FBI is ordered to turn over data on Tabish

Jace Radke

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2002 | 11:13 a.m.

U.S. District Judge James Mahan has ordered the FBI to provide the court with any clear evidence the agency may have that could clear Rick Tabish of the murder of Ted Binion.

At a hearing Wednesday Mahan gave the federal government 60 days to turn the information over for his review. If there is any evidence that Mahan deems exculpatory it will be shared with Tabish's attorneys.

"I'm looking for anything that says Tabish didn't do it," Mahan told Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Myhre, who is representing the FBI.

At issue is an FBI investigation that included a series of wiretaps in December 1999 and focused on racketeering and drug trafficking, and may include information about possible co-conspirators involved in Binion's 1998 murder, according to a sworn affidavit filed by FBI agent Gerald McIntosh.

Tabish, who along with Binion's girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, was convicted of the murder, has since filed suit against the Justice Department and the FBI demanding access to the investigation.

Binion, 55, was found dead in the Las Vegas home he shared with Murphy in September 1998. Binion's family owns the Horseshoe downtown.

Tony Serra, Tabish's attorney, argued Wednesday that there could be information in the FBI's possession that could provide motives for other parties and clear Tabish outright.

Serra said many issues that could be used in Tabish's defense might be corroborated by the FBI investigation, including: an alleged $10 million check from the sale of an offshore casino that Binion was scheduled to receive on the day he died; the possibility that another person was present with Murphy at the time of Binion's death; and the theory that Binion died from suffocation by a pillow.

"This is hot stuff," Serra said. "This could be the centerpiece of our argument if what the affidavit implies is true."

Mahan's ruling doesn't go as far as Serra wanted, as it only requires the FBI submit any direct evidence, not anything that could go toward motive.

"I don't want anything where I'm going to need to call in the great Carnac to determine whether it's exculpatory or not," Mahan said. "If there is a witness in there that says, 'Jim Mahan shot Mr. Binion,' that would be exculpatory."

Myhre said that under most circumstances there wouldn't be a problem with giving the information to Tabish's attorneys.

"The rules tell us to turn the stuff over unless particular things occur," Myhre said. "In this case we have an ongoing investigation and confidential informants that could be endangered if this information is released."

Mahan ordered that the information be turned over to him for review by Dec. 18, and set Jan. 3 as the date he would release anything he deems appropriate.

Tabish and Murphy are currently waiting for a decision from the Nevada Supreme Court on the appeal of their convictions. If a new trial is ordered, information from the FBI investigation could be a key part of the case, Serra said.

During Wednesday's hearing, Mahan said he didn't think there was anything being withheld by the government that could help Tabish.

"Maybe I'm a pessimist if Mr. Serra is an optimist," Mahan said. "I don't think there is anything in (the investigation) to turn this over, but I don't know."

One of the subjects of the FBI investigation is Robert Marshall, who was found guilty in federal court earlier this month of brokering a deal for a kilogram of cocaine in March 2001. Authorities believe Marshall may have information about a 1972 car-bombing that killed a former FBI agent.

FBI agents and Metro Police homicide detectives have been unsuccessful in getting information from Marshall about the murder of William Coulthard, a former FBI agent who was the landlord of the Horseshoe at the time of his death.