Bonaventure rejects argument in Tabish case

Tuesday, April 5, 2005 | 9:35 a.m.

District Judge Joseph Bonaventure on Monday rejected the argument that Rick Tabish's convictions related to his excavation of silver from Ted Binion's vault in Pahrump should be set aside because the case was tried in the wrong jurisdiction.

Tabish's lawyer, Joseph Caramagno, argued that because the silver never left Nye County and was not taken into Clark County, Tabish's case should have been handled in Nye County.

Caramagno pointed to the prosecution's prior contention that the most important issue concerning jurisdiction of the Tabish case was that the alleged murder and conspiracy to murder Binion all happened in Clark County.

The defense attorney reasoned that because a Clark County jury found Tabish and Sandy Murphy not guilty in connection with the killing, there was no basis for the silver theft case being filed in Clark County.

On Nov. 23 a Clark County jury acquitted Tabish and Sandy Murphy in connection with the millionaire casino figure's death but found them guilty of conspiring to commit burglary and/or larceny as well as guilty of burglary and grand larceny.

Bonaventure sentenced Tabish and Murphy both to one to five years in prison each for the silver theft.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Lalli said he believed this was at least the fifth time this issue had been raised in the course of Tabish and Murphy's two trials and it had now "reached the point of frivolity."

The sometimes long-winded Bonaventure said simply, "Motion denied."