Mokbel,one of the most prominent and recognisable figures in Melbourne’s gangland war of the early to mid-2000s,,arguing that by working for both sides,Gobbo contaminated his case.
Tony Mokbel in a prison van after his day in court on Tuesday.Jason South
Facing cross-examination from prosecutors on Wednesday morning,the 58-year-old told the Supreme Court that Williams had warned him not to trust her when he was extradited to Australia from Greece.
“He said to me,‘Don’t trust her’ ... He said other things,but I’ll leave that aside,” Mokbel told Justice Elizabeth Fullerton.
Mokbel has repeatedly told the court that despite such warnings and rumours,he had trusted Gobbo implicitly and continued to employ her while she was informing against him.
The issue came to a head after Mokbel fled to Greece in 2006,when he was charged with commissioning two murders:the 2003 slaying of drug dealer and hot dog vendor Michael Marshall,and the 2004 execution of gangland rival Lewis Moran.
Mokbel sought out Williams,asking that he sign a statement saying that Mokbel had nothing to do with the two slayings.
Williams had already pleaded guilty to organising the murders,and told now-retired judge Betty King that Mokbel wasn’t involved in the hits. But Gobbo refused to visit Williams and obtain the statement,saying the pair were no longer getting along.
Mokbel said Gobbo had warned him Victoria Police’s Purana taskforce would “continue charging me with other murders until they find you guilty,and they’ll give you life”.
Mokbel,and would repeatedly inquire as to why he hadn’t left yet.
Drug kingpin Tony Mokbel claims barrister-turned-informant Nicola Gobbo encouraged him to flee to Greece to evade murder charges.
“‘You’re still around?’” Mokbel claims Gobbo told him. “She just wouldn’t stop.”
Mokbel said she told him:“If you do get found not guilty for one[murder],Purana is going to continue to give you more charges for other murders.”
Mokbel says Carl Williams told him not to trust Nicola Gobbo.Jason South
He claimed he responded:“Are you cracking jokes or what?”
Mokbel also rejected Gobbo’s assertion to her handlers that he would identify corrupt officers within the force.
“One hundred per cent,I didn’t say I would,” he said.
The court also heard allegations that someone had told Mokbel that Gobbo had been sleeping with police and using drugs,but that he didn’t believe it.
“I didn’t believe it ... there was a rumour floating around,” Mokbel said.
Police ultimately dropped the Marshall murder charge against Mokbel,and he was found not guilty of Moran’s death.
Mokbel suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was. He spent 24 days in a coma and was left with cognitive issues affecting his memory,planning,organisation and reasoning skills.
The court is hearing Mokbel’s evidence in 30-minute sessions so that the former drug kingpin is not impeded,or overwhelmed while giving his evidence.
Mokbel was found guilty of what became known as the Plutonium charge in 2006,for importing a commercial quantity of cocaine from Mexico.
He was arrested as a fugitive in Greece at an Athens coffee shop in 2007 after fleeing while on trial,and was later identified as the mastermind of a drug cartel known as The Company.
Following the Plutonium conviction,Mokbel pleaded guilty to three counts of drug trafficking – referred to as the Quills charge,Magnum charge and Orbital charge – and was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison in July 2012.
Mokbel served the full sentence on the Plutonium conviction before he appealed,the appeals court quashed it and Commonwealth prosecutors discontinued the offence. Prosecutors conceded that due to Gobbo’s involvement,Mokbel had suffered a serious miscarriage of justice.
Former lawyer and police informer Nicola Gobbo in 2008.Joe Armao
The appeals court then reduced the sentence on the Quills,Magnum and Orbital charges after Mokbel argued he had served five years in prison for a crime he was no longer convicted of.
All three convictions were subjected to scrutiny by the,which found they were potentially contaminated as a result of misconduct by Gobbo and Victoria Police.
He is the third person to have a conviction quashed because of the misconduct of Gobbo and the Purana taskforce,whose exploits formed the basis for theUnderbelly TV series.
Mokbel is presently eligible for parole in 2031. His appeal trial continues.
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