WA Police to investigate links between Coffin Cheater bikie and business awarded $5m motorplex contract

The Cook Government has launched an investigation into a $5 million tender to build a new drag strip at the Perth Motorplex, awarded to a company linked to a senior Coffin Cheater bikie. Police Commissioner Col Blanch confirmed on Thursday that his officers had been asked to conduct checks into Coffin Cheater Benjamin David Ortin and his links to successful and respected company Eastside Concrete. “We have been asked to look into backgrounds and that’s exactly what we’ll do,” Mr Blanch said. “I think my views on bikies have been pretty clear for the last few years and that is unchanged. “When we talk about outlaw motorcycle gangs, we’re talking about people who have a patch that says 1%, 1% means we’re not going to follow the law 99 per cent of the time.” Mr Ortin was a long-term director of Eastside’s parent company Nitro Works, which is registered to a Gidgegannup property the 47-year-old owns with Julianne Kathleen Mackey. Ms Mackey is a director of Nitro Works. Mr Ortin has a checkered history, which saw him involved in the violent 2010 clash at Kwinana Motorplex between the Coffin Cheaters and Finks gangs where one person was shot and another had three fingers cut off. He was hauled into the CCC’s so-called star chamber to answer questions over the incident and charged when he refused to provide information. Police Minister Reece Whitby was still searching for answers when asked how VenuesWest, which operates the motorplex, allowed the multimillion-dollar contract to be awarded to Eastside Concrete. “We do not want to engage with anyone with criminal convictions or outlaw organisations,” he said. “I understand the agency involved is seeking further information from police, so I don’t have any more details on that but we’ll wait to see with how those investigation go.” Mr Whitby could not say how many government tenders had been awarded to bikie-linked businesses or whether the tender selection process needed reforms. “This is why I want to see more information from the police in terms of what they know about this individual,” he said. Sport and Recreation Minister Rita Saffioti has gone to ground, palming off any responsibility over the tender awarding to her department, VenuesWest. Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas said the community deserved answers from the Minister. “I think every West Australian would have concerns about the procurement processes that this State Government are operating with,” he said. “Minister Saffioti has some questions to answer today, it’s for her to explain that the Government are doing their due diligence when they are paying significant amounts of taxpayer money out to businesses in this community.” Eastside will work with specialist engineering firm Peritas when it starts work at the Motorplex in January. “A new drag strip at Perth Motorplex has been given the green light, with the successful tenderer awarded the contract to construct the $4.97m project in time for the start of the 2026-27 drag racing season,” Perth Motorplex announced on Tuesday. “Thanks to a $4.97m investment from the WA Government, local contractor Nitro Works Pty Ltd, Eastside Concrete will commence construction in January to deliver a replacement that ensures Perth Motorplex remains a premier destination for motorsport in the State.”