Drug baron Tony Mokbel has conviction quashed because of Lawyer X
One of Melbourne’s most notorious underworld figures, Tony Mokbel, has had a conviction quashed because of the Lawyer X scandal.
One of Melbourne’s most notorious underworld figures has had a conviction quashed because of the Lawyer X scandal, after government lawyers conceded there had been a substantial miscarriage of justice in his trial.
Tony Mokbel, who is in Barwon Prison convicted of several charges, has one less charge to worry about after a sensational turn of events in the Victorian Court of Appeal on Tuesday.
Mokbel’s case was appearing for a directions hearing, to set dates and debate legal matters ahead of an appeal next year.
But instead the court unexpectedly quashed the conviction after the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions conceded it should not stand because of Nicola Gobbo’s involvement in the original trial in 2006.
Prosecutor Rowena Orr QC told the court the CDPP’s “position” was that “the appeal be allowed, and the conviction set aside”.
She said Mokbel had already served his sentence for that particular charge and there should not be a retrial, which is a common process after an appeal is successful.
The court will reserve its decision on whether to order a retrial or an acquittal.
Mokbel infamously skipped the country during the trial for the cocaine importation charge and was found in Greece in June 2007.
He was convicted of cocaine importation in his absence while hiding out from the law in Greece, and sentenced to 12 years’ prison.
This conviction is now quashed because one of his lawyers, Ms Gobbo, was secretly a police informer.
In their reasons for sentence, judges Chris Maxwell and David Beach said between September 16, 2005, and March 21, 2006, Ms Gobbo was representing Mokbel during his trial.
Government lawyers’ conceded that at the same time Ms Gobbo was also suggesting ways Victoria Police could investigate Mokbel, providing police with information about his offending and criminal associates, and providing police with her views on his prospects at trial.
“In essence, the (CDPP) conceded that there was fresh and compelling evidence in relation to Ms Gobbo’s activities, which established that there had been a substantial miscarriage of justice in relation to (Mokbel’s) trial,” the judges said.
“We concluded that the concessions made by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions were appropriate.”
After being extradited back to Australia Mokbel was then convicted in 2012 of further drug charges and sentenced to a separate 30 years in prison.
His attempt to appeal those convictions because of Ms Gobbo is still underway.
Mokbel’s is the highest-profile appeal initiated after the truth came out about Ms Gobbo’s informing.
She was passing information onto police despite her clients’ right to legal privilege, which allows them to speak openly with their lawyers without fear of what they say being used against them.
A royal commission into the scandal found more than 1000 legal cases could have been tainted by Ms Gobbo’s involvement.
Faruk Orman, jailed for murder, and Zlate Cvetanovski, jailed for drug trafficking, have walked free in the past two years after successful appeals.
Mokbel remains in prison serving his sentence for the 2012 convictions.
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