"It's not just Mr Zirilli, it's not just Mr Madafferi. "The Chief Commissioner has form for making the production of these documents as difficult as possible," Mr Gumbleton told the court. The High Court ruling upheld successive defeats for Victoria Police in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, with the 2½-year saga costing taxpayers more than $6.3 million in legal bills.īut new police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton appears to be prepared to re-litigate the issue, filing a similar public interest immunity claim to block the release of information it holds about Mr Acquaro.Īt Zirilli’s bail hearing, Mr Gumbleton said his client opposed Victoria Police's application because the same type of public interest immunity claim had already been definitively rejected by the courts. "The public interest in preserving anonymity must be subordinated to the integrity of the criminal justice system." #MISS CLEO INFORMER SNOW FULL#"The maintenance of the integrity of the criminal justice system demands that the information be disclosed and that the propriety of each convicted person's conviction be re-examined in light of the information," the full bench of the High Court ruled in 2018. That case was argued and repeatedly lost on similar grounds, ending in a stinging condemnation of police by the High Court. The decision to block the release of Mr Acquaro's file comes even though Victoria Police lost a similar legal battle to block disclosure of Ms Gobbo’s informing history to her former clients. It routinely fights the release of this kind of information using what is known as a "public interest immunity" claim. Victoria Police has long maintained concealing the identities of informers is necessary to ensure their safety and protect the effectiveness of its intelligence operations. "We don't say game, set and match – we say that is to be determined by this court."īut Victoria Police is refusing to hand over information about Mr Acquaro that could conclusively resolve outstanding questions about his status, arguing the force never "confirms or denies" whether a person has been an informer. "We say there is a very strong suggestion that was a registered informer and was so throughout this investigation, prosecution and subsequent appeals," Mr Gumbleton told the court. The controversial issue was aired during a bail application for Zirilli in late September ahead of the Court of Appeal considering a challenge to his 2011 conviction and 26-year jail sentence on the basis his case was contaminated by Ms Gobbo and, potentially, Mr Acquaro. The truth of these allegations has taken on new importance following the launch of appeals against convictions for drug trafficking in the Court of Appeal by two major players in the tomato tins case, Zirilli and Madafferi.ĭetermining whether Mr Acquaro was a police source or ever provided information about his clients has been described as the "elephant in the room" by barristers Mark Gumbleton and Adam Chernok, who are running the Zirilli appeal. Some reports have alleged Mr Acquaro was co-operating with law enforcement authorities as far back as 2008. Mr Acquaro, who was a confidant of a who's who of Melbourne organised crime for more than two decades, has repeatedly been named in the media as a police informer. Speculation about Mr Acquaro's relationship with police has been widespread since the prominent underworld solicitor was shot dead outside his Brunswick East gelato shop in 2016, and in the wake of exposure of Ms Gobbo's double life as a barrister-turned-informer. The convictions of more than 30 other criminals – most stemming from the world’s largest ecstasy bust, known as the "tomato tins" case – could also be put at risk if evidence emerges that Mr Acquaro was in fact co-operating with law enforcement against the interests of his clients. Nicola Gobbo with Joe ‘Pino’ Acquaro (far left), who was killed outside his Brunswick gelati shop, and Calabrian mafia boss Pasquale Barbaro. The mystery surrounding Mr Acquaro's interactions with police has become central to the appeals of at least two of his former clients who are serving lengthy jail sentences, reputed Calabrian crime figure Francesco "Frank" Madafferi and drug trafficker Saverio Zirilli. Victoria Police is refighting the same kind of multimillion-dollar legal battle it lost in the High Court when it tried to suppress Nicola Gobbo's identity in a new bid to conceal whether gangland lawyer Joseph "Pino" Acquaro was also a police supergrass. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.
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