Secret FBI wiretap revealed in Binion slaying

Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2001 | 10:36 a.m.

The FBI secretly obtained permission in December 1999 to wiretap members of a criminal organization to see whether any of them participated in the slaying of Ted Binion 14 months earlier, documents filed Tuesday in federal court disclosed.

Local prosecutors handling the Binion murder case said this morning they were never informed of the FBI wiretaps.

And the lawyer for Sandy Murphy, who later was convicted with Montana businessman Rick Tabish of killing Binion, said he expected to use the newly discovered information to help his client win a new trial.

The wiretaps were authorized on Dec. 13, 1999, by U.S. District Judge Johnnie Rawlinson after FBI Agent Gerald McIntosh presented her with a 62-page sworn affidavit saying he was looking for evidence of "co-conspirators involved in the conspiracy to kill Teddy Binion."

McIntosh said he also wanted to monitor conversations about alleged drug trafficking, money laundering and illegal gambling as part of a wide-ranging racketeering probe of the group.

The FBI, McIntosh said, had a confidential source who was providing agents with information about the 55-year-old Binion's "suspicious death."

At the time, Murphy and Tabish, following a lengthy investigation, already had been charged by local authorities with killing the wealthy gambling figure at his home on Sept. 17, 1998. Both were convicted on May 19, 2000, and later ordered to spend more than 20 years in prison before being eligible for parole.

Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger, the lead Binion prosecutor, said this morning he was never told that the FBI actively was trying to develop leads in Binion's death after Murphy and Tabish were arrested.

"It was a surprise to me that the FBI was working to find more conspirators in Binion's murder," Roger said. "I'm always concerned about new issues. This is another issue that Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish will be able to grab onto in hopes of securing their freedom."

But Roger said he believed the just-revealed FBI information isn't enough to lead to a new trial because it doesn't provide the defendants with any exculpatory evidence.

Murphy's lawyer, Herb Sachs, who is appealing her conviction to the Nevada Supreme Court, said he planned to get a copy of the affidavit this morning.

"We absolutely are going to obtain this affidavit and look into it as quickly as possible to see whether we can make a motion for a new trial or a dismissal," Sachs said.

"We have been convinced from the beginning that no murder was committed, but that if one was committed, it was not committed by Sandy," he said. "We have maintained all along there were many others who had much more motive to kill Binion than her."

FBI spokesman Daron Borst declined comment.

"Because it's an ongoing legal process, we cannot comment in the press," he said. "We will respond through the legal process."

The FBI affidavit was filed Tuesday by lawyers for Robert Marshall, alleged to be one of the targets in the criminal group, as part of a motion seeking to bar the government from using the affidavit as evidence against him in a federal drug case that evolved from the racketeering investigation.

Marshall, 67, a jailed four-time convicted felon, never was considered a suspect by prosecutors in Binion's death. But homicide detectives and FBI agents believe he may have knowledge of another well-publicized case, the unsolved 1972 slaying of William Coulthard, a prominent lawyer who once headed the Las Vegas FBI office.

With his motion on Marshall's behalf, Assistant Federal Public Defender Michael Kennedy submitted a 49-page affidavit from investigator Don Dibble rebutting McIntosh's long list of allegations about the group linked to Marshall, including the accusations involving Binion's well-publicized slaying.

"The wording ... of the affidavit ... makes it clear that the government seemed to have information which would have changed the direction of the Murphy-Tabish investigation and trial," Dibble wrote.

He hinted that the Binion murder allegations were included in McIntosh's affidavit to hoodwink Rawlinson into authorizing the December 1999 wiretaps. A series of additional wiretaps in the investigation were authorized by the judge through March of this year.

"Either the government knew that the information being placed before the judge was untrue," Dibble said, "or (it) believed that it was true (and was) willing to let an innocent Tabish and Murphy stand trial for that crime ..."

Private detective Tom Dillard, who investigated Binion's death for his estate and cooperated with local authorities, also submitted an affidavit Tuesday on Marshall's behalf, saying he planned to work with Dibble to investigate the FBI's handling of the Binion murder case allegations.

Kennedy said he wants a public hearing on his motion.

Dibble concluded in his affidavit that McIntosh's allegations were "highly suspect" and based on the "dubious words of informants," as well as "Old Vegas rumors and legends that have long been known to have been debunked when subjected to true investigation."

In his affidavit, however, McIntosh said the confidential FBI source overheard members of the criminal organization mention that "someone else was present when Teddy Binion died," possibly an accomplice to Murphy and Tabish.

McIntosh also said members of the group were "very aware of facts about this homicide unknown to law enforcement" and were expected to have future discussions that might identify witnesses to the slaying.

He said another confidential source identified two former Binion's Horseshoe employees as having "assisted others" in hiding Binion's money outside Las Vegas either just before or after Binion's death.

The source reported that another man may have helped dig up Binion's money in the desert, McIntosh said.

The three men, whose names were given to the district attorney's office prior to the murder trial last year, were said to have information about a pillow being used in Binion's death, McIntosh wrote.

Roger said he recalled receiving the names from the FBI in a brief note, which he turned over to the defense before the trial. The prosecution alleged during the trial that Binion, a heroin abuser, was pumped with drugs and suffocated.

Roger said he was willing to look at additional possible suspects in Binion's death if enough new evidence surfaced.

"We always thought that there were more people involved in killing Binion and stealing his silver," he said. "We are always open to reviewing new information about the case."

But he added: "If there was something big, I'm sure the FBI would have shared it with me by now."