Binion’s missing silver dollars may turn up

Thursday, June 5, 2003 | 11:07 a.m.

Local authorities may have a lead on missing silver dollars belonging to slain gambling figure Ted Binion.

A jailed informant in Vancouver Island, British Columbia, has told police there that he knows the whereabouts of as much as $3.5 million in silver coins, District Attorney David Roger said Wednesday.

Roger, who prosecuted Binion's killers, said authorities in Las Vegas and Vancouver are negotiating a deal with the informant to lead them to the loot.

"We're hopeful that this individual has accurate information of the location of the silver," Roger said.

The informant, Roger added, wants a share of the proceeds as a reward. The silver is believed to be in the Vancouver area.

Roger said Binion's estate has agreed to give out a reward and is allowing the district attorney's office to set the amount.

Estate lawyer Richard Wright declined comment Wednesday.

But Roger said the information from Vancouver appears credible because Rick Tabish, one of the 55-year-old Binion's killers, has "associates" in the Vancouver area. He declined to identify them.

Tabish and Binion's live-in girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, were convicted in May 2000 of killing Binion and stealing his valuables, including a $300,000 collection of antique coins and currency, which is still missing.

They also were convicted of digging up $6 million in silver bars and coins from an underground vault on land Binion owned in Pahrump. That silver, which was unearthed just 36 hours after Binion's Sept. 17, 1998, death, was recovered by police and later sold by the estate.

But among the Binion items still believed to be unaccounted for are millions of dollars worth of rare Carson City-minted silver dollars.

Both Roger and Binion's estate have said in the past that they believe silver and gold belonging to Binion still is at large, but they couldn't say for sure what is missing.

"It is clear from the evidence that Rick Tabish and Sandra Murphy ransacked Binion's home before reporting his death to authorities," Roger said this morning.

Binion, an eccentric former casino executive and the son of legendary gaming pioneer Benny Binion, was known to bury valuables at his 2408 Palomino Lane home and 125-acre ranch in Pahrump.

Harry Claiborne, Binion's longtime friend and attorney, said he estimates that as much as $3.5 million in silver belong to Binion still may be missing, which gives more credence to the informant's lead.

The fact that the informant wants a reward also is raising the hopes of local authorities, Roger said.

James Buczek, the lead homicide detective in the Binion case, was the first to be contacted by Vancouver Island police about the informant's claims.

Buczek, now a detective in Metro's robbery unit, declined comment.

But Buczek is said to be taking the lead in the new search for missing Binion valuables.