal Binion's estimated $7 million silver fortune just two days after Binion's death.

Authorities arrested Mattsen and accused him of digging up a silver-ladden vault along with two other men, including Rick Tabish who was convicted along with Sandra Murphy of killing Binion.

In an effort to get the charges dropped, Mattsen directed workers during a 90-minute search Saturday to dig a hole approximately 10 feet deep and 30 feet wide to find a septic tank.

"He (Mattsen) said Binion had placed assets in the septic tank, which hadn't been used for years," Roger said. "David knew Ted buried property and he was hoping if we kept digging and searching we would find something."

Roger said Mattsen's attorney also told prosecutors that Mattsen knew where gold coins and jewels were located in a hollow cottonwood tree. When a search of the tree revealed nothing, Mattsen's attorney wanted it cut down.

"An attorney for the estate thought we were on a wild goose chase and decided not to cut down the tree," Roger said.

Binion likely moved the valuables to another location without telling him, an empty-handed Mattsen told prosecutors.

Prosecutors will review the cases of Mattsen and Michael Milot to determine whether plea bargains are in order for all the defendants by the end of this week, Roger said.

District Attorney Stewart Bell has said he's ready to strike deals with the four remaining defendants in the case to avoid going to trial.

"We certainly are willing to talk to the defendants to see if we can reach a resolution without going to trial," Bell said. "If we can't, we'll try the cases."

Mattsen, a Montana native, and Milot are scheduled to be tried in November for the attempted silver theft. Tabish, the third man arrested at the vault, was convicted in May. He and Murphy, Binion's girlfriend and Tabish's lover, are serving life in prison for Binion's murder. District Judge Joseph Bonaventure added two years to Tabish's sentence for the silver theft.

The trial of two other defendants, John B. Joseph and Steven Wadkins, is expected to follow the silver theft case.

Joseph, a former California banker, and Wadkins, a businessman who now lives in Florida, are charged in the torture-extortion plot against former Jean, Nev., sand pit operator Leo Casey two months before Binion's death. Prosecutors have alleged the two men helped Tabish coerce Casey into turning over his interests in the sand pit. Tabish was convicted in the scheme in May.

Mattsen had considered testifying against Murphy and Tabish before their murder trial began, but negotiations ended when he disappeared just before a key February meeting with prosecutors.

He once told Binion's sister, Becky Behnen, that he was present when Murphy and Tabish overpowered and restrained Binion. He insisted, however, the incident occurred the day before Binion died.