Man may face more charges in Binion silver theft

Erica D.Johnson

Wednesday, March 10, 2004 | 10:45 a.m.

Prosecutors say they have information that could further implicate a man charged with digging up Ted Binion's silver fortune two days after the casino executive's 1998 slaying.

During a pre-trial hearing for murder suspect Rick Tabish, District Judge Joseph Bonaventure denied a request by prosecutors to file a sealed declaration regarding Michael Milot.

Milot was charged with Tabish in an attempt to take Binion's $6 million silver fortune from an underground vault in Pahrump. Milot did not face charges relating to Binion's murder.

"We are in possession of information of an ongoing investigation that at least suggests that Mr. Milot may be subject to additional criminal liability," Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Lalli said.

Anthony Goldstein, a lawyer who was appointed by the court to advise Milot, said while he did not know the details, the investigation has to do with Binion's slaying.

"The district attorney has stated that they have an ongoing investigation into Mr. Milot's involement in the death of Mr. Binion," he said.

"They possibly have some information where Mr. Milot may still become involved, but they didn't divulge any specific information to anyone about what the new information is or what the charges might be," Goldstein said.

Tuesday's proceedings stemmed from a previous motion in which defense attorneys asked to add Milot's former attorney, Tony Sgro, to Tabish's roster of high-profile attorneys.

Lalli and Chief Deputy District Attorney Robert Daskas said Sgro's addition would be a conflict of interest because of his previous involvement in the case.

Defense attorneys, led by San Francisco lawyer J. Tony Serra, claimed there was no conflict of interest because Milot's case has been settled and he is no longer subject to criminal liability.

But Lalli said prosecutors have new information that could prove otherwise. He would not comment on which types of charges could potentially result from the investigation or what is alleged in the declaration.

"We're going to disclose the information at some point, we just can't disclose it now because of the ongoing investigation," Lalli said.

Prosecutors had asked that the declaration remain under seal, so that only Bonaventure, and not defense attorneys, could access it.

Bonaventure denied the motion, however, saying he did not want to see the information. He added that any documents filed in the case could be handed over to defense attorneys.

Tabish, Milot and David Mattsen were caught digging up the silver at Binion's Pahrump ranch.

Mattsen and Milot pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit grand larceny relating to the theft. The two were ordered to perform community service and pay a $2,000 fine.

Bonaventure is expected to make a ruling on whether he will allow Sgro to join Tabish's defense team during a hearing scheduled for Friday.