Tabish to stay in protective custody until trial

Thursday, Jan. 20, 2000 | 10:24 a.m.

Rick Tabish has agreed to remain in protective custody at the Clark County Detention Center while he awaits his March 13 trial in Ted Binion's slaying, jail officials said today.

"He has indicated to us that he feels he can best be kept safe in the current location," Capt. Henry Hoogland told the Sun.

Hoogland said jail officials explained to Tabish on Wednesday that they couldn't further substantiate the threats on his life, but they still were concerned for his safety.

Tabish, he said, did not express a desire to be returned to the general inmate population.

"We feel where he is right now affords us the best opportunity to protect him," Hoogland said. "Short of total isolation, this is the best option we have."

Hoogland said the investigation into the death threats, which began just before the new year, will remain open as long as Tabish is in custody.

"We have to be vigilant," Hoogland said. "We will continue to watch for anything that threatens his welfare or the welfare of any of our other inmates."

Tabish, a 34-year-old Montana contractor, is being housed in a small segregated unit, where he can enjoy the same privileges as other inmates, jail officials said.

His lawyer, Louis Palazzo, has alleged that the threats were "manufactured" by jail officials to hamper defense efforts, a charge the officials strongly denied.

In response to Palazzo's concerns, District Judge Joseph Bonaventure ordered jail officials to give Tabish access to a telephone for at least three hours a day so that he can prepare for his upcoming trial.

Law enforcement sources, meanwhile, have told the Sun that there has been resentment among inmates toward Tabish because of his "celebrity" status at the jail.

Tabish, they said, has been given additional privileges, such as rare outside visits to Palazzo's office so that he can work on his case, which includes nearly 30,000 pages of documents. Corrections officers have accompanied Tabish on those trips.

Jail officials have said they believed the threats were coming from within the detention center and were not from outside forces.

Tabish has been in jail on no bond since his June 24 arrest with Sandy Murphy in Binion's slaying. Murphy, the former casino executive's girlfriend, has been under house arrest at her Henderson apartment.