Lawyer X documentary: The untold story to air on Sky News
Set against the backdrop of Melbourne’s gangland war, a new Lawyer X doco will lift the lid on one of the most controversial chapters in Australian criminal and legal history.
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A who’s who of Melbourne’s news and legal worlds joined forces to launch the Herald Sun and Sky News Lawyer X documentary last night.
Hosted by Sky News presenter Peter Stefanovic at the Old Melbourne Gaol, it featured a Q&A with award-winning reporters Anthony Dowsley and Patrick Carlyon, the team that broke the story.
Lawyer X: The Untold Story documentary will air on Monday and Tuesday nights on Sky News.
The documentary, set against the backdrop of Melbourne’s gangland war, will lift the lid on one of the most controversial chapters in Australian criminal and legal history.
It will reveal how barrister Nicola Gobbo, also known as Lawyer X, represented Melbourne gangland’s biggest criminal names — all while working as a secret police informer rolling over on her own clients.
At the launch, Herald Sun editor Damon Johnston welcomed guests including former detective Charlie Bezzina, Zarah Garde-Wilson, and Mandy and Nikki Hodson, whose parents were killed in one of Melbourne’s most contentious gangland killings.
“A royal commission is underway and Victorians are at last finding out not just how their justice system was corrupted, but who did it,’’ Johnston said.
“At a time when the freedom of the press is being challenged like never before, the story of Lawyer X represents a beacon in the ongoing fight for the public’s right to know. I also need to thank our very own lawyers — Lawyer JP and Lawyer Q.
“Without John-Paul Cashen and Justin Quill helping steer us through treacherous waters, this story would have remained buried and Anthony and I may well have ended up in one of these cells.”
Sky News CEO Paul Whittaker said: “It is a wonderful example of true collaboration across News Corp, with the Herald Sun helping all of us to bring this remarkable story to life.”
The documentary comes ahead of two other major Lawyer X projects.
Lawyer X: The Scandalous Story Of How Melbourne’s Gangland War Was Really Won is the forthcoming book by Dowsley and Carlyon to be published by HarperCollins Australia. Foxtel is also working on a drama series.
Asked about his role in breaking the Lawyer X story, Dowsley said: “I’m so head down and still working, I’m not really thinking about it.”
Prominent barrister Zarah Garde-Wilson was a late arrival, after getting her jailhouses mixed up. She mistakenly fronted up at Pentridge. Asked who should play Gobbo in the Foxtel series she said: “Rebel Wilson. She’s my favourite Australian actor.”
Former detective Bezzina said the documentary would be a prelude for “much bigger stories”.
“Crime fascinates everybody, and this is a continuing and evolving story,” he said.
“At the end of the day its about getting to the truth.
“It’s about getting the right person behind bars and making them accountable for their actions.”
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