Murphy’s bond motion rejected

Wednesday, April 27, 2005 | 11:05 a.m.

District Judge Joseph Bonaventure on Tuesday denied Sandy Murphy's motion to have the $250,000 bond posted for her bail returned.

Murphy's attorney, Michael Cristalli, unsuccessfully argued that because the state's Bureau of Prisons had determined that with credit for time served Murphy has already "expired the high end of her sentence" so her bond should be exonerated.

On Nov. 23 a Clark County jury acquitted Murphy and Rick Tabish in connection with millionaire casino mogul Ted Binion's death. The jury found the duo guilty of conspiring to commit burglary and/or larceny as well as guilty of burglary and grand larceny, however, in connection with their plot to steal Binion's horde of silver.

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

Assistant District Attorney Christopher Lalli said because Cristalli had filed a notice of appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court for that conviction, Bonaventure lacked the jurisdiction to exonerate Murphy's bail.

Additionally Lalli said it was Cristalli himself who successfully requested that Murphy be allowed to remain out of custody pending an appeal on a $250,000 bond.

"Let's see how the (Nevada) Supreme Court rules on the issue and see where the chips fall," Lalli said.

Bonaventure agreed with Lalli and told Cristalli under normal circumstances he only exonerates bonds when someone is facing a hardship.

The judge, knowing that William Fuller, Murphy's octogenarian benefactor, and not Murphy, paid for her release on bail and for her defense in the retrial, asked, "Who put the cash up?"

Cristalli said Fuller "is $2 million in the hole because of this case."

"Whose fault is that?" Bonaventure asked Cristalli.

The judge did offer an option for Cristalli to test his theory concerning Murphy's status.

"Have Ms. Murphy come to court on Friday or Monday and let me remand her to the custody of the sheriff," Bonaventure said. "According to your (Cristalli) theory she will be out of custody in four or eight hours due to credit for time served and then you'll get your bond exonerated naturally."

Cristalli rejected the judge's offer saying because of the slow processing time at the Clark County Detention Center and procedural elements Murphy could be forced to spend undeserved time in custody under Bonaventure's plan.

After the ruling an angry Cristalli called Bonaventure's decision to deny his request "the worst (expletive) decision I've ever heard in my life. If this was anyone other than Sandy (Murphy) he (Bonaventure) would have granted it."

Murphy is currently in California where she is doing administrative work for Fuller.

Bonaventure did give Murphy credit for the 1,406 days she had spent in prison after she and Tabish were convicted in 2000 of killing Binion. The Nevada Supreme Court overturned the conviction, prompting the more recent retrial that overturned the first ruling and led to the subsequent sentencing by Bonaventure.

Tabish is currently serving an 18- to 120-month prison sentence for his kidnapping and extortion conviction which stemmed from the 1998 beating of a man at a sandpit in Jean.