Detective says Binion hired him to follow girlfriend

Monday, Oct. 19, 1998 | 11:11 a.m.

A veteran private detective says Ted Binion, the day before he died, hired him to follow Sandy Murphy, the former gaming executive's girlfriend.

The detective, Don Dibble, confirmed Sunday that he received a call from Binion the morning of Sept. 16 wanting him to "put a tail" on the 26-year-old Murphy.

But the longtime gaming executive, Dibble said, died the next day before he could take any action.

Dibble, who had done investigative work for Binion in the past, said he was breaking his long-standing rule of not talking about a client because he believes it might help shed light on Binion's mysterious demise.

Dibble is the latest of a series of Binion friends and associates who have raised questions in interviews with the SUN about Binion's Sept. 17 death.

Lawyers for Binion's estate late Friday offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in the death.

Dibble said he has informed the estate of his contact with Binion.

He said Binion never told him why he wanted Murphy kept under surveillance, but it was implied that she had been cheating on Binion.

"There was something that had him concerned," Dibble said.

Murphy's lawyer, David Chesnoff, declined comment today.

Dibble said Binion asked him to follow Murphy to the Sporting House on South Industrial Road, a trendy athletic club she often frequented.

Sources have indicated Murphy would hook up with Montana contractor Rick Tabish at the Sporting House.

Tabish and two other men were arrested in Pahrump Sept. 19, less than 36 hours after Binion's death, trying to steal a fortune in buried silver coins and bars belonging to Binion.

Nye County sheriff's deputies uncovered evidence of a possible romantic relationship between Tabish and Murphy the morning of his arrest. The two also were seen together at a posh Beverly Hills hotel the weekend before Binion's death.

Murphy, who stands to inherit part of Binion's multimillion-dollar estate, reported his death to police about 3:55 p.m. Sept. 17. His body was found in the den of his Palomino Lane home next to an empty bottle of the prescription sedative, Xanax.

A toxicology report found lethal levels of both heroin and Xanax in Binion's system, which led Flud to classify the manner in which he died as "undetermined."

The 55-year-old Binion had a heroin addiction and occasionally would use Xanax to get himself off of the street drug. But his friends insisted he never would have taken fatal doses of both drugs by himself.

Though police found no evidence of foul play at Binion's home, a team of homicide detectives stepped up the investigation into his death following the release of the toxicology report.

Homicide Lt. Wayne Petersen has called Binion's death "suspicious," but has refused to label it a murder.

But Binion's sister, Horseshoe Club hotel-casino owner Becky Behnen and his lawyers, Richard Wright and Harry Claiborne, all have suggested foul play could have played a role in Binion's demise.

Homicide detectives returned to Binion's home last Thursday with Clark County Coroner Ron Flud to review the death scene.

"We still can't prove it's a homicide," Petersen said today. "But we can't prove it's an accident or suicide, either."

Dibble said Binion left him a voice message later in the day on Sept. 16 and early on Sept. 17 following up on his request to follow Murphy.

Binion did not seem distressed during any of those messages, Dibble said.

"There was absolutely nothing wrong with him," Dibble said. "It was Teddy as usual. He was almost jovial."

Dibble said the tenor of Binion's voice has convinced him that Binion was not contemplating suicide.