Ms Gobbo allegedly turned informer as a result of being charged with trafficking amphetamines in 1993. Two years later she was registered as a police informer. She later became a defence barrister, while still acting as an informer for the police against her defendants. This is a major breach of the legal principle of obligation of confidentiality in the lawyer/client relationship, and may invalidate many convictions.
During the Melbourne gangland wars, a large number of criminals were killed in retaliatory strikes, including one man being shot dead in front of his son at a game of sports. It was one of the biggest and worst gangland wars in Australian history, with 36 known criminals being murdered between 1998 and 2010.
The naming of Ms Gobbo has been described as a serious risk to her life. In point of fact, Ms Gobbo has apparently been at risk since at least 2010,, according to a recent statement made to ABC News. Under a court suppression order, Australian media were not permitted to mention her name. However, this information was available online, and in one case she refused to give evidence because she had received a death threat.
The risks to her life are arguably as dangerous as some of her former clients. Some of her clients included Calabrian Mafia heavy hitters, and a rather large selection of known violent criminals. Some of the criminals involved in the Melbourne gangland wars were known to be deliberately silencing informers, so these threats can be considered very real indeed. One of her children is also allegedly believed to have since received a death threat.
In addition to this very dangerous situation, being revealed as a police informer has effectively destroyed her legal career. She has complained about her treatment as a witness, claiming that Victoria police did not give her sufficient protection in a lawsuit in 2010.
Some of her former clients, in another very ironic twist, may be released as a result of possible legal malfeasances due to her acting as a police informer while also acting as their defending lawyer.
Victoria police made every effort to ensure that her name was not released. According to one source, millions of dollars were spent on legal avenues to try to prevent her naming. The court, nevertheless, raised the suspension of her naming this week.
Things may get worse for informer 3838. There is currently a Royal Commission being held into police handling of informers, and she is very much one of the subjects of this investigation.
An ugly situation
The use of informers by police is hardly new. However, it is also notable that many of the people under investigation by the Royal Commission are in some way involved in legal practices. It may well be that there is a pattern of “hiring” police informers from within legal practices, and this is one of the more serious aspects of scrutiny.
It is very unlikely that police were unaware of the legal obligation of confidentiality between lawyer and client. Whether or not they were aware of the legal ramifications of this particular case is unclear, however the fact is that many of convicted criminals may face at the very least a review of their cases or overturning of their sentences based on this information.
The Melbourne gangland wars involved some of Australia’s most notorious criminals, many of whom are now dead, but their associates are alive and well. This case has exposed a very broad range of possible breaches of law, legal practice, and common sense in terms of risks to witnesses. The mere fact that informer 3838 could be searched online by anybody doesn’t say much for the actual depth of police protection.
One of the subjects of the Royal Commission, a lawyer, has in fact been murdered. The added irony is that after all this time, the Melbourne gangland wars may not yet quite be over.
