Former top cop Simon Overland grilled over role in Lawyer X scandal
Former top cop Simon Overland has unravelled while being quizzed about the Lawyer X scandal and who bore responsibility for the chaos caused by Nicola Gobbo’s informing.
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Simon Overland has admitted police may have perverted the course of justice and accepted he was ultimately responsible for leading an investigation which allowed Nicola Gobbo to inform on her client.
In his most significant concession to the royal commission so far, Mr Overland agreed even if he wasn’t aware Gobbo was double crossing her gangland client, he should have known.
The former top cop’s evidence continued to unravel as he admitted he failed to ask his investigators “obvious” questions, including whether Gobbo was representing the same drug cook in 2006 she was also providing information to her handlers about.
The Royal Commission heard investigators organised a sting on the man, known only as Mr Cooper, with the help of Ms Gobbo — who then went on to represent him after his arrest.
Mr Overland said he knew his investigators to be competent and highly-experienced and “assumed they would be dealing with these issues”.
But under scrutiny from counsel assisting the commission Chris Winneke QC, Mr Overland accepted he was responsible.
“You accept responsibility for their actions because you were, in effect, their line superior?” Mr Winneke asked.
Mr Overland simply said: “I do.”
“I certainly agree the ethics were f----d,” Mr Overland said.
Asked by Mr Winneke if the process could amount to “illegal conduct”, Mr Overland said: “potentially”.
“Could it be, for example, that it might have a tendency to pervert the course of justice?” Mr Winneke asked.
“It could do,” Mr Overland said.
Despite this, Mr Overland refused to accept he had failed to do his job properly.
Mr Winneke put to him it was “fanciful” he did not know Gobbo was representing Mokbel at a high-profile cocaine trafficking trial, again challenging his earlier evidence.
“Given the huge number of people who were under investigation at that time ... I couldn’t tell you who was representing everyone,” Mr Overland said.
Despite his admission, Mr Overland refused to accept he had failed to do his job properly.
FIERY EXCHANGE AT COMMISSION HEARING
The ex-police chief has faced a fiery exchange at the royal commission with his evidence being slammed as “unbelievable” and “beggars belief”.
Mr Overland returned to the witness box on day two of his appearance at the Lawyer X inquiry to explain his role in the legal scandal.
Within minutes of taking the stand, Mr Overland’s earlier testimony — that he had no idea barrister-turned informer Nicola Gobbo was informing on her clients — came under intense scrutiny.
The former police chief yesterday said if he knew the gangland lawyer was snitching on clients, he would have taken action to stop it.
Mr Overland said he discussed these concerns with his investigators and instructed them not to receive information from Gobbo which related to people she was representing.
He added that it was simply “coincidental” Gobbo had been registered as an informer at the same time detectives began investigating her high-profile client, Tony Mokbel.
Counsel assisting the commission Chris Winneke QC asked Mr Overland why Gobbo continued to represent the drug baron in 2006 after she was registered by police in 2005 to help bring down the Mokbel cartel.
“You can’t have it both ways,” Mr Winneke said.
Mr Overland told the commission it was a “messy” period, but his understanding at the time was that Gobbo was informing on others within the Mokbel syndicate, not Mokbel himself.
Mr Winneke said it would have been “obvious” Gobbo was continuing to represent Mokbel in court and the former top cop’s evidence was “simply not correct”.
“It beggars belief, Mr Overland that you could have been giving your investigators those clear and direct instructions and all of this was then permitted to happen,” he said.
“It is unbelievable, I suggest to you,” Mr Winneke said.
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Mr Overland responded: “well no, that’s what happened.”
Asked if he made a note of his instructions to investigators, he said he could not recall, but conceded there was no evidence he had.
Mr Overland earlier admitted he stopped keeping a police diary or daybook during the period of Gobbo’s informing.
The former chief commissioner is the latest high-ranking officer to reveal he did not keep a diary.
Current police chief Graham Ashton and Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius last week told the commission they stopped taking diary notes within months of each other.