The latest round of public hearings into the Australian Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants (RCMPI), has seen ‘Lawyer X’ – Nicola Gobbo – describe herself as “the biggest mess known to mankind.”
In part of the transcript read to the Commission, Ms Gobbo said: “I shouldn’t keep saying that I’m a pile of s**t, but I am the biggest mess known to mankind and you’ve inherited it.”
The hearing heard how she had approached federal agents to inform them on her clients, including Horty and Tony Mokbel and Rita Goldberg, because of a “moral problem” she had.
The trasncript was read as part of the first day of questioning of superintendent John O’Connor, who worked with Ms Gobbo as head of the Source Development Unit (SDU).
The evidence also heard of the “big egos” of the SDU, apart from Ms Gobbo, which included several senior members of the commission, including pseudonym officers White and Richards.
The Police ‘Operation Virus’ involved an investigation into Horty Mokbel’s alleged tax evasion and his eventual arrest for fraud. At the time, Ms Gobbo was with a firm that represented the gangland figure and worked closely with Horty Mokbel.
Mokbel was granted bail on the undertaking of surety, including property owned by Tony Mokbel, who was later charged with perjury for providing false affidavits.
Ms Gobbo made repeated attempts to provide information to the Police about her clients.
“Ms Gobbo sounded tired and emotional and said she was having trouble coping with the issue. Ms Gobbo reiterated that she did intend to compromise the AFP and remind federal agent 1 that it was she who approached the AFP,” the statement read.
Untrustworthy
Ms Gobbo was initially thought to have been untrustworthy and made a second attempt to contact the AFP regarding information about her clients.
The then-solicitor started representing Nachum and Rita Goldberg – a married couple who were being investigated over a money laundering scheme.
During Mrs Goldberg’s committal hearing Ms Gobbo again met with agents, offering them information about a fraud and money laundering operation
The information she told them was never used in any investigations, prosecutions or arrests, the AFP said in the letter.
