Judge rules against Montana contractor’s request in gambler’s death case

Tuesday, March 23, 1999 | 10:11 a.m.

Tabish is being investigated in the mysterious death of former Las Vegas casino executive Ted Binion.

The affidavit was sealed at the request of Las Vegas prosecutor David Roger, who is heading a grand jury investigation into Binion's Sept. 17 death.

Binion was found dead at his home, the victim of an overdose of heroin and Xanax, a prescription sedative.

The death initially was viewed accidental. Last week, however, Clark County, Nev., Coroner Ron Flud reclassified Binion's death as a homicide.

Although they have not been named specifically, Tabish and Binion's girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, are part of the Binion investigation.

Tabish, who met Binion in early 1998, has been charged with trying to steal $4 million in silver that Binion had buried in an underground vault in Pahrump, about 65 miles west of Las Vegas. Tabish, who built the vault, has pleaded innocent. The case is pending.

Roger has said the Binion investigation could be compromised if information in the affidavit is made public. The prosecutor also expressed concern about the safety of witnesses named in the affidavit.

Tabish and his attorney, Wade Dahood of Anaconda, sought to have the affidavit unsealed at a hearing March 12, arguing that Tabish' s constitutional right to privacy entitled him to the information. Dahood also argued that no provision of Montana law allowed the affidavit to be sealed.

"Your home cannot be invaded unless there is probable cause for the invasion," Dahood said Monday. "They've got to give you a copy of the search warrant application so you can challenge the search."

The judge was not swayed.

"Mr. Tabish's argument that no provision under Montana law authorizes this court to deny him access to the affidavits is incorrect," Harkin wrote in his eight-page ruling. "Montana's own grand jury provisions are consistent with Nevada's provisions."

Although no grand jury is investigating Tabish, Harkin referred to sections of Montana grand jury law that allow grand jury proceedings to be kept secret and allow Montana prosecutors to share information with prosecutors from other states.

"It's an inapplicable standard," Dahood said Monday. "That provision is in respect to a grand jury in Montana. There isn't any grand jury in Montana."

Dahood said he plans to ask Harkin to reconsider the ruling, and he'll also file a second motion to release the affidavit on behalf of Tabish's wife, Mary Jo.