Saturday, November 13, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Tabish testifies, denies killing Binion

Defendant describes relationship with millionaire, silver episode, love for Murphy

During Friday's testimony, Rick Tabish discusses his relationship with Ted Binion and co-defendant Sandy Murphy. Photo by John Gurzinski.

Rick Tabish looked directly at jurors Friday and, in a thick Montana accent, calmly denied killing millionaire Ted Binion.

"Absolutely and unequivocally not," Tabish said. "I did not kill Ted Binion."

Throughout his testimony, Tabish gave rambling answers to seemingly simple questions during nearly five hours of testimony.

The 39-year-old rattled off explanation after explanation for the circumstantial evidence against him in the death of Binion, including the fact that he was caught digging up Binion's $7 million silver fortune from a buried vault in Nye County two days after Binion's death.

"Probably the poorest decision I've ever made, but I did it," he said.

Tabish said he was not stealing the silver. Rather, he said he had promised Binion he would dig up the silver if Binion died. He said Binion didn't want his ex-wife, Doris, to get the silver stash.

"He called it loose change," Tabish said. "If there was loose change going out -- he didn't want Doris getting any loose change.

"It was nothing clandestine. ... It's upsetting to talk about. It's caused a lot of problems."

Tabish admitted to an affair with his co-defendant and Binion's live-in girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, and he even professed his love for the woman he is accused of conspiring with to kill Binion. At one point, he referred to Murphy as his "breakfast buddy" because of their frequent breakfast outings.

"I had great feelings for her, and she had great feelings for me," Tabish said. "Alcohol got the best of us, and we ended up having sex."

Tabish said he was initially skeptical of Murphy, considering she was living with Binion, who was nearly three decades older than her. But his opinion of Murphy gradually changed, and he admired her willingness to stay with Binion, who was a longtime alcoholic and heroin addict.

"You see a young gal with an older man, you kind of raise your eyebrows," Tabish said. "(But) she was into being there."

Tabish said he was in a troubled marriage and Murphy was in a troubled relationship, and they gravitated to one another because of their problems.

"He (Binion) became distant with her, shoving her away, and here I was down here," Tabish said. "It was kind of in each others' lap, and I fell in love with her."

Tabish is expected to resume his testimony Monday. He has yet to be cross-examined by prosecutors.

Tabish and Murphy are each charged with murder, grand larceny and conspiracy in the Sept. 17, 1998, death of Binion. According to authorities, the two forced Binion to ingest heroin and Xanax, then suffocated him in a plot to steal his silver and other valuables.

Defense attorneys contend Binion died of an accidental drug overdose. Murphy and Tabish were convicted by a jury of murder in 2000, but the convictions were overturned on appeal.

In the courtroom of District Judge Joseph Bonaventure Friday, Tabish described in great detail his extensive business ventures, from his business washing 18-wheelers in Montana to a telemarketing shop and a trucking company, MRT Transport, that hauled sand and other aggregate in Southern Nevada. Tabish said he met Binion in early 1998 in the restroom of Piero's, a Las Vegas restaurant.

"We were both at the urinal," he said. "He looks over and said, 'You look familiar.' "

Tabish told Binion he was from Montana, where Binion had a ranch, and the two hit it off.

"He reached over to shake my hand, I figured, what the heck, I like this guy," Tabish said.

Binion asked Tabish if he was interested in hauling sand from Binion's other ranch in Nye County. That sand turned out to be worthless, but Tabish said he quickly became friends and business associates with Binion. Tabish spent about five days a week in Las Vegas -- his wife and children remaining in Montana -- and Tabish regularly visited Murphy and Binion at Binion's Palomino Lane home.

"It became a real family type deal," Tabish said. "They'd call. I'd go over."

"He really opened up, a really warm-hearted guy," Tabish said. "I really liked Ted because it was apparent he was really a wealthy guy, and he's got an old Dodge truck with the paint peeling off. He'd rather be driving that than a Mercedes Benz."

"He'd drink, he'd smile, he'd talk. He was very intoxicating to be around," Tabish said.

Tabish said Binion's health started to decline after he lost his gaming license for good.

"He was complaining about his colon hurting, he was complaining about his intestine hurting. ... It was easy to diagnose as a lay person. 'Ted, you've got to lay off the booze.' "

Tabish said Binion told him he was going to start using heroin to quit drinking.

"In Montana, heroin is a real ugly word," Tabish said. "I didn't want to be around it."

In what Tabish referred to as "the silver episode," Tabish recounted how Binion originally sought to sell his silver fortune in 1998, but later backed out. Tabish acknowledged he had arranged to receive a finder's fee for the sale of the silver, but he denied prosecutors' contentions that he had negotiated the deal behind Binion's back.

"Oh yeah, Ted promoted that," Tabish said. "He knew about it."

Binion hired Tabish to build a vault to store Binion's silver in the summer of 1998. Tabish said he built the vault, buried it in the desert in Pahrump, then filled it with Binion's 48,000 pounds of silver.

"This thing was a behemoth," Tabish said. "I mean big."

He, Binion, and Binion's ranch manager, David Mattsen, were the only ones who had the combination to the safe. Tabish said Binion told him if he ever died, he should remove the silver, liquidate it, then put the proceeds in a trust for Binion's daughter, Bonnie.

" `You keep the combination,' " Tabish said Binion told him. " `You are the silver guy.' "

Tabish said Binion told him shortly before he died that he was going to take Xanax to help him quit using heroin. Tabish said he was at a North Las Vegas construction business the morning of Binion's death, and not at Binion's home, as prosecutors allege.

In the 48 hours after Binion was found dead, Tabish said he called then-Nye County Sheriff Wade Lieseke Jr. and told the sheriff he was heading out to Pahrump with heavy equipment to dig up the silver.

"I was not trying to steal the silver," Tabish said. "You've got a Burger King right next to you. As people are driving up getting their hamburgers, we're out there."

Tabish said when Nye County sheriff's department investigators arrived at the scene and started questioning him, he lied to them about his purpose for being there because he had already cleared the project with Lieseke.

Tabish's ex-wife, Mary Jo, has given a statement to authorities contradicting Tabish's whereabouts the morning of Binion's death. But Tabish's attorney, J. Tony Serra, said Bonaventure has, for now at least, ruled that the ex-wife will not be allowed to testify as a rebuttal witness for the prosecution.