Bail bondsman describes concerns over ranch boss

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004 | 8:20 a.m.

A bail bondsman testified Tuesday that Rick Tabish and Sandy Murphy wanted bail posted "right away" for a third accomplice in the alleged burglary of Ted Binion's silver vault in Pahrump because they didn't "want him to be talking" in jail.

Dario Constantino said a day after Murphy arranged bail to be posted for Tabish and Mike Milot, the three came to his office seeking to have bail posted for the manager of Binion's Pahrump ranch, David Mattsen.

Even though Constantino had testified in Murphy and Tabish's first trial and in preliminary hearings, Tuesday marked the first time he had referred to Murphy, Tabish and Milot's alleged concern about what Mattsen might say.

The unexpected testimony set off a storm of objection from the defense lawyers that prompted District Judge Joe Bonaventure to send the jury home for the day so they could be sure to have enough time to cast ballots in the election while he worked on settling the lawyers' dispute.

Murphy's attorney, Michael Cristalli, said he felt "sand-bagged" by the prosecution not warning him about the new testimony that was expected from Constantino. Bonaventure allowed the new testimony saying Constantino's statement was "ripe for cross-examination."

On Sept. 19, 1998, two days after Binion was discovered dead on the floor of his Las Vegas home, Nye County sheriff's deputies arrested Tabish, Mattsen and Milot after the trio was discovered digging up the casino figure's underground vault in Pahrump. The three men were apparently trying to haul away the $7 million silver collection.

Although Tabish initially told the deputies that he was removing concrete from the Binion-owned parcel of land, he later admitted to them he lied after officers found Binion's silver in a trailer at the scene. Officers said Tabish then told them he was acting on Binion's wishes by preserving the silver for his daughter.

Tabish and Murphy had been lovers at the time even though Murphy was living with Binion. They were convicted in 2000 of murdering Binion and were sentenced to life in prison, but the Nevada Supreme Court later overturned the convictions.

Defense attorneys contend that Binion died of a drug overdose involving a lethal mixture of heroin, Xanax and Valium.

On Monday, Constantino said he was contacted by one of his employees on Sept. 20, 1998, after someone claiming to be Ted Binion's wife needed to post two bonds in Pahrump for $100,000 respectively for arrests that she said were "a big mistake."

Because the bail amounts were so high Constantino said he came to the office and met Sandy Murphy and her attorney William Knudson. He said Murphy "was eager and energetic to get those people out."

Constantino said Murphy put up her Mercedes-Benz, a ring and some property as collateral for Tabish and Milot's bail.

Although the jury heard all of the above testimony from Constantino they will not be told of an alleged visit Murphy made to his offices in December 1998 or of the three-way phone calls that Constantino says Tabish made through him to Sandy Murphy when she was released from custody in July 1999.

Bonaventure ruled outside of the presence of the jury that the prosecution would not be allowed to ask Constantino about Murphy visiting his office and allegedly asking the bail bondsman to hold onto a statue and painting for her.

Bonaventure ruled that unless the prosecutors could prove the items Murphy asked Constantion to hold came from Binion's home at or around the time of his death such testimony was irrelevant.

Bonaventure also ruled against the admission of testimony regarding three-way phone calls in which Tabish and Murphy allegedly talked "sweet nothings" to each other. Bonaventure said that information was was more prejudicial than evidentiary, and the case has "had enough of the relationship."

Questions also were raised Tuesday about whether Wade Lieseke, who was sheriff of Nye County when Binion died, had been offered money by Tabish regarding the unearthing of Binion's silver.

Former Nye County Deputy Dean Pennock, the man who discovered Binion's silver in one of Tabish's tractor-trailers, testified that Tabish said he had called Lieseke three times and that the sheriff knew he was out there getting the silver.

Pennock also testified that when Lieseke showed up, he told the law enforcement officers who were already there not to arrest Tabish, Milot and Madsen. Pennock also testified that Tabish turned to Lieseke and said, "Wade, you knew you would be taken care of."

Huggins testified Tabish said Lieseke was going to be "compensated to the tune of $100,000." When Lieseke later left the scene, Huggins said, Tabish said to Lieseke, "I told you I couldn't pay you until we got it out of the ground."

Lieseke, who is not expected to be called as a prosecution witness, has previously acknowledged receiving phone calls from Tabish before the silver was excavated. But he has denied giving Tabish the authority to dig it up.

The prosecution was scheduled to continue its case this morning with Constantino returning to the witness stand.