Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Binion admits association with reputed mob figure

Suspended Horseshoe executive Ted Binion has acknowledged being in the company of reputed mob figure Herbie Blitzstein 25 times within the past year.

And when Binion was pressed by Deputy Attorney General Kirk Hendrick during a five-hour public deposition Wednesday, he suggested his relationship was more than a social one.

Asked if Blitzstein, a former top lieutenant of the late Chicago mobster Anthony Spilotro, ever worked for him, Binion replied, "not really" instead of giving a definite no.

His lawyers, Richard Wright and Mark Ferrario, instructed him not to answer further questions about Blitzstein, including whether he was aware of the underworld associate's notorious reputation in Las Vegas.

The 53-year-old Binion, however, acknowledged he had told a Horseshoe cashier New Year's Day that $11,500 in checks Blitzstein wanted to cash at the downtown casino were good.

His testimony indicated he has spent more time with Blitzstein than what he previously admitted in a SUN interview last week. Binion said then he had run into Blitzstein several times at adult nightclubs and had gone to dinner with him a few times.

Throughout the deposition, sometimes marred by bitter exchanges between his lawyers and Hendrick, Binion was forced to duck questions about his alleged continued drug use and role in the Horseshoe Club.

All three members of the State Gaming Control Board sat through the deposition, but did not ask any questions. The Control Board plans to present evidence to the Nevada Gaming Commission April 29 that Binion violated a September 15, 1994, stipulation to stay drug free and out of the Horseshoe.

Wright and Ferrario angrily accused Hendrick and the Control Board of trying to "poison the well" against Binion and subvert traditional rules of discovery in their zeal to drive him from the casino industry.

Binion again denied using drugs, even though three hair tests since October have shown traces of cocaine and marijuana in his system.

"Hair testing is a commercial hoax," Binion said. "Hair testing doesn't mean anything."

Binion, however, admitted at the end of the deposition that he had lied about his drug use while under the influence of heroin several years ago.

"When I was a heroin addict, I lied to everybody," he said.

Binion also acknowledged that until last week, when he became a "teetotaler," he would drink as much as 12 ounces of alcohol a day.

He was forced to explain why he wields comp power at the Horseshoe, accumulated $50,000 in credit, traveled around town in Horseshoe limousines and was able to cash more than $116,000 in personal checks and money orders there.

Binion testified that he authorized 15-20 food comps at the Horseshoe while under suspension.

But records compiled by state gaming agents were presented to Binion and his lawyers showing that Binion and his girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, together had signed off on 44 comps at the Horseshoe's steak house and coffee shop.

Records show the 24-year-old Murphy, a former topless dancer whom Binion said was a regular marijuana user, once had a $2,000 case of white wine delivered to the couple's home from the Horseshoe.

Binion said he told Murphy to return the wine. He added that he didn't know how she was able to obtain authority to sign for comps.

Since September 1994, Binion said, he has called for Horseshoe limousines to pick him up about 15-20 times, and he estimated that Murphy received 70-80 free rides.

But records compiled by gaming agents show Horseshoe limousines made at least 425 trips to Binion's home during that period.

Binion said he has not gotten involved in Horseshoe operations, even though he acknowledged socializing with top baccarat pit supervisors.

He testified that his sister, Horseshoe Co-President Becky Behnen, once asked for his help in resolving a credit dispute with a Taiwanese high-roller, but he declined.

He admitted, however, that he had sent Murphy last November to visit the high-roller in Taiwan.

Binion said Murphy and other Horseshoe employees went to Taiwan for the opening of the Horseshoe patron's shopping center.

But Hendrick countered that Murphy, who often referred to herself as Sandy Binion, told U.S. Customs agents she was there to collect debts for her "husband's casino."

Binion testified that he often was forced to tell Murphy, who no longer lives with him, to stop smoking marijuana. He said she lighted up in his presence five or six times over the past 18 months.

Murphy, who asserted her Fifth Amend-ment right against self-incrimination when questioned by gaming agents last month, is no longer said to be in Las Vegas.

Binion said he doesn't know where she is and only speaks to her when she contacts him by phone.

Binion

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