Lawyer X Nicola Gobbo threatened by Carl Williams’ hit man, court hears in trial against state of Victoria

Former gangland lawyer turned informer Nicola Gobbo has taken the stand in a landmark trial against the state of Victoria, marking one of the few occasions she has spoken publicly since her identity was revealed in 2019.

Turncoat barrister Nicola Gobbo has taken the stand in her lawsuit against the state, revealing she was threatened by Andrew “Benji” Veniamin after representing rival Lewis Moran in court.

The former gangland lawyer, 51, 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.

Nicola Gobbo is suing the state of Victoria. Picture: ABC News

Ms Gobbo began her evidence on the third day of trial on Wednesday appearing remotely via audiovisual link.

Her image was hidden from the public gallery and livestream, and only visible to those at the bar table and bench, as a security measure.

Ms Gobbo’s testimony marks one of the few occasions she has spoken publicly after her identity was revealed in 2019.

Under questioning from her lawyer, Tim Tobin SC, Ms Gobbo said she first met Tony Mokbel in 1998 on the second floor of the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court while he signed surety papers for his brother who was facing fraud charges.

“I certainly didn’t know who he was or any sort of notoriety or otherwise,” she said.

“Even as I sit here now I can still remember, I almost couldn’t have a conversation with him because he was constantly on his phone in his usual loud voice and it was difficult to know if he was listening to what I was saying.”

Ms Gobbo says Andrew Veniamin threatened her outside her home after it was revealed she represented Lewis Moran. Picture: Jessica Lee

Ms Gobbo said she was told she was the youngest woman to ever sign the bar roll as a 25-year-old in 1996.

The court heard she soon began doing bail applications for “almost every big drug arrest in Melbourne” including members of rival crews.

She described how Andrew “Benji” Veniamin, a notorious hit man for Carl Williams, threatened her outside her house after it was revealed in the media she had represented Lewis Moran in a bail application.

“He was literally parked on the nature strip outside of where I was living in a screaming rage,” she said.

“Mr Veniamin was just so irate and abusive.”

Ms Gobbo said she couldn’t recall at the time if she knew Veniamin’s reputation but she described him as a “frightening sight”.

Nicola Gobbo says she faced a lot of pressure from Tony Mokbel. Picture: Supplied

A month or two later, Ms Gobbo said Veniamin was dead.

Ms Gobbo told the court she faced extreme pressure from Mokbel after she began representing him and his crew in court.

“A lot of screaming phone calls, a lot of directions, specifically being directed I was not to appear for Mr Moran on the basis I was not part of his crew, I was apparently part of the Mokbel crew,” she said.

“It was quite extraordinary.”

In her evidence, Ms Gobbo denied she slept with Williams but admitted it was a “poor decision” to attend the christening of his daughter, Dhakota, in 2003.

At the time, Ms Gobbo said Melbourne was in the middle of the gangland wars and she was warned by her underworld clients to avoid certain people.

“It was kind of wink wink, nudge, nudge, don’t be near this person, don’t have a coffee with this person, don’t be in public with this person,” she said.

“Then lo and behold they would be murdered.

“It’s almost unbelievable, I’d never known anyone to be murdered before.”

Carl Williams visited Gobbo in hospital after she had a stroke.

In 2004, Ms Gobbo said she suffered a stroke which saw her partially paralysed and unable to speak for several days.

Various underworld figures including Mokbel and Williams visited her while she was in hospital.

The court heard she came to be an informant after she was enlisted to represent a Mokbel associate who was facing serious drug charges in a bail application.

Ms Gobbo said she was in tears outside court because she knew she couldn’t get him bail without implicating Mokbel when two police officers offered to help.

They drove her to a carpark near Footscray Market where they discussed how they could assist each other.

Ms Gobbo said another meeting was organised with police from a newly established covert unit.

During her evidence, Ms Gobbo was asked about a phone call she received from Herald Sun journalist Anthony Dowsley in March 2014.

“He apologised and said words to the effect he might cause some problems for me,” she said.

Ms Gobbo said Mr Dowsley told her he had reliable information from police that she was the source of 5500 information reports and a front-page story was being published the next day.

Nicola Gobbo’s barrister, Tim Tobin, arrives at the Supreme Court in Melbourne. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

After the phone call, Ms Gobbo said she rang senior police who called back an hour later and said they would not be seeking an injunction to stop the story’s publication.

“I don’t know if I can repeat the words I used in a public forum, but I was very upset,” she said.

“I said (they) could be added as a defendant later on if (they) didn’t want to stop the publication.”

Ultimately police did seek an injunction but by the time it was granted, the court heard the newspaper’s country edition had already been printed.

Earlier, Ms Gobbo outlined her upbringing, describing her first run in with police in 1993 after she purchased a home in Carlton with her then boyfriend, Brian Wilson, who she split the title with despite paying the deposit herself.

Then a Melbourne University law student, Ms Gobbo said she was arrested at work and taken back to her home because police claimed her boyfriend was a “hardened street dealer”.

Officers found what they called a “green vegetable matter” and amphetamines in her bedroom, and larger amounts of drugs in other parts of the house belonging to Mr Wilson which she said she knew nothing about.

Ms Gobbo said her view of police at the time was that they were trustworthy and “could do no wrong”.

“They put the fear of God into me,” she said.

“The one positive of having been in trouble with police in that point of my life was to steer me wide away from any interest in using drugs.”

She was handed a 12-month good behaviour bond without conviction after admitting using and possessing drugs.

After that incident, Ms Gobbo said she was registered as a police informant for the first time, though she did know about her registration until a royal commission.
Ms Gobbo’s evidence will continue Thursday.