Court bid to determine extent of Lawyer-X role in underworld kingpin’s trial
Victoria’s supreme court is to set straight disputed facts in the case of drug kingpin Rob Karam and his involvement with supergrass Nicola Gobbo.
What was Nicola Gobbo’s involvement in the trials of underworld kingpin Rob Karam, which left him jailed for 35 years for drug trafficking?
What was the involvement of the lawyer turned police informer, if any, in Karam’s defence arguments in the so-called “tomato tins” trials and did it deprive him of fair legal representation?
These are some of the questions Victorian Supreme Court judge Robert Osborn will try to answer in the lead-up to Karam’s bid to have his conviction overturned, after the Court of Appeal on Tuesday outlined questions to be answered ahead of his appeal.
Judges David Beach and Maree Kennedy handed down their decision to expand the scope of some of the questions Justice Osborn will tackle as part of an attempt to determine disputed facts in Karam’s case.
Based on the updated questions, the court will attempt to determine who was provided with information about Karam that Ms Gobbo, known as Lawyer X, gave to Victoria Police, and how that information was used by the Australian Federal Police, Customs and the Australian Crime Commission.
Secondly, the court will attempt to identify what Ms Gobbo’s involvement was in the “tomato tins” trial.
Karam was ultimately convicted for his role in the scheme, which involved an attempt to import 15 million ecstasy pills hidden in tomato tins from Italy in 2007.
“What was Ms Gobbo’s involvement in the conduct of the applicant’s defences in the Inca and tomato tins trials (if any)?” the amended question reads. “Did Ms Gobbo’s conduct deprive the applicant of independent representation at the Inca or tomato tins trials or materially affect the course of the Inca and tomato tins trials?”
Operation Inca was the name of the joint AFP and Victoria Police investigation into money laundering and drug importation after they seized the 4.4 tonnes of ecstasy.
As a result of the investigation, 28 people were convicted, including Karam.
Justice Osborn will attempt to determine if and when the AFP and Victoria Police knew Ms Gobbo was a registered police informer and if and when she informed on Paul Dale – a former detective who is alleged to have been involved in the murders of another police informant, Terry Hodson and his wife, Christine – and other clients.
The judges’ decision came after the Andrews government introduced the Human Source Management Bill to parliament on Tuesday.
If the bill passes parliament, people who reveal the identities of police informants will face significant jail time.
The bill will be read for a second time on Wednesday.
Victoria’s Supreme Court referred issues about disputed facts in the Karam case to Justice Osborn of the trial division in March in a bid to prevent the Court of Appeal from embarking on a fact-finding mission.
The matter is expected to be heard again in the trial division on September 26.
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