Police want to keep sensitive information secret in Evangelos Goussis’ appeal

The gangland hitman convicted of killing Lewis Moran is fighting to expose secret police dealings that could be key to clearing his name.

Evangelos Goussis is fighting to overturn his conviction over Lewis Moran’s murder.

GANGLAND hitman Evangelos Goussis’ bid to overturn his conviction over the public execution of Lewis Moran has become a fight over secret files.

Goussis, a former boxer, is serving a life sentence over two gangland hits, including the notorious 2004 murder of Moran at the Brunswick Club in Sydney Rd.

The one-time Olympic prospect is appealing his conviction on “fresh evidence’’ which has been unearthed, including revelations exposed by the Lawyer X royal commission.

The latest court action centres on a failure by Victoria Police to disclose potentially critical information to Goussis’ legal team before his 2008 trial.

Goussis is also seeking to unravel secret dealings between police detectives and someone who implicated him in the Moran murder.

Evangelos Goussis was convicted of the shooting murder of Lewis Moran.

Lewis Moran was shot dead at the Brunswick Club.

Goussis’ trial heard that he was one of two hitmen who burst into the pub, gunning down Moran in front of patrons on March 31, 2004.

It heard Goussis chased and murdered Moran while the second gunman shot and wounded Moran’s mate, Bert Wrout.

The hit is understood to have been arranged by Carl Williams on behalf of drug lord Tony Mokbel.

Williams pleaded guilty to his role in the Moran hit while Mokbel fought the charge and was acquitted at trial.

Goussis’ appeal also seeks to understand the impact barrister turned police snitch Nicola Gobbo – aka Lawyer X – had on his case.

The royal commission into Gobbo’s involvement with police exposed a number of issues, including that she regularly met with and advised witnesses in criminal proceedings where she was acting for an accused person.

Bert Wrout was wounded during the hit on Lewis Moran but survived.

Goussis was also found guilty of the gangland slaying of Lewis Caine, another crime he says he did not commit.

On Friday, the fight centred on material Victoria Police do not want to hand over to Goussis’ legal team, which Chief Commissioner Shane Patton has made public interest immunity claims over.

The fight echoes other appeals over the Lawyer X saga – all involving sensitive information which the force does not want to release.

Goussis’ legal team argue they want full disclosure and are willing to make undertakings to the court not to disclose any of the sensitive information, even to their client.

Victoria Police’s lawyers have urged the court to take an “orthodox” approach to its public interest immunity claims or appoint “amici curiae” – a third party – to review the materials.

The public interest immunity claims involve redactions to documents made by police, coloured green, yellow, blue and red.

The Supreme Court was told on Friday the red category redactions involved “high sensitivity”.

Goussis’ barrister, Paul Smallwood, told the court that in Mokbel’s appeal, also sparked by the Lawyer X saga, the Supreme Court allowed his lawyers to see sensitive documents after making undertakings not to pass on the information to their client.

Mr Smallwood argued the same undertakings would be made in Goussis’ case.

Registrar Deidre McCann said there was an “extraordinary situation surrounding some of the information you are seeking.”

The court will make a ruling this week.