Mr Acquaro, who was a confidant of a who's who of Melbourne organised crime for more than two decades, has repeatedly been named in the media as a police informer. Speculation about Mr Acquaro's relationship with police has been widespread since the prominent underworld solicitor was shot dead outside his Brunswick East gelato shop in 2016, and in the wake of exposure of Ms Gobbo's double life as a barrister-turned-informer. The convictions of more than 30 other criminals – most stemming from the world’s largest ecstasy bust, known as the "tomato tins" case – could also be put at risk if evidence emerges that Mr Acquaro was in fact co-operating with law enforcement against the interests of his clients. Nicola Gobbo with Joe ‘Pino’ Acquaro (far left), who was killed outside his Brunswick gelati shop, and Calabrian mafia boss Pasquale Barbaro. The mystery surrounding Mr Acquaro's interactions with police has become central to the appeals of at least two of his former clients who are serving lengthy jail sentences, reputed Calabrian crime figure Francesco "Frank" Madafferi and drug trafficker Saverio Zirilli. Victoria Police is refighting the same kind of multimillion-dollar legal battle it lost in the High Court when it tried to suppress Nicola Gobbo's identity in a new bid to conceal whether gangland lawyer Joseph "Pino" Acquaro was also a police supergrass. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.
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