Columnist Jeff German: Cassidy may break silence

Friday, July 18, 2003 | 11:10 a.m.

Jeff German's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

There have been so many twists and turns in the Ted Binion murder case over the years that nothing should surprise us anymore.

Odds are there will be more bizarre developments before Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish are retried on charges of killing Binion in 1998.

Consider the case of William Cassidy, the hard-drinking former mayoral aide and Murphy defense investigator who's currently residing at the Clark County Detention Center in a heap of trouble.

Cassidy is preparing to stand trial Sept. 30 on charges of sexually assaulting his wife and burning down her massage parlor. He denies the charges.

As he sits in the slammer contemplating his future, he's also sitting on potentially explosive information that, if true, would shed a whole new light on Binion's mysterious death.

Cassidy isn't feeling particularly loyal to anyone these days and says he thinks it's important to disclose the information he has about Binion's demise in what he calls the "interest of justice." What Cassidy has to say could be of monumental importance to the new prosecutors and defense lawyers in the case and might even be enough to change the theories of death being argued by both sides.

Though his credibility isn't that great lately, there is no question that Cassidy was deeply involved in the defense team efforts prior to the first trial. He was paid a whopping $217,000 by Murphy's benefactor, William Fuller, for his work, and spent many hours strategizing with Murphy and Tabish and their attorneys.

So active was Cassidy on the defense team that Tabish's appeal lawyer, William Terry, once accused him in post-conviction court documents of calling the shots for the defense -- to the detriment of Tabish.

If you were a betting person, you would believe that whatever Cassidy has to say wouldn't be flattering to Tabish, who has been mounting a public relations campaign from prison all week, predicting that he will be acquitted next time around.

After listening to Cassidy's latest words of advice to Murphy, you also would believe that Cassidy, who has a flair for being cryptic, still has empathy for his former client.

"I hope that Sandy has had sufficient time and sufficient insight to realize the wisdom and advice given to her and this time is prepared to let justice be done," he said.

This statement should have more meaning to Murphy and Tabish than the rest of us, but it at least gives us an idea where Cassidy is headed with his information.

Whether he can make it public without facing legal sanctions is doubtful. As a member of the defense team, Cassidy is prohibited from disclosing any confidential information he received from the defendants.

But what's a few more months behind bars for contempt of court to a man facing a stiff prison term if he is convicted of raping his wife?

So maybe people at the courthouse should pay closer attention to what Cassidy has to say.

If he's right, we might at long last unlock the mystery of Binion's death.