Lawyer: FBI leads may justify new Binion probe

Thursday, April 25, 2002 | 11:12 a.m.

A defense lawyer Wednesday urged District Attorney Stewart Bell to reopen the Ted Binion murder investigation because of new evidence disclosed in a 1999 FBI wiretap affidavit.

Herb Sachs, who represents convicted killer Sandy Murphy, told Bell in a three-page letter that the new leads, which point to other possible suspects in Binion's 1998 death, should be pursued in the interest of justice.

"Therefore," Sachs told Bell, "you should reopen the investigation into the alleged murder of Ted Binion to ascertain whether the comments contained in the affidavit ... are true, and if so the effect it would have had upon your office acceding to the wishes and pressures of a well-connected, wealthy Binion family to target Sandra Murphy and Rick Tabish as alleged murders."

Murphy, 30, and Tabish, 37, were convicted of killing the 55-year-old Binion, a troubled casino executive with a heroin addiction. They are both serving more than 20 years in prison following the well-publicized trial in 2000.

The 62-page FBI affidavit -- which sought permission to conduct wiretaps on a criminal organization that may have had knowledge of Binion's slaying -- was not made public until October, long after the murder trial.

Bell said he sees no information in the affidavit, written by FBI Agent Gerald McIntosh, that would warrant further investigation by his office and the police.

"I don't think there is any substantial evidence that anybody other than the persons convicted committed this crime," he said.

Binion's sister, Becky Behnen, president of Binion's Horseshoe, agreed.

"There's no doubt in my mind who killed Ted -- the two people who are sitting in jail, Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish," she said.

Behnen said it would be a waste of time and taxpayer money to reopen the investigation.

Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger, who helped convict Murphy and Tabish, said he believes others participated in the murder conspiracy, but no solid evidence identifying additional suspects has turned up.

"I'm sure there were people other than Rick Tabish and Sandra Murphy involved in the conspiracy to murder Ted Binion," Roger said. "If we become aware of them, we'll prosecute them."

But Roger also insisted that there were only two killers.

"And they're sitting in their prison cells trying to stir up media attention," he said.

Roger said he doubted that FBI agents obtained any meaningful evidence in the slaying as a result of the 1999 wiretaps because agents would have shared that information with him prior to the murder trial.

Last week Tabish's San Francisco attorney, J. Tony Serra, asked Chief District Judge Mark Gibbons to force the FBI to hand over documents supporting the affidavit, which now is under seal, so that he can file a motion to overturn his client's conviction based on the new evidence.

But Roger said in court papers this week that Gibbons does not have authority to compel the FBI to provide the requested documents because the murder case is in the hands of the Nevada Supreme Court on appeal.

Oral arguments for both Tabish and Murphy are scheduled before the high court in Carson City on June 27.

Roger said the lower court won't regain jurisdiction until the Supreme Court decides whether to overturn the convictions.

Gibbons has scheduled a hearing on Tuesday to discuss the FBI documents, as well as a motion by Serra to disqualify District Judge Joseph Bonaventure, who presided over the trial, because the defense says he is biased against Tabish and Murphy.

Bonaventure has denied any bias.