Girlfriend sought in Binion probe

Amid growing questions, Metro homicide detectives are taking a closer look at last week's unexpected death of longtime gaming executive Ted Binion.

Homicide Lt. Wayne Petersen said today that detectives were looking to question Binion's girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, a former topless dancer who had a stormy relationship with Binion.

"We would like to talk to her to clear up some things, but we haven't found her yet," Petersen said.

Murphy, who did not show up to a prayer service for Binion on Monday, was believed to have been quarrelling with Binion in the week before his body was discovered at his Las Vegas home beside an empty bottle of Xanax, a prescription anti-depressant. Murphy reported his death to police about 3:55 p.m. on Thursday.

"There are a few things that we're looking into," Petersen said. "There's still nothing to indicate that it's a homicide."

Petersen said detectives were looking at a possible romantic link between Murphy and Rick Tabish, a Missoula, Mont., contractor who was arrested over the weekend with two other men for allegedly digging up $3 million to $4 million in silver Binion had buried in Pahrump.

"Even if there's a romantic relationship between the two, it doesn't elevate this to a homicide," Petersen said. "It doesn't change the result of the autopsy, and it won't change the result of the toxicology tests."

Clark County Coroner Ron Flud said this week the autopsy found no signs of trauma on Binion's body that would suggest foul play.

But Flud was waiting to rule on the cause of his death until he receives the toxicology results, which could be in later this week.

Sources close to the police investigation said officers found heroin paraphernalia at Binion's house the day of his death.

Binion, the son of Benny Binion, the late Horseshoe Club hotel-casino founder, had a history of heroin use, which landed him in trouble with state gaming regulators. But in recent years, amid a strict testing schedule, he was said to have been free of the addictive drug.

Several of Binion's associates have told police that Binion used Xanax to help himself stay off of heroin, sources said.

But his sister, Becky Behnen, insisted he was not known to take prescription medicine.

Behnen, the new owner of the Horseshoe hotel-casino, has encouraged detectives to treat her brother's death as a homicide until it is proven he died of an accidental drug overdose.

On Monday, Binion's longtime lawyer Rick Wright said the alleged theft of the silver by Tabish raised more suspicions about Binion's death.

Tabish, 33, who built the vault in Pahrump for Binion, comes from a prominent family in Missoula. He has a criminal record there, including a 1988 conviction for cocaine trafficking.

His Las Vegas lawyer, Louis Palazzo, on Monday insisted that Tabish was carrying out Binion's wishes in digging up the silver coins and bars.

Tabish, Palazzo said, telephoned Nye County Sheriff Wade Lieseke three times on Friday, the day after Binion died, to let him know they were digging up the silver, which was buried in an underground vault on a piece of property Binion owned on the main highway in Pahrump.

"He let the sheriff know exactly what time he was coming out," Palazzo said.

Repeated attempts to reach Lieseke were unsuccessful, but Lieseke reportedly has acknowledged receiving calls from Tabish. The sheriff, however, has indicated he didn't give him permission to dig up the silver.

Palazzo said Binion had instructed Tabish to move the silver to his nearby ranch after his death, where he felt it would be protected better from any dispute over his multimillion-dollar estate.

Sheriff's deputies arrested Tabish and his cohorts, including Binion's ranch manager, about 2 a.m. Saturday after they had loaded up the millions worth of silver into an 18-wheeler dump truck.

All three men, according to Palazzo, are facing charges of burglary, grand larceny and conspiracy to commit grand larceny.

Palazzo said he was confident Nye County authorities would end up dropping charges against the suspects.

"This is the most egregious thing I've ever come across," he said. "This is a joke."

But Wright this morning called Tabish's story "ludicrous," saying that no one from the Binion family knew about the secret arrangement.

"Why was he up there in the middle of the night?" Wright asked. "This is good. Ted's last wishes were that he should take his silver?"

Wright said Tabish never contacted him before digging up the buried treasure.

The silver, which Wright estimated to be worth $3 million to $4 million, was moved to Pahrump several months ago after gaming regulators forced Binion to sell his 20 percent interest in the Horseshoe.

Binion, whose funeral was to be held today, had been storing the valuables in a vault at the Horseshoe up to that point.

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