Gobbo told cops Mick Gatto wanted to bed her

Gang-war barrister Nicola Gobbo and underworld figure Mick Gatto gave police a ­romantic sideshow to Australia’s greatest legal scandal.

Along with the trove of information about Nicola Gobbo’s clients, police also took notes of her rock ’n roll crazy life. Picture : Ian Currie

“He is just trying to bed her and has a crush on her.”

With this rough and ready prose, Nicola Gobbo’s handler shows why they were working for Victoria Police and not Mills & Boon. Nevertheless, Officer Fox’s summary of the gang war barrister and police informer’s account of how Carlton Crew figure Mick Gatto fell for Gobbo provides a ­romantic sideshow to the greatest legal scandal to hit Australia.

“She can’t believe he has fallen for her,” Fox wrote in 2008, according to diary notes released by the Lawyer X royal commission that detail her claims about how Gatto attempted to romance her.

Mick Gatto. Picture: Keryn Stevens

The tale of how the underworld figure — acquitted of the shooting murder of hitman Benji Veniamin — developed feelings for Gobbo is set out in hundreds of pages of police contact reports that also detail her complex relationship with jailed drug lord Tony Mokbel, her erratic emotional state, her failing health and her obsessive contact with detectives during her volatile life as the most valuable but toxic informer in the history of Victoria Police.

But long before she was dubbed Lawyer X, Gobbo was ­Informer 3838 and, according to Fox’s electronic and written diary notes from 2007 to 2008, she was ­betraying her criminal clients on an industrial scale.

Along with the trove of information about Gobbo’s clients, the police also took notes of her rock ’n roll crazy life.

One account of the Gobbo-Gatto association, as noted in Fox’s contact reports, states: “She was right in that Gatto did not ring her for the weekend — she thinks for some type of punishment re being out with Rob Karam (now a jailed drug lord) and the others on Friday. She plans to tackle this by not seeing Gatto for a few days. This will get him jealous, she thinks.

“Give him some of his own medicine. Warned (Gobbo) about playing games with him. She knows this. Talk about this may be good in that he needs a clear message that she is not interested in him and friends only, as last week was too much for her.

“She got nothing done at work because out with him all the time. She can’t go on like this, it is too much. She will head off shortly and plans to be home before 10pm. I will check around then to make sure she is home.”

In 2007-08, Gobbo was at the height of her double-dealing and grappling with what she told police was the attention of Gatto.

“Gatto: He rang her today saying he had checked his messages for Friday and someone had apparently left a message. He was checking if it was her. This, in her opinion, is bullshit.

“It is an excuse to ring her. Then he asks what she is up to and if want (sic) to go out for dinner.”

Mick’s jealousy

On some nights, there was a sense of urgency among police about her socialising with Gatto, and while the classical setting of Lygon Street for the head of the Carlton Crew was mentioned, so was a Japanese restaurant where they drank a $200 bottle of wine.

“Message from 3838 (Gobbo): Gatto is picking her up in any ­minute. Then she is off to Lygon Street. Please ring her — need to talk,” Fox wrote.

“She just wants to check that the tracker is working alright. Confirmed it was last time checked. She does not know where she is going yet. Presumes it is normal place in Lygon Street.”

His notes continue: “She will ring me when she finishes. Waiting for Gatto to arrive. She will see when he pulls up. Talk about his jealously towards her. Looks like the week is starting over again to be another ‘Gatto-filled week’. She plans to be a few hours with him then has to go because of the workload she has. General talk re this and how busy she is. Gatto is here. She will ring me later.”

Once home, she called Fox. “She says her personal judgments of people are right,” he noted. “He acted very jealous of her and what she did on the weekend. He stated he had a problem with her and her meeting males (sic) friends on the weekend, although he says he is not with her so it is not his place.

“Gatto told her I can tell that (Gobbo) is falling in love with him. She put him straight to say no way, not ever that way with her.

“She told him that he must be on drugs to have an attitude like that. He did not take it very well. Got very jealous. It is not my place to say who you should be spending time with on weekends, just don’t shove it in my face.

“He did the cold shoulder with her in the car. They went to a Japanese restaurant near Flower Drum. $600. $200 bottle of wine.

“Gatto says we can’t go to Lygon Street tonight because too many people are talking about them. She asks what this means. He said this means the truth in that they know we are courting.

“(Gobbo) can’t believe his attitude. Basically the whole night was consumed talking about this topic. He told her “you are falling in love with me aren’t you”. Discussed how this is actually him saying that he is falling for her and (Gobbo) has knocked him down. She can’t believe he has fallen for her.”

Fox then noted: “She is acutely aware that he is just using her and wanting her for ‘meat’ (sex). Gatto is getting a tatto (sic) of Graeme (Kinniburgh) put on his chest or stomach!!!”

Romantic interest

The police notes reveal how they also tried to coach her in her contact with Gatto, and believed much of his contact with her was motivated by romantic interests.

“Talk about how today’s contact was all about Gatto testing her reaction — is she with Carlton crew or back with Brunswick crew,” Fox noted.

“His reaction is a possession thing and fear because Tony is back and she may go back to him. General talk re Gatto and his reaction towards her. He is just trying to bed her and has a crush on her.”

In a note headed “Risk to HS (Gobbo) verses reward for her and us” the police note the following: “The fact that she is suspect on the Mokbel side and if she goes into the Carlton crew now what that will mean and risk of her identity being known. They will all be sitting in jail and have to work it out.

“Re-enforced she does not have to see Gatto and owing to ­tonight if she does not want to see him any more — we are happy with that; her call.

“Furthermore there is a real possibility that she will get intel from Gatto that will be so specific that we may not be even able to use. Therefore just making her think of the big picture. She has done her bit and got good results. She cannot keep going. And needs to get her life back.”

In addition to Gatto, woven through multiple diary entries ­recording her face-to-face and telephone contact with her police handlers are some of the biggest names of the gang war, including Mokbel.

Tired of Mokbel

In the report, police observe that by this time she is growing tired of her dealing with Mokbel.

“One of the driving things why she came to us in first place is the controlling way Tony had over her,” Fox notes.

“She understands she has to break free from this and the only way is to give it to him and have nothing more to do with him. General talk about ways she is to tackle Tony and tell him he is wiped. He is not going to like it and will eventually turn on her.”

In sections, the contact report entries read more like therapy ­sessions for Gobbo as she struggled to recover from a stroke.

“She is in a foul mood,” Fox’s notes state, before going on to summarise the discussion with Gobbo: “Health: Talk about she is out of Panadine (sic) Forte. Her jaw is sore and this is aggravating her temper.

“(Gobbo) is sick of everything at the moment. She claims she needs a sea change and reduce stress in her life. Talked about how we are working towards this. This does not help when she is in acute pain. She feels she cannot take time off because she won’t get paid. Needs to work for the money. (Gobbo) depressed about her life and all the issues in it.”

The desperate double life of the lawyer who would spark the royal commission that on Monday saw the appointment of a special prosecutor to consider criminal charges against her and police is captured in the police reports: “She is slowly knocking off the ­circle of crooks in her life.”