Current Royal Commission into Lawyer X gangland convictions on tainted evidence & police corruption

[Kurve]

To Royal Commission. Providing an interim report by July 1, 2019, and a final report by December 1, 2019.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced a royal commission into a number of gangland convictions which could be appealed due to the use by police of a criminal defence lawyer as an informant.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12...royal-commision-gangland-convictions/10577198

 

[Kurve]

How many female criminal barristers worked for Tony Mokbel? People are tweeting all over it's Zarah Garde-Wilson, if it's not she's just been put in a very bad position having no role to play in it at all. (and it's not her)

After a protracted legal battle, a series of suppression orders were lifted by the Court of Appeal on Monday morning, revealing the lawyer's role as a gangland informer.

The High Court then released a judgment blasting police for "reprehensible" conduct over their conduct regarding Informer 3838.

"The integrity of the criminal justice system is paramount, and all people charged with crimes are entitled to a fair trial, no matter who they are," he said.

Attorney-General Jill Hennessy said a royal commission was needed to get to the bottom of what went wrong, and prevent a repeat.

"Only a royal commission will get the answers needed so that something like this can never happen again," Ms Hennessy said.


The commission, to be funded to the tune of $7.5 million, will deliver an interim report by July 1 next year and conclude no later than next December.

The Premier said he was limited in what he could say about the matter, firstly because some court suppression orders remain in effect and secondly because the safety of at least one individual is at risk.

"That person has children and potentially the children of that person are at risk if we are loose in terms of commentary," he said.

Hundreds of convictions at risk

Informer 3838 claimed her information led to the convictions of hundreds of people.

"There were a total of 386 people arrested and charged that I am specifically aware of based upon information I provided to Victoria Police, but there are probably more because as you would know, I did not always know the value or use of some of the intelligence that I was providing," she wrote in a letter to police command.

The convictions in question include Mokbel's, but particularly the convictions obtained in one of Australia's largest ecstasy hauls, the infamous "tomato tins" drug case linked with the Calabrian mafia.

Federal police seized a container at Melbourne's docks in June 2007 filled with 4.4 tonnes of ecstasy hidden inside tomato tins shipped from Italy.

Mokbel's shipping industry inside man and former horse racing identity Rob Karam is serving more than 35 years’ jail for his role in the infamous case.

Karam's jail term is now in question, as well as that of Pasquale Barbaro, the head of the drug syndicate.


Another underworld figure, Frank Madafferi, was also sentenced over the bust.

Informer 3838 was registered as an informer in 2005 at the tail end of the gangland war.

She had a mix of motivations for turning "supergrass", the Court of Appeal concluded, including "ill health, feeling trapped in the criminal world of her clients and frustrated with the way criminals used the system and wanted to be rid of Tony Mokbel and his associates".

Her use as an informer "went right to the top" of Victoria Police, The Age was told.


In particular, three senior police officers were on a steering committee that oversaw investigations where Informer 3838 was either used, or detectives attempted to use her to gather information from allegedly corrupt police.

Former chief commissioner Simon Overland, current Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton – who was then at the Office of Police Integrity – and current Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius were all on the steering committee.

Mr Overland, then a deputy commissioner, is understood to have asked then-Briars taskforce investigator Ron Iddles to take a statement from her.

The Briars taskforce was investigating links between police corruption and the murder of self-professed vampire and male prostitute Shane Chartres-Abbott in June 2003.

It is understood Mr Iddles refused to get the statement signed, believing the use of the informer was so unethical it could lead to a royal commission.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/...-3838-20181203-p50jvn.html?platform=hootsuite

 

[Bunk Moreland]

They did well to hold this til after the election. Not that it would’ve made much difference in the end, given the margin.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Drugs and murder, much the same thing. I have no problem with him being locked up, regardless of how he got there.

It’s a fair stance to have but it won’t hold up. Taken on face value - that senior counsel informed while representing defendants - I don’t see how the convicted (incl Mokbel) don’t walk free here. You could not possibly argue a fair trial took place.

So they went to the lengths they did, but it’ll mean the the convicted walks. In a roundabout way, it’s never worth it in a practical sense either.

 

[Chameleon75]

How many female criminal barristers worked for Tony Mokbel? People are tweeting all over it's Zarah Garde-Wilson, if it's not she's just been put in a very bad position having no role to play in it at all.

After a protracted legal battle, a series of suppression orders were lifted by the Court of Appeal on Monday morning, revealing the lawyer's role as a gangland informer.

