Suspect in Kidnaping of Gaming Mogul’s Daughter Pleads Guilty

A key suspect in the kidnaping of the daughter of gaming mogul Steve Wynn pleaded guilty Monday as part of a plea bargain that could result in a sentence of 17 years in prison.

Anthony Paul Watkins agreed as part of the deal to testify against alleged kidnaping mastermind Ray Cuddy and two others charged in the case.

An attorney for Cuddy said he also was talking with prosecutors, amid increasing indications the case may never go to trial.

“We’re discussing it with the government,” said attorney Mitchell Posin.

Cuddy, Watkins and Jacob Harold Sherwood were indicted on several charges in the July 26 abduction of 26-year-old Kevin Wynn from her Las Vegas home.

Wynn was found bound and blindfolded but unharmed a few hours after her abduction in the back of her car in the parking lot at McCarran International Airport. Her father, chairman of Mirage Resorts Inc., had paid a $1.45-million ransom.

Cuddy, the reputed ringleader, was arrested a few days later in Newport Beach while buying a $196,000 Ferrari. Watkins and Sherwood were apprehended in St. Louis on Sept. 20.