Melbourne drug kingpin Rocco Arico has applied for more material to be disclosed in court so he can prove his claim slain gangland lawyer Joseph Acquaro informed against him to police.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Arico, who was jailed in 2017 for offences including extortion, is appealing his convictions in the Victorian Court of Appeal.
He claims his right to a fair trial was subverted and a miscarriage of justice took place because Mr Acquaro was giving information about him to detectives.
Mr Acquaro was never officially registered as a police informant although it was later revealed he shared information about another one of his clients, crime boss Frank Madafferi.
Mr Acquaro was shot dead outside his East Brunswick gelato shop in March 2016.
Arico's barrister Jason Gullaci SC told the appeal court on Wednesday that Arico trusted Mr Acquaro and relied on him for legal advice over a 10-year period.
Mr Gullaci said Mr Acquaro re-engaged with police in April 2014 after a man, who can't be named for legal reasons, facilitated a meeting between the lawyer and police.
Mr Acquaro stayed in contact with the man for about a year, including at the time Arico was arrested in March 2015.
The man has already disclosed to the court 69 text messages and a log of 356 phone calls.
While there were no explicit references to Arico, Mr Gullaci said the messages showed the man asking Mr Acquaro about his meeting with police.
Mr Gullaci is seeking a court order for the unnamed man to provide more text messages and other conversation material.
Barrister Albert Dinelli SC, who represented the man on Wednesday, argued Mr Gullaci was basing his application on suspicions and the order he sought was too broad.
Judicial Registrar Deirdre McCann reserved her decision on the application to a later date.
Arico was in 2017 jailed for 14 years, with a minimum of 10 years, for extortion, intentionally causing injury, possessing a firearm and drug trafficking.
His jail term was later cut by two years, with a minimum period of nine years, following an appeal.
Australian Associated Press