The High Court then released a judgment blasting police for "reprehensible" conduct over their conduct regarding Informer 3838.

"The integrity of the criminal justice system is paramount, and all people charged with crimes are entitled to a fair trial, no matter who they are," he said.

Attorney-General Jill Hennessy said a royal commission was needed to get to the bottom of what went wrong, and prevent a repeat.

"Only a royal commission will get the answers needed so that something like this can never happen again," Ms Hennessy said.


The commission, to be funded to the tune of $7.5 million, will deliver an interim report by July 1 next year and conclude no later than next December.

The Premier said he was limited in what he could say about the matter, firstly because some court suppression orders remain in effect and secondly because the safety of at least one individual is at risk.

"That person has children and potentially the children of that person are at risk if we are loose in terms of commentary," he said.

Hundreds of convictions at risk

Informer 3838 claimed her information led to the convictions of hundreds of people.

"There were a total of 386 people arrested and charged that I am specifically aware of based upon information I provided to Victoria Police, but there are probably more because as you would know, I did not always know the value or use of some of the intelligence that I was providing," she wrote in a letter to police command.

The convictions in question include Mokbel's, but particularly the convictions obtained in one of Australia's largest ecstasy hauls, the infamous "tomato tins" drug case linked with the Calabrian mafia.

Federal police seized a container at Melbourne's docks in June 2007 filled with 4.4 tonnes of ecstasy hidden inside tomato tins shipped from Italy.

Mokbel's shipping industry inside man and former horse racing identity Rob Karam is serving more than 35 years’ jail for his role in the infamous case.

Karam's jail term is now in question, as well as that of Pasquale Barbaro, the head of the drug syndicate.


Another underworld figure, Frank Madafferi, was also sentenced over the bust.

Informer 3838 was registered as an informer in 2005 at the tail end of the gangland war.

She had a mix of motivations for turning "supergrass", the Court of Appeal concluded, including "ill health, feeling trapped in the criminal world of her clients and frustrated with the way criminals used the system and wanted to be rid of Tony Mokbel and his associates".

Her use as an informer "went right to the top" of Victoria Police, The Age was told.


In particular, three senior police officers were on a steering committee that oversaw investigations where Informer 3838 was either used, or detectives attempted to use her to gather information from allegedly corrupt police.

Former chief commissioner Simon Overland, current Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton – who was then at the Office of Police Integrity – and current Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius were all on the steering committee.

Mr Overland, then a deputy commissioner, is understood to have asked then-Briars taskforce investigator Ron Iddles to take a statement from her.

The Briars taskforce was investigating links between police corruption and the murder of self-professed vampire and male prostitute Shane Chartres-Abbott in June 2003.

It is understood Mr Iddles refused to get the statement signed, believing the use of the informer was so unethical it could lead to a royal commission.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/...-3838-20181203-p50jvn.html?platform=hootsuite

It’s not her, she’s a solicitor not a barrister, and is still practicing with her own firm now. One of the articles has a statement from her that she’s preparing appeals for some of her clients.

 

[sprockets]

It’s a fair stance to have but it won’t hold up. Taken on face value - that senior counsel informed while representing defendants - I don’t see how the convicted (incl Mokbel) don’t walk free here. You could not possibly argue a fair trial took place.

So they went to the lengths they did, but it’ll mean the the convicted walks. In a roundabout way, it’s never worth it in a practical sense either.

Oh I understand about the importance of a fair trial. One thing that shouldn't happen is convicting innocent people. The thing is, these crims committed the crimes they were convicted for, it's just the question of how some of the evidence was gathered. Most of them should be retried.

 

[sprockets]

It’s not her, she’s a solicitor not a barrister, and is still practicing with her own firm now. One of the articles has a statement from her that she’s preparing appeals for some of her clients.

That narrows it down to about one other female I guess.

 

[Kurve]

It’s not her, she’s a solicitor not a barrister, and is still practicing with her own firm now. One of the articles has a statement from her that she’s preparing appeals for some of her clients.

I know it's not Zarah Garde-Wilson. Go back a page ... My point was its very very obvious who it actually is and imo I'm glad she's no longer practising, she is an absolute disgrace to the legal profession.

 

[Kurve]

that senior counsel informed

A registered police informant, it's actually mindblowing

 

[nylexbandit]

The Wikipedia history of one of the lawyers shows at one point someone put “known for being a police informant”. Now it may be for a different matter but makes me think people have known

 

[Kurve]

The thing is, these crims committed the crimes they were convicted for

Sprockets, we now can't be sure that they were convicted for the crimes they were charged with. Complex deal arrangements were made to plead to certain charges, backed up against a wall and following advice from their counsel who was actually working for the cops/prosecution.

