Lawyer X: Gobbo claims police made her photograph gangland criminals at parties

Barrister turned informant Nicola Gobbo has told court she was asked by police to take photos of criminals at a gangland party.

Barrister turned informant Nicola Gobbo says police enlisted her to take photos of criminals at a gangland birthday party which she helped organise.

The former lawyer, 51, continued her evidence in her lawsuit against the state on Monday, where she revealed details about her time as an informant between 2005 and 2009.

The Supreme Court heard Ms Gobbo’s handlers at Victoria Police instructed her to help organise a 40th birthday celebration for an associate of Tony Mokbel in March 2006.

Ms Gobbo said she was listed on the invitation as the RSVP contact and police gave her a camera with instructions to photograph as many attendees as she could.

She said they later printed out the photos and asked her to identify who each person was.

The court earlier heard Ms Gobbo regretted attending the christening of gangland figure Carl Williams’ daughter Dhakota, where she was photographed grinning alongside Williams and notorious hit man Andrew “Benji” Veniamin.

Nicola Gobbo pictured with Gangland boss Carl Williams and underworld hit man Andrew `Benji’ Veniamin at the christening of Williams’ daughter, Dhakota.

When she was first recruited as an informant in September 2005, Ms Gobbo said she raised concerns about her safety but was told her identity would be kept secret.

“I was assured this was a special, highly trained, dedicated unit that was doing things vastly different to the way it had been done before,” she said.

The court heard she began regularly meeting with her handlers in “seedy, broken down motels”.

Ms Gobbo said she was told only five police members knew she was an informant, but she was gradually introduced to more handlers over time.

“Obviously I told no one,” she said.

When driving to meetings, Ms Gobbo said she was instructed to follow a car or a vehicle would follow her while she was receiving directions over the phone.

Ms Gobbo said she was instructed to follow a car or a vehicle would follow her while she was receiving directions over the phone. Picture: Supplied

The court heard she racked up parking tickets and at least one speeding fine as a result of the meetings, but they were either paid for by police or dismissed.

Ms Gobbo said her handlers also encouraged to spend more time with her clients.

“(The) view was that the more time you spend with people they were interested in… the more confident these people would be about revealing things,” she said.

As time went on, Ms Gobbo said she began receiving tasks from police and she was made to feel like “one of the team”.

“They said words to the effect of ‘you’re doing an amazing job’,” she said.

“It’s frankly embarrassing.

“I was in circumstances where I could not see a way out and made to feel that what I was doing was so vital and important and the right thing to do.”

Ms Gobbo claims police were giving her instructions. Picture: Supplied

She also claimed her handlers gave her movie and book recommendations about “secret informers and secret police agents”.

Asked if she had sexual relations with one of her clients, Ms Gobbo denied she had but she did tell her handlers she thought he had a crush on her.

“They encouraged me to take advantage of that situation for their benefit,” she said.

She also denied having any prior knowledge that Tony Mokbel was planning to skip bail in March 2006 while she was representing him in a trial for drug importation.

Ms Gobbo is suing the State of Victoria, alleging Victoria Police induced her into snitching on her clients and her safety was endangered after she was unmasked as Lawyer X.

The state is defending the lawsuit, claiming Ms Gobbo chose to become an informant with full appreciation of the risks involved.

The trial continues.