Columnist Jeff German: Binion probe will again take on a high profile

Sunday, Dec. 6, 1998 | 8:41 a.m.

AFTER MUCH initial publicity, barely a whisper has been heard in the last month from the police investigation into the death of former Horseshoe Club executive Ted Binion.

Some say that's about to change.

"They're still moving forward with it," says Clark County Coroner Ron Flud, the guy who prodded homicide detectives into taking a closer look into the mysterious circumstances surrounding Binion's demise. "I expect that something will happen in the near future."

Though Flud and police have found no physical signs of foul play in Binion's Sept. 17 death, the coroner has left open the possibility that Binion was murdered. He has declared the manner in which he died as "undetermined" pending further investigation by police. Flud made that determination after toxicology tests concluded there were lethal levels of both heroin and Xanax in his stomach.

The 55-year-old Binion was known to be a heroin user and would on occasion take Xanax, a prescription sedative, to keep himself off of the street drug. He was not known to take both at the same time.

Though homicide detectives have been investigating Binion's death, they have not been willing to call it a homicide.

Detectives, however, continue to consult with the district attorney's office about the possibility of taking the investigation to a grand jury.

Binion's multimillion-dollar estate, meanwhile, seems to be way ahead of the police. The estate already has ruled out the possibility that Binion committed suicide or died of an accidental overdose. It is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in Binion's death. Tom Dillard, a private investigator hired by the estate, has been conducting his own probe and has been working closely with homicide detectives.

There are no official suspects so far in the police investigation. But detectives have been trying to answer questions about the activities of two people who were closest to Binion during his last days.

Less than 36 hours after Binion's death, one of those people, Montana contractor Rick Tabish, was arrested by Nye County sheriff's deputies while he was allegedly trying to steal as much as $4 million in silver Binion had buried in Pahrump.

Deputies making the arrest uncovered evidence suggesting a possible romantic relationship between Tabish and Binion's 26-year-old girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, who had reported Binion's death to Las Vegas police.

One day before he died, Binion had instructed his lawyer to cut Murphy out of his will, and he asked a private investigator to follow her around town. Cell phone records show Tabish telephoned Murphy eight minutes before she called police to say she had found Binion's body in the den of his home.

Today, Tabish and Murphy are said to be living together.

Though both have insisted through their lawyers that they had nothing to do with Binion's death, many questions remain unanswered.

Some say that's about to change.

The competition between two Las Vegans seeking the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee in Washington seems to have been short-lived.

Nevada Democratic Party Chairman Paul Henry took himself out of the running before the ink could dry on Friday's Sun.

Last week, Henry had asked Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the Senate's new minority whip, to push Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones for the job. But several hours later, after Reid had committed to helping Jones, Henry called back and said he wanted the chairmanship himself.

That put a hold on Reid's plans to lobby his good friend, Vice President Al Gore, on the mayor's behalf.

On Friday, as word slipped out that the friendly competition might derail a Nevadan's chance of landing the high-profile post, Henry took himself out of the running.

He now says he's supporting the mayor for DNC chairwoman. Smart move, Paul.