Tabish’s attorney Serra offers other reason for leaving case

By Matt Pordum

Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2005 | 9:35 a.m.

A request to postpone the sentencing of Rick Tabish and Sandy Murphy this morning was originally expected to be nothing more than procedural, but a motion filed by Tabish's lead attorney to withdraw from the case was expected to have District Judge Joe Bonaventure fuming.

J. Tony Serra's motion to withdraw as Tabish's counsel of record contradicts statements Tabish's local attorney, Joseph Caramagno, made to the Sun on Jan. 21 and sheds light on a questionable strategy that could be employed prior to sentencing.

In the interview, Caramagno said Tabish had decided to sever ties with Serra because the attorney had other obligations and not because any differences in strategy.

In Serra's motion he explains he is withdrawing due to "irreconcilable differences with respect to the strategy underlying" three presentencing motions by Caramagno.

Serra said he was given no "notice whatsoever" that Caramagno planned to file the motions, and upon learning of the change in strategy Serra wrote a letter to Tabish and his father, Frank Tabish, telling them both he "would withdraw if the motions went forward."

In the letter Serra emphasizes his position against the motions Caramagno intends to file saying "none of them will be granted; we will alienate the court; it is counter-productive to a lenient sentence."

Serra said he was equally surprised when he read in news articles he had been "removed" from the case and that Tabish expected to hire Bruce Cutler, a lawyer who won three cases for East Coast mob boss John Gotti.

The most interesting information found in Serra's motion to withdraw, however, was a letter written by Caramagno to Tabish's brother, Greg.

In the letter Caramagno explains "we need to take the offensive immediately" by filing motions to disqualify the Clark County district attorney's office and Bonaventure, for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence and to argue for a straight up dismissal of the Casey counts.

Caramagno goes on to say "there is no stronger person to advocate these motions and argue them before Bonaventure than Bruce (Cutler)."

"Even if it breaks into an all out screaming match between Bruce (Cutler) and Bonaventure, this will benefit us in that Bonaventure will be pressured into making statements on the record which can be used against him in an immediate appeal in the denial of the motions to the Supreme Court of Nevada," Caramagno wrote.

The defense attorney proceeds to say Bonaventure would be impressed with "what he would perceive to be a celebrity attorney" in Cutler, which could "make a huge impact on Bonaventure's judgment."

Caramagno also wrote that he believes the Nevada Supreme Court holds Bonaventure in "low regard" and the state's highest court "would not hesitate to reverse any ruling he makes on our motions as long as they are presented with strong factual and legal basis."

He wrote that bringing Cutler on to the defense team would "no doubt place greater pressure on Bonaventure." Caramagno also referred to the possibility of a national media campaign to "advocate our position and argue the motions on a national stage" prior to sentencing.

As an example to Caramagno's ties to Las Vegas' media he tells Greg Tabish the "Las Vegas Review Journal has already committed to a front-page story about Bruce (Cutler) joining Rick's (Tabish) defense team."

Tabish is currently serving an 18- to 120-month prison sentence for a kidnapping and extortion conviction that stemmed from the 1998 beating of Tabish's former business partner Leo Casey.

On Nov. 23 a Clark County jury acquitted Tabish and Sandy Murphy of murdering Ted Binion but found them guilty of conspiring to commit burglary and/or larceny as well as guilty of burglary and grand larceny.

With the convictions on three theft counts, Tabish and Murphy each face anywhere from probation to a maximum of 21 years in prison at sentencing before Bonaventure, according to Clark County District Attorney David Roger. Roger said conspiracy to commit burglary is a gross misdemeanor and carries a maximum sentence of one year at the Clark County Detention Center.

The maximum sentence for burglary is 10 years and the grand larceny carries a sentence of one to 10 years.

In 2000 Tabish and Murphy were convicted of murdering Binion, but were granted a new trial after the Nevada Supreme Court overturned their convictions.

Prosecutors at both trials alleged Tabish and Murphy suffocated 55-year-old Binion on Sept. 17, 1998 and tried to make it look like a drug overdose. A day later Tabish tried to steal Binion's silver in Pahrump, prosecutors said.

The defense contended that Binion died of an accidental overdose of heroin, Xanax and Valium and that Tabish was simply following Binion's orders when he tried to recover and preserve the silver for Binion's silver.