Metro detective defends murder probe at hotel

By Matt Pordum (contact)

Friday, May 13, 2005 | 9:07 a.m.

A Metro Police detective fended off a defense attorney's accusations on Thursday that the investigation into the 1997 slaying of a Canadian poker player at a Las Vegas Strip hotel was shoddy.

Deputy Public Defender Tim O'Brien pressed Detective Tom Thousand as to whether or not the investigation into the December 1997 killing of Donald Idiens at the Imperial Palace ended after Idiens' blood was found in Greg Chao's hotel room.

Idiens was found lying in a stairwell at the hotel wearing nothing but his underwear and socks with a plastic bag covering his head. Prosecutors have said the coroner determined Idiens had been beaten, suffered skull fractures and had one ear nearly severed from his head.

DNA tests would later prove that blood on the rug, wall and dresser of Chao's room at the Imperial Palace belonged to Idiens.

O'Brien has argued that the only evidence linking Chao, a Canadian citizen, to charges of robbery and murder with use of a deadly weapon he faces for Idiens' killing is the blood and that a more "tenacious" investigation may have lead police to the real killer.

Prosecutors contend they have the real killer in Chao, a fellow poker player who they believe lured Idiens away from the poker room at the Mirage and murdered him at the Imperial Palace where he was staying under the bogus name of Joe Galloway.

Thousand defended Metro's investigation into the murder saying all solid leads were explored and the assistance of Canadian law enforcement fully utilized to explore both Chao and Idiens' lived in British Columbia.

The detective said all credible leads in the case based on solid evidence were explored.

O'Brien challenged Thousands' claim, saying although one of Idiens' cousins, Teras Hryv, told detectives that "Idiens' business was struggling and he owed people money," those debts were never fully investigated.

The defense attorney said one of those men was Andy McLaren, who O'Brien insinuated had sent Idiens to Las Vegas to collect debts owed to McLaren in exchange for possibly forgiving the debt owed by Idiens.

Although a list of names of people believed to owe money to McLaren, who regularly played poker at the Mirage, was uncovered by detectives the people on the list were never questioned as to alleged rumors circulating at the Mirage poker room about Idiens.

Thousand said Canadian police interviewed McLaren and it was determined he was not a suspect in Idiens' murder.

O'Brien then asked Thousand if the detective had asked poker players at the Mirage if they had heard a rumor that Idiens was "an enforcer sent down from Canada to collect gambling debts" and was asking people at the Mirage about the people found on the list.

Thousand said neither of those rumors were ever corroborated and he stood by the investigation that was conducted in the case.

Much of Thursday was devoted to whether or not the jury would be able to hear about Idiens' estate filing for bankruptcy two months after his killing and if jurors could be told about his unsecured debts.

District Judge Nancy Saitta ruled because Idiens was essentially a sole practitioner of a land development company, once he died there was no one to make any money for his company. Based on this reasoning, and that O'Brien was unable to confirm other allegations that Idiens was some $900,000 in debt, she instructed the defense attorney not to mention the bankruptcy issue.

The jury has already heard evidence that Chao was $40,000 in debt to "less than savory" individuals, and records from the Mirage show that prior to the time Idiens is believed to have been killed, Chao lost $4,800 playing poker, but after Idiens killing played again using a $5,800 buy-in.

Chao had been on probation for an extortion conviction in Canada when he was arrested in June 2004 in connection with the Idiens' case. He was extradited from Canada for the Las Vegas case under the condition that the district attorney's office not follow through with plans to seek the death penalty.

Due to pretrial motions the jury will not hear about Chao's extradition. They will only hear about Chao's extortion conviction if he testifies.

The prosecution is expected to continue its case this Morning, but due to the travel plans of three jurors closing arguments and a verdict in Chaos' case might be more than a week away.

Because three jurors have non-refundable vacations on the books, Saitta will hear closing arguments next Thursday, which would place the case in the juror's hands no earlier than Thursday afternoon.