Crime kingpin Tony Mokbel has rejected claims he was willing to become a police informant to identify corrupt officers and would admit being a drug trafficker.
On Wednesday, details were aired in a Melbourne court about how lawyer-turned-informer Nicola Gobbo betrayed her former client, Mokbel, although the gangland figure said many of the things Gobbo told police were lies.
Mokbel, 58, is in the witness box for a second day as he appeals a lengthy jail sentence from three police drug operations codenamed Quills, Magnum and Orbital.
Prosecutor David Glynn read out details of calls between Ms Gobbo and police handlers, contained in documents known as Informer Contact Reports (ICRs).
Mr Glynn put to Mokbel that he told Ms Gobbo he would agree to plead guilty to drug charges and would "nominate" corrupt Victoria Police members in 2007.
"That's not true. 100 per cent I didn't say I would," Mokbel said.
"She reports: 'Tony is considering talking to the police," Mr Glynn responded.
"Again that's not true. 110 per cent," Mokbel said.
At the time, Mokbel was in custody in Greece after an international manhunt was launched to bring him back to Australia to face trial on serious drug trafficking charges.
Mr Glynn said Ms Gobbo also passed on information to police about Mokbel's legal strategy as he sought to fight an extradition order.
Mokbel agreed that he wanted to gather proof of Victoria Police corruption and that his life was in danger.
He also wanted Australian media reports about him collated, to prove to Greek authorities that he could not receive a fair trial if he was sent back home.
Mokbel said he had hoped Ms Gobbo would travel to Greece to join his legal team, and would possibly give evidence to support him in a Greek court.
But it did not eventuate, as Mokbel lost his extradition fight and was eventually returned to Australia in 2008.
Mokbel was warned to not trust Ms Gobbo, court hears
Mokbel is seeking to have drug trafficking convictions overturned because of the actions of Ms Gobbo, who was later discovered to have passed on sensitive details of clients to police in a scandal that rocked the Victorian legal system.
Further ICRs described by Mr Glynn revealed other material Ms Gobbo passed on to police about her conversations with Mokbel.
She told officers Mokbel was "very upset" when he was charged over the gangland murders of Michael Marshall and Lewis Moran, and that he had asked for Carl Williams to write a statement clearing him of any involvement.
Police eventually dropped the Marshall murder charge and Mokbel was acquitted of killing Moran. Williams was found guilty of killing both men.
Mokbel told the court Williams had warned him to be wary of Ms Gobbo.
"He just said to me: 'Don't trust her'," Mokbel said.
Mr Glynn asked Mokbel about an ICR which mentioned rumours that Ms Gobbo was "sleeping with cops and using drugs".
"I didn't believe it," Mokbel said.
"I trusted her a million per cent, Mr Glynn. I had no issue with Ms Gobbo."
Hearings slowed due to Mokbel's health
On Wednesday, Mokbel's current barrister Julie Condon KC said Ms Gobbo would not be giving evidence during the Supreme Court hearings, which will run for 12 weeks and shape the direction of the case when it reaches the Court of Appeal.
Wednesday's hearings were slowed by technical legal disputes between the lawyers, computer difficulties, and Mokbel's requirement to have breaks every half-hour because of health issues stemming from attacks he'd suffered in prison.
There was also a tense exchange between Mr Glynn and Ms Condon, when she accused him of interrupting as she tried to make an objection.
"Let me finish my objection please. You understand court etiquette after all these years," she said, glaring at her rival.
Justice Elizabeth Fullerton also issued a stern warning to journalists in the court after hearing of an incident when a reporter approached Mokbel in the courtroom and introduced himself.
"Be clear about this, that should not have happened," Justice Fullerton said.
In 2012, Mokbel was sentenced to 30 years' jail for the drug offences, which was reduced on appeal to 26 years. His current parole date is in 2031.
The Quills police operation related to trafficking the drug MDMA in 2005, Magnum centred on the trafficking of methylamphetamine between 2006 and 2007, while Orbital focused on Mokbel's attempts to source MDMA from overseas.
On Tuesday, Mokbel told the court he "fully trusted" Ms Gobbo and was stunned when he learned she had been breaching legal privilege by sharing details with Victoria Police.
Mokbel said it was Ms Gobbo who encouraged him to flee the country on the eve of his 2006 drug trial.
"You would never have picked her to be on the other side of the fence," Mokbel said.
The hearings continue.