Judge gavels an end to Ted Binion murder trial

Kim Smith

Friday, Oct. 6, 2000 | 11:23 a.m.

District Judge Joseph Bonaventure burst out with an enthusiastic "Finito!" Thursday morning after sentencing the last defendants in the Ted Binion murder saga.

David Mattsen, Michael Milot, John Joseph and Steve Wadkins all agreed to plead no contest to gross misdemeanor charges in connection with the case.

Joseph, 61, and Wadkins, 37, paid $2,000 fines Thursday to close their cases while Milot, 33, was given until April 6 to pay the same. Mattsen, 55, opted to do 200 hours of community service in lieu of the fine, and he also faces an April 6 deadline.

With the exception of the long appeals process already begun by Binion murderers Sandy Murphy, 28, and Rick Tabish, 35, Thursday's hearing ends the case that has kept Las Vegas residents enthralled for more than two years.

A jury convicted Tabish and Murphy, who was Binion's live-in lover, of killing Binion, 55, in September 1998 and stealing the wealthy gambling figure's fortune.

Tabish, a Montana contractor, was strapped for cash and prosecutors believe he needed a large amount of money to buy out a Jean sand pit company.

Two months before Binion's death, police allege Tabish, Joseph and Wadkins tortured the primary shareholder of the sand pit company so he would sign over his shares to Joseph.

Binion was found dead on Sept. 18, 1998, and an autopsy revealed he had been both suffocated and forced to ingest a lethal amount of drugs.

Two days later, Tabish, Mattsen and Milot were caught digging up $6 million worth of Binion's silver collection from an underground vault at his Pahrump ranch.

Murphy and Tabish are now serving life terms in prison after having been convicted of first-degree murder in May.

Mattsen and Milot pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit grand larceny while Joseph and Wadkins pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit extortion.