Taxpayer’s money funding charges against Graham Potter

Graham Potter has secured four legal representatives to help him fight drug trafficking and conspiracy to murder charges – and they’ve been paid for by taxpayers.

Graham Potter is fighting drug trafficking and conspiracy to murder charges. Picture: Brendan Radke

Extra taxpayer funds have been given to gangland murder plot accused Graham Potter to help him fight drug trafficking and conspiracy to murder charges.

Mr Potter, 65, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court via video link from the Metropolitan Remand Centre to see how his case was progressing on Wednesday.

His lawyer Veronika Drago told the court an application for more Legal Aid funding to help prepare the case has “finally now been sorted”

Mr Potter had earlier been approved funding for three legal representatives: two counsel to represent him in court, and a lawyer to assist in preparing the case.

But he made a further application for another lawyer for additional preparation.

This means he will now have four legal representatives working on his case – on the taxpayer’s purse.

Magistrate Andrew McKenna granted defence more time to prepare, saying the usual timeframe guidelines set around committal hearings did not consider “cases of this complexity or detail”.

Ms Drago now has the task of determining which witnesses she wants to call at a committal hearing, expected to be held later this year to determine if there is sufficient evidence for Mr Potter to stand trial.

“There is a lot of work to be done for everyone involved in this case,” Ms Drago said.

Mr Potter was arrested in Queensland and extradited to Melbourne in February last year.

He is charged with two counts of conspiracy to murder over an underworld murder plot, and trafficking a commercial quantity of MDMA, connected to the 2007-08 mafia-led “Tomato Tins” gang.

He will return to court for a further committal mention on June 2.