November 25th 2024.
A recent ruling by NSW Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Fullerton has exposed the corrupt actions of the police and former director of public prosecutions, John Champion, in their efforts to bring down gangland figure Tony Mokbel. The judge's findings were made as she addressed legal questions pertaining to Mokbel's appeal against his drug trafficking and importation convictions.
Mokbel, who is currently serving a 26-year sentence, made an appearance in court today, dressed in a suit. His appeal centers around the fact that he was unknowingly represented by Nicola Gobbo, also known as Lawyer X, who was working as a registered police informer at the time. Gobbo had been acting as Mokbel's lawyer for four years before he fled to Greece in 2006, and continued to advise him after his extradition in 2008.
Despite striking a deal with prosecutors and pleading guilty to two counts of drug trafficking, Mokbel was not aware of Gobbo's role as an informer until the High Court lifted gag orders in 2018. Justice Fullerton, in her 600-page judgment, addressed 24 legal questions before Mokbel's appeal could proceed.
The judge's most damning finding was that Justice Champion, during a meeting with senior Victoria Police members in 2012, was made aware of Gobbo's past as an informer but failed to disclose this information to his clients, including Mokbel. This, according to Justice Fullerton, was a clear breach of his duty to disclose relevant information.
Furthermore, the judge noted that it wasn't until 2016 that Justice Champion took any steps to inform Mokbel and others about Gobbo's role. She also found that Gobbo had deceived three of Mokbel's associates into giving evidence against him, under the guise of providing independent legal advice.
In a scathing assessment, Justice Fullerton also found that Victoria Police had attempted to pervert the course of justice by using Gobbo as an informer. She stated that four members of the police force had participated in a joint criminal enterprise with Gobbo to achieve this unlawful objective.
The judge was also critical of the police's failure to seek legal advice before registering Gobbo as an informer and their lack of transparency with Gobbo's clients about her role. She dismissed ex-chief commissioner Simon Overland's evidence on this matter as "unworthy of acceptance" and stated that had proper legal advice been sought, Gobbo would not have been used in the way she was.
As Justice Fullerton delivered her decision, Mokbel smiled and waved to his family in court before being escorted out by custody officers. His case will now proceed to a directions hearing on December 19.
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