Sandra Pigdon: Mid West Ports Authority CFO gets spent conviction after reference from chairman Noel Hart

A senior executive at Geraldton Port who oversaw a dodgy tendering process that favoured the town’s mayor — then illegally tipped off colleagues about a subsequent corruption probe — received a spent conviction after a glowing character reference from her chairman. Mid West Ports Authority chief financial officer Sandra Pigdon was found guilty of breaching the Corruption, Crime and Misconduct Act on August 13 but continued working in her executive-level position. She resigned last week, days after The West Australian obtained a transcript of her court appearance. The Corruption and Crime Commission turned its guns on the Mid West Port Authority two years ago after a tip-off that a contract for security services had been improperly awarded to a company owned by the-then Mayor of Geraldton, Shane Van Styn. The CCC launched Operation Berwick and tapped the phones of port executives. The CCC found no impropriety by Mr Van Styn but raised questions about why the Authority awarded his company Forefront Security a $2.8 million contract when the firm’s bid was inferior to the tender submitted by rival outfit MCS Security. Ms Pigdon was briefed on the tender in her capacity as general manager of trade and corporate services and she was one of three executives who signed off on the decision to give the business to Mr Van Styn. “The Commission’s investigation could not ascertain a legitimate justification as to why the tender was awarded to Forefront over the highest scoring tender applicant, MCS,” the CCC noted in a report handed down in May 2024. “The Commission’s investigation did identify deviations from standard process, in particular: the failure to adhere to the MWPA corporate delegations manual; the preparation and presentation of a PowerPoint which included statements that appear to favour the award of the contract to Forefront without justification; and the failure to adequately record pertinent information and decisions during the tender process.” The CCC made no finding of serious misconduct but highlighted a decision by the MWPA to arbitrarily added $50,000 to the MCS bid, in a move that made the submission more expensive than Forefront’s. The CCC also questioned why the tender evaluation process contained a dot point titled “Pub Test”. “It is unclear how this impacted on the MWPA executive team to award the contract to Forefront,” the CCC report states. During the investigation, the CCC’s covert surveillance team heard Ms Pigdon tell colleagues several times that she was going to be interviewed by the corruption watchdog about “the Shane Van Styn thing”, despite being told it was illegal to do so. Her upcoming CCC interview was deemed a “restricted matter” that had to be kept secret and divulging the information is a serious offence punishable by a term in prison. Ms Pigdon was charged with six breaches of the Corruption, Crime and Misconduct Act 2003 and on August 13 pleaded guilty to all charges. The court was told that so-called non-disclosure notations issued by the CCC were important because “they help prevent witnesses and/or persons of interest from, amongst other things, tipping off others involved, aligning their evidence, influencing the evidence of others and destroying or withholding evidence”. Ms Pigdon’s lawyer argued the port executive did not realise the seriousness of the offence. “It’s difficult to accept that submission, particularly when I note that you are recorded as having received these summonses and signed them with an acknowledgement that you had received the summons containing a notation that prevented you from disclosing information about the notice, and that you’re aware of serious penalties that would apply,” Magistrate Joe Randazzo said. In handing down his sentence, Magistrate Randazzo noted several character references supplied to the court, including an endorsement from Mid West Port Authority chairman Noel Hart. “He speaks of your demonstrative leadership and integrity,” Magistrate Randazzo said. “(He ) speaks of you being instrumental in securing particular funding for projects of the Mid West Ports Authority. He’s conscious of your personal circumstances, particularly highlighting the care for your husband. “He’s aware of your professional standing as a chartered accountant with relevant qualifications, and again to round out, in summary, his reference he speaks of you as being someone he knows as being a person of integrity, professional, and compassionate.” Ms Pigdon was fined $20,000 and ordered to pay costs of $3000. She was given a spent conviction after Magistrate Randazzo noted that having a criminal record would mean she was unable to keep her marine security identification card, which is needed for all port workers. The Mid West Ports Authority on Friday said Ms Pigdon had “resigned from her position following the outcome of her court case”. WA Ports Minister Stephen Dawson said it was his “expectation that employees of government trading enterprises are held to same standard of integrity that would be expected from those employed within the public sector”.