To the other mums at her child’s pre-school she was simply ‘Nicki’, or if they followed her on Instagram – @nicki.supermummy.
Nicola Gobbo became popular with parents at a local kindergarten in Brighton, a rich suburb in Melbourne’s beachside area, soon after signing her kids up at the centre.
The single mother joined the pre-school’s committee and turned around the fortunes of the once struggling centre, leading her to receive a Victorian Government award.
But while those who saw Ms Gobbo at committee meetings or kissing her kids at the pre-school gate figured she was just another normal parent, it was far from the case.
On Friday the once high-flying criminal barrister was revealed as ‘Lawyer X’, who had passed confidential information from her gangland clients – including Carl Williams – onto police.
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
Her name and identity were suppressed for years until being 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.
Immediately after the decision, Ms Gobbo and her two children went into hiding.
Despite knowing all too well the ruthlessness of the men who she had betrayed back in the gangland days, she had never previously been concerned for her safety.
Although many of her dangerous ex-clients were aware she had turned ‘supergrass’ she continued to hide in plain sight.
In September she attended the Victorian Premier’s Volunteer Champions Awards and was recognised for her efforts at the local kindergarten.
‘The volunteer run Brighton Playroom is thriving thanks to Nikki’s skilled and selfless leadership,’ the crowd at Government House heard.
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 biscuits.
One woman who babysat Ms Gobbo’s children told The Australian she would never have guessed she 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 upon learning of the looming date where her identity could no longer be protected.
At the height of Melbourne’s gangland war in the late 1990s and early 2000s she was a regular face on the scene.
During that time 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.
As the criminals walked into court Ms Gobbo was there alongside them, the glamorous blonde often wearing a short skirt combined with a plunging neckline.
Less infamous on her list of regular clients was Richard Barkho, who was a convicted drug trafficker.
But Barkho wasn’t just a client – he was also the father of one of her children.
Ms Gobbo was forced to miss one day of his court proceedings because she was at the hospital giving birth to his child.
After Barkho was sent to a maximum security prison she would take her kids to visit him.
The Herald Sun reports she was overheard telling her kids: ‘Say goodbye to Daddy’.
But at the same time as she was helping prepare defences for the city’s top gangland crooks, she was passing that information straight onto those trying to convict them.
Ms Gobbo was first registered as a police informant just after joining the bar in 1995, the Herald Sun reported.
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 taskforce 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.