Lawyer X billed Mokbel while he was being betrayed

Nicola Gobbo tried to convince a client to rat on the Mokbels as she billed Tony Mokbel for advice.

Nicola Gobbo convinced a client to inform against the Mokbel crime family, all the while billing Tony Mokbel for legal services, the Lawyer X inquiry has heard. Picture: Supplied

Victoria Police conspired with defence barrister Nicola Gobbo to convince one of her clients to turn informant against the Mokbel crime family at the same time she was billing Tony Mokbel tens of thousands for legal services.

The Lawyer X royal commission was told Ms Gobbo was an integral part of Operation Posse, a major drugs and Purana taskforce investigation launched into the Mokbel family’s criminal activities shortly before he fled to Greece.

The commission was told how, in October 2005, Ms Gobbo and her police handlers discussed how best to pressure her client, a speed cook who’d become infatuated with her, to also side with police.

The client was already facing serious drug charges. While on bail, he let slip to Ms Gobbo the location of one of the suburban labs where he was producing prolific volumes of methamphetamine, the drug that had fuelled Melbourne’s gangland war.

One of Ms Gobbo’s police handlers, referred to by the pseudonym “Sandy White”, told the hearing: “I think he volunteered that information because he wanted to have a social relationship with her.’’

Mr White is a former member of the highly secretive Victoria Police source development unit. Under cross-examination by counsel assisting Chris Winneke QC, he confirmed that he and Ms Gobbo workshopped over a series of meetings how best to convince the speed cook to “roll”.

They settled on arresting the cook based on information he had already provided Ms Gobbo about his clandestine lab and used the promise of a long stint behind bars to convince him to testify against Mokbel.

The cook was duly arrested in June 2007 and became a key witness against Tony Mokbel, his brother Milad Mokbel and other members of the drug cartel.

He received a heavily discounted sentence for his own drug offences and has been released from jail. Tony Mokbel was sentenced to 30 years in jail for multiple drug offences. He is seeking to have some of those convictions quashed following the exposure of the Lawyer X scandal.

The hearing was told that Ms Gobbo’s double dealing also carried a financial bonus. Between December 2005 and March 2006, the time she was working with police to bring down the Mokbel cartel, she billed Tony Mokbel $84,000 in legal fees.

A source development unit risk assessment of Ms Gobbo revealed that, although she was providing credible information against the Mokbel family, police were concerned at her apparent enthusiasm for the task.

Mr White said this was a common problem with informants. “They do tend to form a relationship with the handlers and you notice over time, they start to enjoy the role,” he said.

Mr Winneke: “She did enjoy acting as a police agent?”

Mr White: “Yes.”

The court was played an audio recording of a July 2006 meeting between Ms Gobbo, Mr White and another of her police handlers where she admits she has abandoned all notion of client confidentiality in her dealings with police.

In the conversation, Ms Gobbo urged police to be careful in how they used some of the information she was providing.

“I’ve chucked ethics out the window,’’ she told her handlers. “I’ve chucked legal professional privilege out the window. I’ve chucked my career out the window if any of this ever came out.

“I wouldn’t even be covered by insurance. I would be so f. ked it’s not funny. I can’t tell you those things if you’re gonna pass it on specifically.’’

Mr White said he told Ms Gobbo to not represent the cook and other clients she was informing against, but she refused.

“She did ignore that clear instruction on a number of occasions,’’ Mr White said. “I think her greatest concern was that she would be outed as a human source and she would be killed.’’