Business President overseeing construction of new $2 billion Bitcoin data center near Williston, North Dakota was involved in high-profile 1998 Las Vegas case that had it all! Alleged murder, heroin overdose, Vegas stripper, mob ties, and a vault filled with silver bars!

Montana-based FX Solutions President Richard Tabish has served his time.

The Associated Press reported that Governor Doug Burgum was aware of Tabish's troubled past

“Yes, we were familiar with Rick’s background, including his parole in 2010,” Burgum spokesman Mike Nowatzki said in a statement. “He has done business in North Dakota for over a decade, to our knowledge without incident, including with a number of companies in the oil and gas sector.”

Interesting timing by the website The Cinemaholic as just on January 14th, 2022 they published a story titled "Where is Rick Tabish?"  It's basically a follow-up on a new Dateline NBC episode that aired that same week (Season 30, Episode 12) Titled "What Happened In Vegas". The episode is available at peacocktv.com.  Here's a report from the Associated Press on May 20, 2000

 The death of casino heir Ted Binion was surrounded by a tangled web of lust, drug addiction and buried treasure. But a jury ultimately unraveled the mystery, convicting the well-known gambler’s live-in girlfriend and her new lover.

Sandra Murphy and Rick Tabish were found guilty Friday of first-degree murder and other charges and could face life in prison without parole. The sentencing phase was to begin Tuesday.

Defense attorneys, who had argued that the 55-year-old son of casino legend Benny Binion died of an accidental drug overdose or committed suicide, vowed to appeal.

On September 17th, 1998 Ted Binion was found dead in his home, heroin, and Xanax were found next to the body.  Sandra Murphy was Binion's female companion who stood to make quite a bit in the inheritance. Rick Tabish was a friend of Binion's and was alleged to be having an affair with Murphy. The story from the Associated Press continues.

Prosecutors say Tabish was having money problems. He owed back taxes and had failing businesses. They say he and Murphy plotted to kill Binion _ making it look like an overdose _ so they could steal his considerable valuables.

Two days after Binion’s death, Tabish was caught digging up $7 million in silver the gambler had buried in Pahrump, Nev. He claimed he was carrying out Binion’s last wishes.

What was the vault and how was Tabish aware of it? Let's go back to the Cinemaholic

Sandy said, “Teddy started giving him jobs, you know, odd jobs here and there to do things for him. For example, he’s the one who built the vault.”  The vault that Sandy referred to was an underground storage space for Ted’s silver, money, and casino chips worth over $7 million. Only Ted and Rick knew the combination to open the vault back then. By then, the millionaire was banned by the Nevada State Gaming Commission to enter Horseshoe Casino, the lucrative family-run establishment.

Click the links for more detailed information about this very dark Vegas story.  It did seem to have a pleasant enough ending for both Murphy and Tabish.  Tabish was released in 2010.

Rick Tabish and his lover, Sandy Murphy, were convicted and later acquitted of murdering Binion. Rick Tabish has been serving time for burglary and grand larceny convictions that stemmed from the theft of Binion’s $7 million silver stash. Murphy already has completed her prison sentence for her role in the theft and has been living in California.

 

David Smith, a parole hearing examiner, said the Nevada parole board granted Rick Tabish’s release to Montana, subject to the approval of authorities in that state.

Clearly, this story was to come roaring back into the headlines as it was a very high-profile case that took place just over the last 20 years.  But I'm a sincere believer in "you do the crime, you do the time".

There's always time for reform and redemption.

It seems Rick Tabish was able to make his way pretty darn high up in the business world in just 12 years after his release. I wish him the best in this bitcoin mining endeavor. I may not understand bitcoin but a $2 billion investment in the Williston region is a massive undertaking.


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