Roberta Williams' last-ditch bid to save home after Informer 3838 scandal
Gangland widow Roberta Williams is launching a last-ditch bid to save her family's Essendon home from being sold off by the tax office next week, in the wake of the Informer 3838 scandal.
The criminal barrister known as Informer 3838, who gave information to police about her underworld clients, represented murdered drug lord Carl Williams.
The Williams family home has been at the centre of a long-running legal dispute with the Australian Tax Office about the estate of Roberta's father-in-law George Williams. George died in 2016 owing more than $576,000 in unpaid taxes.
Now, Roberta's solicitor Michael Clohesy is set to file an injunction in an attempt to stop the ATO from selling the Primrose Street home. The three-bedroom house, understood to be worth about $1 million, was set to go to auction on December 15.
"[The injunction] will be filed as soon as possible," Mr Clohesy said.
The lengthy tax stoush centred on who should take control of the home. George left the Essendon house to granddaughter Dhakota – the 17-year-old daughter of Carl and Roberta – but the property was also pledged to the ATO as collateral for his debt.
In July, after an appeal by Roberta, the Supreme Court upheld an earlier ruling that she had no claim to the house. The property was ordered to be sold and the proceeds used to pay George's tax debt.
Roberta Williams moved out of the home in September and the ATO took possession of the property.
"They're struggling, they've lost their home, they don't have jobs ... they're in a very bad way," Mr Clohesy said.
Roberta had refused to sell the home after George's death, claiming no tax debt existed because it was supposed to be wiped away by a 2009 deal struck with Victoria Police in return for Carl providing information about a series of murders committed during the bloody Underbelly War.
In 2010, Carl was bashed to death inside Barwon Prison, where he was serving a 35-year sentence for three murders, before he gave evidence about other killings.
Victoria Police cancelled the deal to pay George's tax debt and Roberta argued, as a result, her father-in-law was unconscionably coerced into mortgaging his house to the ATO. This argument was rejected by the Supreme Court.