Living in the shadows: How 'Lawyer X' attended gangster christenings and had a child with a drug trafficker while informing on her underworld clients - before running her kids' pre-school and calling herself 'supermummy' on Instagram
- Nicola Gobbo is identified as 'Lawyer X' - criminal barrister turned police snitch
- Ms Gobbo represented top gangland criminals like Carl Williams, Tony Mokbel
- But she was passing confidential information from clients onto police detectives
- After having two young children Ms Gobbo became president of the pre-school
- Parents at kindergarten knew her by her Instagram name: @nicki.supermummy
- Court gag orders were lifted on Friday, at which time Ms Gobbo went into hiding
As a popular figure at her children's pre-school she was known simply as 'Nicki' - or to her followers on social media by the slightly self-congratulatory handle - @nicki.supermummy.
But today Nicola Gobbo's name has taken on a very different meaning for those unsuspecting parents.
On Friday she was finally unveiled as the mysterious 'Lawyer X' who for years had passed confidential information from her gangland clients - including Carl Williams - on to police.
This may well have come as quite a shock to the residents of Brighton, the rich seaside town in Melbourne where Ms Gobbo lived, who saw her as a pillar of their community.
Indeed, she even won an award from the Victorian Government for her services to a flailing local pre-school after she turned its fortunes around.
But while many might have thought Ms Gobbo had a perfectly normal life as they watched her kiss her kids goodbye at the school gates this could not be further from the truth.
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Nicola Gobbo (pictured with Carl Williams, right, and his chief hitman Andrew 'Benji' Veniamin, left) was a top gangland lawyer before she turned into infamous police information - 'Lawyer X'
After spending years defending some of Melbourne's leading criminals, Ms Gobbo (pictured) had two children and embraced life as a normal suburban mother - even joining the committee of a local pre-school
For years her dangerous double-life was kept a secret until it was lifted by the High Court last week.
Victoria Police argued that identifying Ms Gobbo as 'Lawyer X' would put the lives of her and her two children at risk.
The full bench of High Court judges agreed, but said there was more at stake.
'Large though those considerations may be, they do not detract from the conclusion that it is essential in the public interest for the information to be disclosed,' they told the court.
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Immediately after the decision, Ms Gobbo and her two children went into hiding.
This might have been the first time the police informant had explicitly expressed any concern for her own personal safety.
For years she shared the secrets of ruthless underworld gangsters with police with scant regard to the the lethal repercussions she faced if she were ever found out.
Paradoxically, it seems that Ms Gobbo's double-dealings were found out by several of her ex-clients - who had long suspected she was playing both sides.
But while the Sword of Damocles dangled precariously above Ms Gobbo's platinum locks she continued to hide in plain sight.
Bizarrely, she even became a respected member of the local community.
In September, she attended the Victorian Premier's Volunteer Champions Awards where she was recognised for her efforts at the local kindergarten.
The smiling crowd at Government House, in Melbourne, heard how the volunteer-run Brighton Playroom was 'thriving' thanks to 'Nicki's' skills and 'selfless leadership,'
Ms Gobbo's name was able to be revealed on Friday after a High Court ruling lifted a gag order that had been in place to protect her and her two children. She is now in hiding, with fears her dangerous former clients and their families could seek revenge for her becoming an informant
Less infamous on her list of regular defendants was Richard Barkho, a convicted drug trafficker who wasn't just a client but also the father of one of her children
Carl Williams (pictured) pleaded guilty to four murders throughout the gangland years on the advice of Ms Gobbo. He was sent to jail where he was eventually killed himself in 2010
Ms Gobbo (left) also defended and snitched on convicted drug trafficker Tony Mokbel (right). He is among dozens of prisoners contacted by the Department of Public Prosecutions last year and told that they may be eligible for early release because of Ms Gobbo's double-dealing
A couple of months later she hosted an end-of-year celebration for the kindergarten in a park in Brighton, where parents drank champagne from plastic cups and nibbled on homemade biscuits.
One woman who babysat Ms Gobbo's children told The Australian she would never have guessed her employer was 'Lawyer X'.
Up until two weeks ago she was still posting photos of her children on Instagram and happily mingled among the cafe dwellers just a short ride from where she used to practice law in Melbourne's CBD.
Sources suggest Ms Gobbo only recently made the decision to skip town after she was told the date on which her identity would finally be revealed.
Ms Gobbo's 'complicated' relationship with the police can be traced back to 1993 when officers seized 1.4kg of amphetamines with a street value of $82,000 at her Carlton home while she was still a law student at Melbourne University.
In a plea bargain with police Ms Gobbo managed to escape a conviction - allowing her to embark on a career as a criminal lawyer.
She won the trust of many high profile criminals and at the height of Melbourne's gangland war in the late 1990s and early 2000s she was a regular face on the scene.
During this period she represented the city's most hardened crooks, from drug dealers like Tony Mokbel and Pasquale Barbaro, to gangsters like Alphonse Gangitano.
Williams also pleaded guilty to four murders on her advice.
While other barristers donned conservative suits to court, Ms Gobbo opted for mini-skirts, high-heels and revealing tops to represent her clients.
One rather less famous client worth mentioning was convicted drug-trafficker Richard Barkho.
On a day that Ms Gobbo was supposed to representing Barkho, she was forced to miss court because she was in hospital giving birth to her first baby.
Eyebrows were raised when Ms Gobbo later visited Barkho in jail where it became obvious that he was not just her client but the father of her newborn child.
As she attempted to raise a child as a single mother Ms Gobbo was helping prepare defences for the city's top gangland crooks while simultaneously passing information to those trying to convict them.
This might sound like a hefty workload, but by this time Ms Gobbo was a dab hand at leading a double life.
Documents show that she was first listed as a police informant directly after joining the bar in 1995.
Among her clients were slain gangster Alphonse Gangitano (centre, back) who was shot dead in 1998
Calabrian mafia kingpin Pasquale Barbaro (left) was caught attempting to import $440 million worth of ecstasy into Australia in 2007, after Ms Gobbo tipped off police to the importation
Barbaro and other members of the Calabrian mafia attempted to import the ecstasy into the country inside Tomato tins (pictured), but police were tipped off by Lawyer X and picked the drugs up at the border
Carlton Crew boss Mick Gatto (left) was once a client of lawyer Nicola Gobbo (right). Gatto shot dead Carl Williams' hitman Andrew 'Benji' Veniamin in self defence at the height of the gangland war
She returned to the fold in mid-2003 when she met about six times with a Detective Sergeant of the Purana Taskforce.
She worked with the officers investigating Melbourne's gangland war until 2009, but continues to deny she has done anything wrong.
'I maintain ... that anything told to me or said in my presence about crimes being planned or committed cannot ever fall under the protection of legal professional privilege by a client,' Ms Gobbo told police in 2015.
'Most significantly, I did not approach the police because I had committed (nor have I since) any crime for which I required some kind of "get out of jail free card", as is most often the reason people choose to assist police.
The revelations of Ms Gobbo's double dealing has sparked a royal commission and cast doubt on the legality of dozens of convictions, with fears some of the nation's most notorious criminals could soon walk free.
