Las Vegas NowI-Team: The Affair of Rick Tabish and Sandy Murphy

I-Team: The Affair of Rick Tabish and Sandy Murphy

The affair between Rick Tabish and Sandy Murphy gave the Ted Binion saga much of its sizzle. The two were convicted of murdering Binion because, in the eyes of many, they wanted to steal his millions and lavish it on each other.

If you ask police and prosecutors who worked the case, every one of them would say the two are guilty as sin, even though they were acquitted of murder in a second trial. So what became of the romantic relationship, especially since Tabish is still in prison while Murphy is not?

"I haven't talked to my wife since the trial, then she got remarried. I haven't seen the kids since June 24, 1999 or heard from them," said Tabish.

One price Tabish has paid for his sins is the loss of his wife and young kids. All contact ended when he was arrested and charged with murdering Binion. With him during the arrest was Binion's girlfriend Sandy Murphy.

Tabish says the only ones who've stuck by him during 10 years in prison are his parents, who've spent $3 million on his defense.

His is a classic Las Vegas morality play -- the contractor from Montana drawn to the bright lights and big money of Las Vegas, gets involved with powerful and dangerous people and succumbs to temptation.

It was the trial of the century, with sex, money, power, murder and Las Vegas. "Very unfortunate. If it was Missoula, Montana or anywhere else, and not Binion, I wouldn't have been charged. It wouldn't be an issue," he said.

His former co-defendant, Sandy Murphy, is living on a beach in sunny southern California. It is a far cry from the life Rick Tabish faces every day, but is he bitter about his former lover? "I haven't seen or heard from Sandy since the trial. That was it. I think we were both exhausted with each other -- with the whole thing," he said.

But for a time, they were inseparable. Murphy -- shapely, sassy, and stylish -- was perfect for the role of femme fatale in the Binion saga. She was much younger than Binion and had met him at a topless nightclub, a scene that was recreated in a cheesy made-for-TV movie.

The age difference and Binion's millions made it easy for the media drumbeat to portray Murphy as an ambitious gold digger, though she's said from the beginning it was a real relationship. "When we met, it's like a love story. He swept me off my feet. We fell in love and were a real couple. It wasn't always good times. There's good and bad in everyone. No relationship is perfect," she said in 2000.

Binion's booze and heroin habits made him tough to love at times, Murphy said. She and Tabish eventually admitted that they were drawn to each other while Binion was still alive and that it intensified after he died and the two became prime suspects in his death. When they started living together, it reinforced the suspicions of law enforcement.

Tabish now admits the relationship was a mistake. "Another poor decision. As bad as my marriage was, it wasn't that bad and I guess I got caught up emotionally. I really did," he said. "As things degenerated further in my marriage and I got her around and you got two lonely heads that are accused of the same thing together, and look at what is going to happen."

The images of the two in chains and smiling helped reinforce the idea they were in it together. They were portrayed as slick young hustlers who wanted Binion's fortune, and when Tabish was nailed while removing millions in silver from Binion's secret vault, prosecutors had what they needed, though Tabish insists even today that Murphy had nothing to do with any plan to take the silver. Her mistake was calling him four times while he was at the vault. "They were maintaining she was a part of this. They got her for burglary and conspiracy to rip him off. She didn't even enter the place and a phone call? When is an unrecorded phone call a threshold of evidence in any court," he said.

The two were convicted in 2000 of murder and more. Four years later, a second jury saw it differently. They skated on the murder charge and in the moments after the jury verdict, they embraced everyone around them, but not each other. "It wasn't by design. It just worked out that way," said Murphy after the verdict.

And that's the way it has remained. Although their names will forever be mentioned in connection with the other, there has been no communication since the second trial. "She needed to move on. I needed to move on. It was over with. It was over with the day we were arrested, virtually. A lot of people sell out. She could have sold out and I could have sold out. I mean, our attorneys came at us with that," said Tabish.

What Tabish meant by that is that each of them was asked to cut a deal and testify against the other, but they stuck together, at least until the trial was over.

In a message to Tabish, Sandy Murphy says her thoughts and prayers are with him. Murphy's Attorney Mike Cristalli said they wish Tabish well in his bid for parole.

Of course, the Binion family sees it much differently. They still believe these two conspired to murder Ted and that opinion isn't one that's likely to change.