Columnist Jeff German: Binion case prosecutors come out swinging

Jeff German is the Sun's senior investigative reporter. His column appears Sundays. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-4067.

IF YOU'VE BEEN keeping a scorecard in the Ted Binion preliminary hearing, you've probably recorded more than a few strikes against the prosecution's witnesses.

Lawyers for Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish, the pair charged in Binion's slaying, have hurled some blazing fastballs past some of the district attorney's stars in the courtroom of Justice of the Peace Jennifer Togliatti.

By most observers, Steven Kurt Gratzer, a high-school Tabish chum who has claimed the 34-year-old Montana contractor sought his help in killing Binion, turned out to be a bust on the field. Prosecutors, however, brought in backup help to ensure Gratzer will get another chance at the plate when the trial gets under way during the regular season next year.

Then there's Peter Sheridan, who supplied Binion with 12 balloons of tar heroin the night before his murder. Sheridan acknowledged that he was on methadone, a drug used to treat heroin addiction, while testifying last week. So much for any kind of substance abuse policy in the league of legal warfare.

And let's not forget Tanya Cropp, a 24-year-old ex-Murphy friend, who was a little too honest about her failings on the playing field. Cropp testified that she lied on Murphy's behalf to investigators looking into Binion's Sept. 17 slaying. But then she acknowledged that she had lied to the grand jury when she was not under any obligation from Murphy to do so. That earned her a trip back to the minor leagues to sharpen her skills on the witness stand.

There were other witnesses who had trouble in the batter's box, as well.

But through it all, Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger and his players produced enough hits to ensure that Togliatti will order Murphy and Tabish to stand trial for Binion's murder when the exhibition season ends this week.

If Roger were talking about this case to media types, he probably would be the first to admit that some of his witnesses will need batting practice before the start of the trial.

But he also would find himself fawning over his new superstar, Dr. Michael Baden, the Mark McGwire of pathologists, who with one swing of the bat hit one out of the ballpark.

Baden, a pathologist who has testified in many high-profile cases, O.J. Simpson included, has determined that Binion died of suffocation, not an overdose of heroin and the prescription sedative, Xanax, as originally thought.

Murphy and Tabish have claimed that Binion's own drug use brought about his untimely demise.

Whoops. Time for a new defense.

Though it's clear that not all of Roger's witnesses are big league material, the defendants demonstrated last week that they have serious flaws in their own game.

Murphy turned out to be the best witness against herself, when prosecutors and then her own lawyer, Bill Terry, played a 20-minute videotape of Murphy giving a tour of Binion's home the day after his death.

On the tape, the dark side of Murphy -- the manipulative, foul-mouthed, materialistic side -- came through. Reporters were observed snickering when they watched it in court.

Rest assured that this side of Murphy won't play well with a jury.

Murphy is seen using expletives to accuse Binion's estate of stealing valuables from Binion's home, while she, herself, appears to pocket items that may have been involved in the former casino man's murder.

It's the same Murphy, who less than 24 hours earlier appeared so distraught over Binion's death that she had to be taken out of his home by paramedics on a stretcher and transported to a hospital.

The courtroom demeanor of Murphy and Tabish, meanwhile, has been the subject of much talk. Both have been observed glaring or laughing at witnesses at times, conduct that has not gone unnoticed by Togliatti, the commissioner of this game.

Tabish, a two-time convicted felon, it should be pointed out, is no Boy Scout either. He once stole a high-priced painting from his own lawyer in Montana.

Sure, some of the prosecution's witnesses have struck out during the preliminary hearing. Defense lawyers Bill Terry and Steve Wolfson, after all, have some of the best pitching arms at the courthouse.

By most accounts, however, the prosecution remains stacked with heavy hitters.

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