Mattsen loses try to get county to pay legal bills

LAS VEGAS - A bid by David Mattsen to have Clark County begin paying his attorney has failed, but the county could still end up paying for some of his expenses.

Mattsen, along with Rick Tabish and Michael Milot, were arrested and charged with stealing $7 million worth of silver owned by Ted Binion two days after the wealthy casino owner was murdered.

The silver was buried in a vault in Pahrump, and the three men were caught digging it up.

Tabish and Binion's live-in girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, were convicted last month of first-degree murder in Binion's death, and they were also convicted in connection with the silver theft.

Mattsen and Milot's trial is scheduled for Nov. 13. However, Mattsen's attorney, James Buchanan, told District Judge Joseph Bonaventure that his client can no longer afford his services.

''You can say I'm retained by him, but that's just a figment of imagination,'' Buchanan said.

Although indigent defendants are normally provided with a public defender, Buchanan asked Bonaventure to allow him to stay on the case at county expense because he has represented Mattsen since his arrest on Sept. 19, 1998.

''In 25 years, I've never asked to be appointed because I don't take appointments, but I've been going on this for two years and I think I'm uniquely qualified to handle the trial,'' Buchanan said.

Buchanan told the judge that if he isn't willing to appoint him to the case, perhaps he would be willing to provide Mattsen with some funds to help offset the cost of expert witnesses and getting copies of the state's discovery.

Murphy and Tabish received about $20,000 in assistance from the county, Buchanan reminded the judge.

Chief Deputy District Attorney David Wall opposed Buchanan's motion, saying that indigent people are supposed to be represented by the public defender's office.

Bonaventure agreed with Wall and denied the motion. He declined to rule on the expense motion, noting he had not yet received a written copy of such a motion.