Victoria's integrity watchdog has prosecuted a "whistleblower" who was caught leaking details of a top-secret Lawyer X investigation to the media.
This week, the public servant known as JB pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the Victorian Inspectorate, as it tried to find the source of leaks to the Herald Sun newspaper in 2023.
Information supplied by JB twice found its way onto the front page when the paper ran stories about frustrations allegedly held by staff inside the Office of Special Investigator (OSI).
The OSI was set up to uncover potential criminal activity when lawyer Nicola Gobbo was recruited and used as a secret police source during Melbourne's gangland war, in a gross breach of legal privilege.
However the OSI was shut down after its chief, Geoffrey Nettle KC, said there was no point in the agency continuing because the state's then-top prosecutor, Kerri Judd, was unwilling to lay charges.
Ms Judd defended her actions and argued there was no reasonable chance of securing convictions against those involved in the long-running saga.
Weeks later, the Herald Sun printed stories with the headlines, "Doomed from the start" and "We wanted Overland". The articles quoted anonymous OSI sources who claimed the agency's work was stalled by uncooperative witnesses.
One story claimed OSI staff wanted charges laid against Simon Overland, a former police chief who headed up the anti-gangland Purana Taskforce while Ms Gobbo was informing on her clients.
Mr...
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