Police seek Binion records

County grand jury subpoenas seeking records have been issued in the investigation into the Sept. 17 death of former casino executive Ted Binion.

The subpoenas were served as part of efforts by homicide detectives to trace the relationship between Binion's girlfriend, Sandy Murphy, and Montana contractor Rick Tabish in the months leading up to Binion's mysterious death.

Binion's older brother, former Horseshoe Club President Jack Binion, has alleged in a sworn affidavit that Murphy and Tabish were having an affair before Ted died. Tabish was one of three men arrested Sept. 19 for allegedly trying to steal a fortune in silver Binion had buried in a vault in Pahrump.

The elder Binion, the executor of his brother's multimillion-dollar estate, also has charged that Murphy and Tabish either took or know the whereabouts of valuables missing from Ted's 2408 Palomino Lane home.

Binion has alleged that his brother suspected Murphy was cheating on him and wanted her cut out of his will before he died.

Using the grand jury to issue subpoenas is a convenient way for police to obtain records in an investigation. It does not mean the grand jury has been asked to participate in the probe.

Last week, as part of the legal battle over Ted Binion's estate, Murphy and Tabish were ordered to appear in court Feb. 4 to answer questions under oath about the missing valuables, which include a $300,000 collection of rare currency. Both Murphy and Tabish have refused to be interviewed by homicide detectives about Ted's death.

Ted's estate, meanwhile, has issued its own subpoenas in an attempt to chronicle reported out-of-state trysts between Murphy and Tabish at posh Beverly Hills hotels. The couple was observed at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills the weekend before Ted died.

Murphy reported discovering Ted's body at the Palomino Lane home at 3:55 p.m. on Sept. 17 next to an empty bottle of the prescription sedative, Xanax.

Police found no signs of foul play, but toxicology tests showed Ted had lethal levels of both heroin and Xanax in his system. That led Clark County Coroner Ron Flud to classify the manner in which Ted died as "undetermined," and it prompted homicide detectives to step up the investigation into his death.

"We're still working, and we're still moving ahead on the case," Homicide Lt. Wayne Petersen said Thursday.

Petersen referred questions about the subpoenas to Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger, who has been assigned to help homicide detectives in the probe.

Roger declined comment.

Last week, Roger, a member of the district attorney's elite Major Violators Unit, and detectives quietly executed a search warrant at the Palomino Lane home looking for more clues to Ted's death. A police affidavit requesting the search warrant remains under seal.

A trail of cellular phone conversations between Murphy and Tabish was uncovered in October by private investigator Tom Dillard, a former homicide detective hired by the estate.

The Sun reported Oct. 23 that records show Tabish called Murphy's cell phone at 3:48 p.m. Sept. 17, just seven minutes before Murphy reported Ted's death to police.

Dillard told the Sun at the time that there was "significant communication" between Murphy and Tabish the last several months of Binion's life.

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