Judge orders FBI to offer Binion murder evidence

Jace Radke

Monday, Jan. 6, 2003 | 9:07 a.m.

A federal judge has ordered FBI agent Gerald McIntosh to review one of his investigations to determine if there is any evidence that could clear Rick Tabish of the murder of Ted Binion.

U.S. District Judge James Mahan said McIntosh makes it clear in an affidavit that he was investigating Binion's murder. The affidavit was linked to a 1999 FBI investigation that included wiretaps and focused on drug trafficking and racketeering cases.

"The case agent put in his affidavit that he was developing information in the murder of Ted Binion, and based on that there are questions," Mahan said at a hearing Friday. "Well, what did he develop?

"I don't know what's there, but I want the information run down."

Mahan ordered McIntosh to review the 1999 case and submit a new affidavit by Jan. 17 that includes any information that could clear Tabish or could lead to additional witnesses to Binion's 1998 murder.

Binion, 55, whose family owns the Horseshoe Club downtown, was found dead in the Las Vegas home he shared with his girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, in September 1998. Tabish and Murphy were convicted of the murder.

Tabish has sued the Justice Department and the FBI demanding access to McIntosh's investigation.

The FBI previously filed court documents stating that there is nothing in McIntosh's investigation that clears Tabish. FBI counsel Nancy Schuster reviewed the 1999 case and the files of confidential informants used during the investigation, but said she found nothing that met Mahan's order.

Tabish's attorney, Tony Serra, contends that the investigation could contain information about the Binion murder, and said that he was cynical about the federal government turning over any information that could help Tabish.

"You gave an order and the government basically comes back and says, 'There is nothing there,' " Serra told Mahan. "That's a little hard for us to swallow."

Serra said he would like to see the files from the 1999 case turned over to Mahan for review, or he would like to be given the opportunity to question McIntosh at a hearing about what he learned regarding Binion's murder.

Steven Myhre, first assistant U.S. attorney for Nevada, told Mahan that McIntosh would review the 1999 case.

"We'll do that, but I can represent to the court that there is nothing there," Myhre said.

Mahan has scheduled a hearing on the matter for Jan. 31.

Among those investigated in the 1999 case was Robert Marshall, who was found guilty in federal court in October of brokering a deal for a kilogram of cocaine.

U.S. District Judge Lloyd George is to sentence Marshall on Feb. 7 for the drug conviction. Marshall, 69, is a four-time felon who has two drug-related convictions in his past. He could be facing 10 years in prison on the latest charge.

Authorities believe Marshall may have information about the 1972 car-bombing that killed a former FBI agent William Coulthard, who was the landlord of the Horseshoe at the time of his death.

FBI agents and Metro Police homicide detectives have been unsuccessful in getting information from Marshall about that car-bombing.