 

[Opine]

I know it's not Zarah Garde-Wilson. Go back a page ... My point was its very very obvious who it actually is and imo I'm glad she's no longer practising, she is an absolute disgrace to the legal profession.

Why ?

 

[Melsy]

following advice from their counsel who was actually working for the cops/prosecution.

It doesn't quite work like that.

 

[Kurve]

It doesn't quite work like that.

No, it doesnt. Because I'm pretty sure this would be a first which is why we need a Royal Commission.

 

[Opine]

I know it's not Zarah Garde-Wilson. Go back a page ... My point was its very very obvious who it actually is and imo I'm glad she's no longer practising, she is an absolute disgrace to the legal profession.

It doesn't matter who the informer is. The issue is whether those entitled to privilege should be informed when privilege has been broken; and the conduct of Vic Pol as a model litigator.

 

[sprockets]

Sprockets, we now can't be sure that they were convicted for the crimes they were charged with. Complex deal arrangements were made to plead to certain charges, backed up against a wall and following advice from their counsel who was actually working for the cops/prosecution.

That's up to the courts. Did they get a fair trial? Most probably. If evidence was fabricated you might be right but there's no suggestion of it here.

 

[Melsy]

No, it doesn't. Because I'm pretty sure this would be a first which is why we need a Royal Commission.

Outcomes will be highly dependent on how this has been interpreted. Being a 'registered' informant with information against the lawyers client, if this is what you are saying is the case, will be tested, but if you have committed the crime, you have committed the crime.

Needless to say, don't tell your lawyer everything.

Lawyers will make money, but not necessarily will convictions be over turned.

 

[sprockets]

Hopefully this will give Vic Police the shakeup they deserve. For too long they've believed they run the State.

 

[Kurve]

It doesn't matter who the informer is.

I disagree, conflict of interest.

The issue is whether those entitled to privilege should be informed when privilege has been broken; and the conduct of Vic Pol as a model litigator.

Of course, that too. It's going to cost us over $7 million at a Royal Commission to sort that little technicality out.

 

[Melsy]

So counsel was a registered informant to police on their own client?

In Australia, legal professional privilege (also referred to as client legal privilege) is a rule of law protecting communications between legal practitioners and their clients from disclosure under compulsion of court or statute. While the rule of legal professional privilege in Australia largely mirrors that of other Commonwealth jurisdictions, there are a number of notable qualifications and modifications to the privilege specific to Australia and its states, and contentious issues about the direction of the privilege.

The Australian Law Reform Commission has adopted the terminology 'client legal privilege', as opposed to 'legal professional privilege', on the basis the privilege is held by the client not the lawyer.[4] 'Client legal privilege' is the terminology used in Commonwealth and state evidence statutes. However, the common law privilege remains almost universally described by courts as 'legal professional privilege'.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_professional_privilege_in_Australia

 

[sprockets]

So counsel was a registered informant to police on their own client?

It seems that way.

 

[Longmembrey]

It’s a fair stance to have but it won’t hold up. Taken on face value - that senior counsel informed while representing defendants - I don’t see how the convicted (incl Mokbel) don’t walk free here. You could not possibly argue a fair trial took place.

So they went to the lengths they did, but it’ll mean the the convicted walks. In a roundabout way, it’s never worth it in a practical sense either.

Haven't seen it suggested that it was a Senior Counsel, certainly neither of the lawyers mentioned here are QC / SC

 

[Opine]

I disagree, conflict of interest.



Of course, that too. It's going to cost us over $7 million at a Royal Commission to sort that little technicality out.

I consider that will be $ 7 million well worth spent in the public interest.

 

[Kurve]

Informant previously received $2.88 million in compensation by Victoria Police. Now is asking for more money.

There were a total of 386 people arrested and charged that I am specifically aware of based upon information I provided to Victoria Police but there are probably more because as you would know, I did not always know the value or use of some of the intelligence that I was providing. There was over $60 million in property and assets seized/restrained based upon my assistance and intelligence (a fact reported in The Age in an article about the results obtained by Purana in decimating the gangland criminals in 2009).

https://www.theage.com.au/national/...ter-became-informer-3838-20181203-p50jug.html

 

[Opine]

I disagree, conflict of interest.



Of course, that too. It's going to cost us over $7 million at a Royal Commission to sort that little technicality out.

a conflict of whose interest?