DA’s office can try man who says he’s Wynn’s brother

Kim Smith

Wednesday, July 3, 2002 | 9:34 a.m.

Despite a defense attorney's efforts to remove the district attorney's office from the case, Clark County prosecutors will be able to take to trial next week a man charged with trying to extort casino mogul Steve Wynn.

Deputy Public Defender Ralph Baker tried to persuade District Judge John McGroarty to appoint the state attorney general's office to the Donald Eugene Phillips case Tuesday.

Baker argued that because Chief Deputy District Attorney Abbi Silver obtained psychiatric reports from a state mental health facility, Phillips' Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself had been violated.

Phillips is scheduled to go to trial next week on 19 extortion and aggravated stalking charges.

The 44-year-old said he is Steve Wynn's long-lost half brother and he allegedly wrote Wynn numerous letters threatening to kill Wynn or expose their "relationship" if Wynn didn't pay him $50 million.

Phillips alleges he and Wynn have the same father, who left them $100 million to divide in 1963.

Wynn told a grand jury that he is not related to Phillips, nor has he met him.

In response to Baker's motion, Silver told McGroarty that Phillips' rights were not violated. Psychiatric reports are always provided to attorneys on both sides of a case.

Even before she had received the reports, Silver said she had put psychiatric experts on her witness list. After all, she pointed out, Phillips claims he dated Tipper Gore, wrote two songs with country singer Alan Jackson and is good friends with the Clintons.

McGroarty denied the motion along with a couple of other defense motions.

Baker had wanted McGroarty to dismiss all of the extortion charges against Phillips, arguing that Silver has changed the indictment twice since grand jurors indicted him last August.

In the original indictment, Silver alleged that Phillips had made "false claims of heritage," but she now says he made claims of "common heritage."

The grand jurors indicted Phillips because they believed he was lying about Wynn being his brother and now the indictment doesn't allege that, Baker pointed out.

McGroarty denied the motion, noting that Silver doesn't have to prove or disprove Wynn and Phillips' connection -- she merely has to prove that Phillips tried to extort Wynn.

The judge pointed out that Silver hasn't changed any of the language pertaining to the extortion aspect of the crime.