By David

A few weeks ago I wrote a story about the former Dominion Finance Chief Executive, Paul Cropp. There was a swimming connection. For several years Cropp was also the Secretary of the North Shore Swimming Club. At the time of his conviction, on four charges of theft by a person in a special relationship, Cropp was still a Board member of the North Shore Club.

The Serious Fraud Office, which brought the proceedings against Cropp, argued he knowingly and deliberately breached the requirements of Dominion’s debenture trust deed or that of its sister company, North South Finance. The SFO said Cropp caused or assisted Dominion or North South to make loans worth millions of dollars – without trustee consent – to related parties. Although Cropp did not stand to personally gain from the transactions, SFO lawyer Dickey said the 50-year-old had an interest in keeping the companies afloat because of the $450,000 salary he was receiving. In the end, both companies collapsed as part of the wave of finance firms that folded after 2007.

I was surprised that Cropp continued to stand for election to the North Shore Club Board while he was defending such serious honesty charges. It must have occurred to him that his presence on the Board could become a liability. But perhaps not – I’ve been told these finance guys are not short on ego. I was even more surprised that the North Shore Club continued to accept Cropp as a Board member. The Board of a club has a responsibility to protect the interests of its members. It is difficult to imagine how the North Shore Board rationalized Cropp’s presence with that duty. It is interesting that a day after the first Swimwatch story about Paul Cropp was published his name disappeared from the list of North Shore Swimming Club directors.

All this came to a head, when Justice Graham Lang sentenced Cropp to two years and seven months in jail.

It is hard to reconcile the arrogance of Cropp’s persistent efforts to be re-elected to the North Shore Board with the “overwhelming remorse” he told the Court he felt every day and night. Cropp continued to play a starring role in the affairs of the North Shore Club right up to the Club’s Annual General Meeting held one year ago on 14 June 2012. By that time the nature and extent of the accusations being made by the Serious Fraud Office were well and truly known; for one month short of two years to be precise. One would have thought that Cropp’s “overwhelming remorse” would have prompted him to play a very low key role in the Club’s affairs; perhaps even stand down while his guilt or innocence was being tested. But instead the North Shore President, Phil Mitchell, – or as I’m told he prefers to be known, Dr Phil Mitchell – decided to highlight Cropp’s profile with the following declaration – “I am reluctant to single out individuals, but special thanks must go Paul Cropp for his continued efforts as secretary and as the leader of our strategic planning initiatives.”

Clearly, remorse means different things to different people. So, it appears, does humility. Especially when you are good at something, and North Shore is good at swimming. Without being servile it is important to act with reserve and dignity. The behaviour of these North Shore leaders appears to fall short of that test; something many in the rest of the swimming nation have understood for some time.

However, there is no intention in this essay to censure Cropp. He did a really dumb thing and will now pay in good measure. Whether the mental picture we have of these finance types driving around in expensive Porsche Cayenne cars while they wait for their mansions on the Devonport waterfront to be built has any validity we will never know – and personally I don’t really care.

What I do think is relevant is the following news report of Cropp’s sentencing hearing.

“Cropp was the secretary of the North Shore Swimming Club for a number of years and Billington – that’s Cropp’s lawyer – read out a letter from the former president of the North Shore Swimming Club: “He [Cropp] is one of the most decent people I have had the pleasure to work with,” the letter said.

The former president referred to is Dr Phil again. It is hard not to see his actions as anything but arrogant. I have nothing against him supporting his mate through some tough times. In fact I admire that sort of loyalty. However there is no justification for dragging the North Shore Swimming Club’s name into Cropp’s illegal turmoil. In fact by using his previous position to rally support for Cropp, Dr Phil may be guilty of as many Code of Conduct violations as his “most decent” friend. What about: “being professional in, and accepting responsibility for, your actions or being aware of, and maintain an uncompromising adhesion to, standards, rules, regulations and policies or never acting in any way that may bring disrepute or disgrace to SNZ members.”

I confess, I am biased. My negative opinion of Dr Phil is influenced by what I have seen in one meeting and read of his views on swimming matters. For example, how can Dr Phil label a convicted thief as one of the most decent people he’s had the pleasure to work with? Especially when High Court Justice Lang Justice said he did not sense any remorse when Cropp testified during the trial. It could be that “no remorse and decent” says as much about Dr Phil as it does about his friend in the “big house”.

My prejudice however has another source. While Dr Phil was out there thanking and defending Paul Cropp, he was writing this in his 2012 North Shore Club’s President’s Report

The swimming politics that have played out over this last year have had a devastating effect on the sport, and eroded public and funder confidence in the wider governance of the sport. Suffice it to say that clubs like ours deserve a considerably better quality of service from those in positions of responsibility. We hope that the Moller report signals a cessation to the divisive patch protection politics that has caused so much damage to the sport of swimming and heralds a renewed sense of shared vision and collegiality.

This Dr Phil tirade is a crack at those who opposed Project Vanguard and supported a federal management structure: people like Brian Palmer, most members of the Auckland Board and very able and honest executives like Suzanne Spear and Bronwyn Radford. In fact a majority of those involved in NZ swimming governance did not want Project Vanguard. For Dr Phil to label these good people divisive, damaging and question the quality of their service is disgraceful; especially when he holds a convicted felon in such high esteem.     

In the UK recently UBS CEO, Andrea Orcel, told Parliament: the financial industry has become “arrogant,” needed to overhaul its culture “to put integrity over profit” and try to recover the “honesty and standing of the past.” Ms Orcel may well be pleased at some of the changes that have just been made at the North Shore Swimming Club.