Infamous Lawyer X breaks silence in court

Former barrister turned infamous police informant Nicola Gobbo has taken the stand in her bombshell lawsuit against Victoria Police just a day after her legal team accused a former chief commissioner of “gross and reckless” failures to protect her.

The controversial legal figure, who was known as “Lawyer X” or informer 3838 until a 2019 High Court ruling, appeared via video link from an undisclosed location on Wednesday.

Ms Gobbo is suing the State of Victoria for damages over her outing as a police informant during Melbourne’s underworld war in the 2000s.

She was recruited by police in the 1990s and early 2000s and passed on information to her handlers about underworld figures, including some she represented legally.

Ms Gobbo alleges her handling as a secret informer was negligent and she was induced into providing information that caused damage to her health and career after she was unmasked in December 2018.

A royal commission found Ms Gobbo’s role as an informant had affected more than 1000 cases, branding it a “systemic failure”.

On Wednesday, the court was told Ms Gobbo – then a rising lawyer – had a lot more work involving drug charges pushed across to her after her interactions with drug kingpin Tony Mokbel.

“Were you seeking out police in relation to matters in the middle of 1999?” her barrister Tim Tobin SC asked Ms Gobbo.

“No, I don’t have a clear memory of what order or what happened,” she responded.

“Unless it’s a transactional arrangement, they’re not going to tell you what they might do with it.”

Ms Gobbo said she handled Mr Mokbel’s bail application for state-related charges of drug trafficking and Commonwealth importation charges, along with a summary offence of assaulting a corrections officer.

Ms Gobbo said she received pressure from various people to represent them, including gangland figure Lewis Moran, whom she also represented during a different bail application.

She explained that she received directions from varying groups, including not to appear for Mr Moran because she was “not part of his crew” and was part of the “Mokbel crew”.

On the other hand, Ms Gobbo was told by Mr Mokbel that she was to obtain bail for a man known as Mr Cooper as quickly as possible, the court was told.

“Mr Mokbel and I had aggressive, terse conversations,” Ms Gobbo said.

Ms Gobbo said Mr Mokbel had an interest in Mr Cooper obtaining and “remaining” on bail for “as long as possible” with conditions relaxed and reduced over time.

After appearing for Mr Moran, Ms Gobbo said she was threatened the following morning by hit man Andrew “Benji” Veniamin.

“I recall being frightened,” she said.

“(He) was so, so irate and abusive. I don’t know if I knew what his priors were … he was a frightening sight and had a frightening demeanour.”

Mr Veniamin died “a month or two” later, Ms Gobbo told the court.

Ms Gobbo is due to continue giving evidence through the afternoon.

On Tuesday, the court was told Victoria Police’s handling of Ms Gobbo was “negligent” and caused her to go into hiding – where she remains – due to fear of reprisals.

Ms Gobbo’s legal team said she was forced to move between 9-10 times in the space of 18 months after she was revealed to be informer 3838.

Her team said there was evidence officers at the source development unit wanted to stop using Ms Gobbo’s intel, but the steering committee for the source development unit, directed by then assistant commissioner Simon Overland, was pushing for continued use.

Mr Overland eventually became Victoria Police’s chief commissioner in 2009.

Ms Gobbo’s legal team has argued Mr Overland, as then head of the steering committee, was among the best informed officers in best practice management of high-value sources.

Ms Gobbo has accused Mr Overland of misfeasance in a public office, alleging he should have acted to prevent her being enlisted as an informant.

The State of Victoria has denied it owed the former barrister a duty of care, arguing she provided information voluntarily and with a full appreciation of the risks involved.

The judge-only trial continues.