Two of four remaining defendants in Binion case accept plea deals

Greg Tuttle

Friday, Sept. 29, 2000 | 11:21 a.m.

The four remaining defendants tied to the death of gambling figure Ted Binion and the theft of his silver fortune have been offered plea agreements that would allow them to avoid prison sentences.

Two of the defendants, David Mattsen and Michael Milot, have accepted the deal, and prosecutors remain hopeful the two remaining cases would be resolved without a trial.

Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger confirmed the plea agreement with Mattsen this morning. Milot's attorney, Anthony Sgro, said his client had accepted a similar deal. Both men have agreed to enter a no-contest plea to a charge of conspiracy to commit grand larceny or burglary, a gross misdemeanor. The plea agreement in both cases calls for a sentence in both cases of a $2,000 fine or 200 hours of community service.

The no-contest pleas do not require the defendants to admit guilt, but they acknowledge prosecutors have enough evidence that a jury could find them guilty at trial.

The remaining two cases are against Steven Wadkins and John B. Joseph.

Mattsen and Milot had been charged with three felony crimes connected to the silver theft. Mattsen's attorney, James "Bucky" Buchanan said the plea agreement is a good deal for Binion's former ranch manager.

"It's a deal that, I'm sure, was structured this way, that we could not turn down," Buchanan said this morning.

Sgro said Milot agreed to enter the plea late Thursday to avoid the expense and risk of a jury trial.

"This way he gets assurance that he doesn't spend any time in jail," Sgro said. "He's sort of cutting his losses."

The two remaining offers must be accepted by 5 p.m. today, or the cases will go to trial, Roger said.

Mattsen, 64, is Binion's former ranch manager who is accused of helping Rick Tabish dig up an underground vault filled with $6 million of silver in Pahrump two days after Binion's Sept. 17, 1998, death.

Tabish, 35, and 28-year-old Sandy Murphy were convicted in May of killing Binion and plotting to steal his fortune. Both are serving life sentences.

Mattsen and Milot were scheduled to go to trial Nov. 13 on charges connected to the silver theft. Instead they will plead guilty to the lesser charge and be sentenced at a hearing scheduled Thursday before District Judge Joseph Bonaventure.

Bonaventure also presided over the Tabish and Murphy murder trial.

Wadkins and Joseph are charged in connection with a torture-extortion plot against Leo Casey, owner of a sand pit in Jean. Prosecutors allege Wadkins, Joseph and Tabish coerced Casey into turning over his interests in the sand pit two months before Binion was killed.

Tabish also was convicted in May on charges related to Casey and the sand pit.

Joseph is a former California banker. His attorney, C. Stanley Hunterton, did not return a call seeking a comment this morning.

Wadkins is a businessman who lives in Florida. His attorney, Thomas Pitaro, declined to comment this morning on the plea negotiations.

"After everything is final, I'll be more than glad to talk about it," he said.

Roger said the plea agreements are being offered to avoid the possibility that the trials could result in information being aired that could be used by Tabish and Murphy in their appeals.

But prosecutors are prepared to go to trial if the remaining defendants refuse to accept a plea agreement, he said.