Columnist Jeff German: Binion saga far from over

Sunday, May 28, 2000 | 9:31 a.m.

Jeff German is the Sun's senior investigative reporter. He can be reached at (702) 259-4067 or by e-mail at german@lasvegassun.com.

The Ted Binion murder probe isn't over yet, friends.

Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish, two lovers-turned convicted killers, may be taking a 20-year hiatus from us courtesy of the Nevada State Prison System. But efforts remain alive to determine whether others might have helped the duo bring about the wealthy gambling figure's demise.

The man behind the push is private detective Tom Dillard, who many credit with persuading police to investigate Binion's Sept. 17, 1998, death as a homicide.

"I've got new marching orders," says Dillard, who works for Binion's $55-million estate.

And that can't be good news for the bad guys.

The estate, which has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Murphy and Tabish, still wants to know what happened to Binion's valuables, especially his $300,000 collection of rare coins and currency, that were stolen from his home after his death.

And the estate wants to find out whether any of those close to the convicted killers were involved in the murder conspiracy against the 55-year-old Binion.

One man who claims to have information about Binion's death is David Mattsen, who is expected to stand trial later this year on charges of stealing the former casino man's $6 million silver fortune in Pahrump. Murphy and Tabish already have been convicted in the theft.

Mattsen, who says he wasn't involved in the plot to kill Binion, has provided me with explosive information about Binion's death. He has also talked to Dillard.

The 54-year-old former Binion ranch hand seems to be in the know, although prosecutors have been reluctant to deal with him, primarily because he lost some credibility before the Binion murder trial when some, including his own lawyer, thought he had gone off the "deep end."

Whether Mattsen comes forth with everything he knows or decides to take his chances at trial remains to be seen.

Whatever he does, Dillard will press ahead with his quest to find answers to the many questions left by the convictions of Murphy and Tabish.

We can expect the names of others who may have knowledge about Binion's death to surface again in the coming weeks.

At least two other people slipped through the cracks during the seven-week trial.

Murphy's good friend, Linda Carroll, was never called to the witness stand even though prosecutors had her arrested in Southern California on a material witness warrant.

Carroll, who gave prosecutors fits during the murder investigation, was with Murphy in the immediate hours after Binion's slaying. Her California lawyer, Chet Bennett, alleged that Dillard and prosecutors have harassed her during the murder investigation.

Attorney William Knudson, who has represented Murphy and Tabish on civil matters, also never testified during the trial, even though he had stepped forward as an alibi witness for both defendants.

Investigators have kept an eye on Knudson, who says he has conducted himself aboveboard throughout this case.

Knudson, you'll recall, let Murphy stay at his house in the days after Binion's slaying. He helped her bail out Tabish on the silver theft charges. And he told reporters he had lunch with the two convicted killers the day Binion died.

Knudson, according to prosecutors, also served as a courier for Tabish, passing jailhouse letters, many of them sealed, to Tabish associate Jason Frazer while the Montana contractor was scheming to pay off witnesses to provide him with an alibi to Binion's slaying.

And let's not forget the mob angle to this story.

Dillard says he's investigating Tabish's reported ties to Chicago crime figures, as well as a possible plot to sell off Binion's silver in the Windy City.

Yes, the Binion murder probe is far from over, friends.