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Lawyer X: New inquiry documents show depth of conflicts in Tomato Tins case
Gangland figures behind the world’s largest importation of ecstasy have indicated their willingness to appeal convictions based on Nicola Gobbo’s human informant role, with new inquiry documents shedding light on how greatly their cases were affected.
Naomi Neilson
New documents from the lawyers behind the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants (RCMPI) have shed light on the depth of conflicts behind a police operation tasked with bringing down the gangland figures responsible for the world’s then-largest importation of ecstasy tablets, of which criminal barrister Ms Gobbo was involved.
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Between August 2008 and April 2009, approximately 33 individuals were arrested and charged with various offences relating to the drug-related operations. The documents, from counsel assisting Chris Winneke QC, Andrew Woods and Megan Tittensor, have indicated that Ms Gobbo may have acted – and conflicted – up to 10 of the accused.
In particular, the lawyers suggested Ms Gobbo’s conflicts arose from her role in finding and passing on information on the shipment details and the accused’s locations for the purpose of installing listening devices. The evidence also relied on the Victorian Police tasking Ms Gobbo to “source intelligence, including from her clients”.
Ms Gobbo herself suggested that police would not have been able to make the arrests and track down the shipment without her information, writing in June 2015 to assistant commissioner Stephen Fontana that the Calabrian crime family had been told that the bill of lading “was given to police by an informer”, resulting in their arrests.
Appeals are already underway in relation to Ms Gobbo’s role in the drug bust – dubbed the “Tomato Tins” importation – including by Rob Karam, Jan Visser and Saverio Zirilli. In a later letter, Ms Gobbo listed that her “most significant crimes and/or arrests” were Mr Karam, John Higgs, Pasquale Barbaro and 33 of the co-accused individuals.
The Tomato Tins case hinged on the bill of lading provided to Ms Gobbo by her client Mr Karam. The documents indicated that Ms Gobbo had photocopied the bill of lading and had given the copies to police before assisting in the translation from Italian.
Following Mr Karam’s arrest and conviction, it was clear that Ms Gobbo had continued to represent him, on related charges and on others. Lawyers for the commission said it was also important to note that Ms Gobbo had represented him in a prior importation case where he would “start talking about other things” with her.
Mr Barbaro – who was given a 30-year sentence – recently lodged an appeal. Lawyers for the commission suggested his case may have been affected because “by the time Mr Barbaro had instructed his solicitor to brief Ms Gobbo as counsel in his case, she had already been involved in the provision of critical evidence to police”.
