Gobbo claims ex-cop added man's murder confession to her statement

Lawyer-turned-snitch Nicola Gobbo has accused a senior police figure of doctoring a witness statement provided under her name.

The claim raises corruption allegations at the centre of the most expensive investigation in Victoria Police history.

Ms Gobbo told the royal commission investigating her conduct as Informer 3838 that she had no knowledge of a purported confession by convicted drug dealer Mark Perry to the murder of "vampire gigolo" Shane Chartres Abbott, despite it being included in a draft statement attributed to her.

Shane Chartres-Abbott leaves the County Court in May 2003.Credit: Andrew De La Rue

She also exposed the fierce police politics surrounding the case, testifying she was warned by a detective working on the murder investigation, Ron Iddles, not to trust the most senior ranking officer overseeing it, then-deputy commissioner Simon Overland.

Under questioning from counsel assisting Chris Winneke, Ms Gobbo told the commission: "The last thing that Ron Iddles said to me was to not do it, to not be a witness."

Mr Winneke: "Did he say why?"

Ms Gobbo: "Yes, he said Overland would burn me and not to trust him."

Mr Perry is one of three men acquitted of the 2003 murder of Chartres-Abbott, a male prostitute who once claimed to be a 200-year-old vampire. Chartres-Abbott was shot dead outside his Reservoir home as he was heading to court to defend himself on rape charges. His murder remains unsolved.

The mysterious draft statement attributed to Ms Gobbo are at the centre of the royal commission's ongoing investigation.

Conflicting accounts from two detectives who travelled to Bali in 2009 to interview her about the Chartres-Abbott murder are also in question.

Mr Iddles, the lead detective on the case, says he has no knowledge of the Perry confession or the draft statement which contains it. He is expected to appear before the royal commission next week.

Mr Iddles was the leading the Briars taskforce – a joint Victoria Police and Office of Police Integrity probe established to investigate the suspected involvement of police in Chartres-Abbott's murder.

Retired detective inspector Stephen Waddell, Mr Iddles’ immediate supervisor, insists the draft statement is the version he took from Ms Gobbo.

Mark Perry was acquitted over the Chartres-Abbott murder in 2014.

According to the draft statement, Mr Perry confessed to Ms Gobbo during a chance meeting in the office of prominent criminal solicitor Jim Valos that he arranged for a notorious underworld killer – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – to murder Chartres-Abbott.

Ms Gobbo disputes this and firmly backed Mr Iddles’ version of events.

"I have seen a draft statement relating to Operation Briars," she told the royal commission in a statement published on Wednesday.

"I can say that during the taking of that statement in Bali, I did not say that Mark Perry confessed to me. I believe that Ron Iddles will confirm this.

"I have never seen that entry until I was shown it recently. It must have been added without my knowledge. I assume it must have been added by DI Waddell but that is a matter for him to answer."

Ms Gobbo told Mr Winneke she had no recollection of ever meeting Mr Perry.

Mr Perry, Warren Shea and Evangelos Goussis were acquitted in 2014 of the murder of Chartres Abbott. The case was heavily reliant on the evidence of the gangland hitman who also implicated retired police detectives Peter Lalor and David Waters in the 2003 killing.

Mr Waters and Mr Lalor, who have consistently denied any knowledge or involvement in the death of Chartres-Abbott and were never charged, have both provided statements to the royal commission.

A heavily redacted version of Ms Gobbo’s statement was published by the royal commission last July.

The royal commission will assess whether there is evidence of a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

The Briars taskforce ran for seven years and cost Victorian taxpayers an estimated $30 million without securing a conviction.

It was overseen by a steering committee compromising Mr Overland, Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius, and current Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton, who was working in a senior role with the OPI at the time.

The taskforce investigation was on the brink of collapse when Mr Iddles was directed by Mr Overland to take a statement from Ms Gobbo.

Mr Iddles took the statement but refused to swear it into evidence. He believed it added little of value to the case and could trigger a royal commission into Victoria Police.