New Mexico Man Sentenced To 6 Years For Hitching Post Fire

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A federal judge has sentenced a New Mexico man to six years in prison for his role in an arson attack that burned down most of a landmark hotel in Cheyenne.

Judge Nancy Freudenthal sentenced 51-year-old Ajay Jariwala of Albuquerque to the maximum sentence possible on Monday. Jariwala had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson. Jariwala had faced between five to six years in prison under an agreement with federal prosecutors. Prosecutors dropped five other felony counts at sentencing.

Jariwala is a New Mexico hotelier and was a principal in CJM Hospitality LLC, the company that owned the Hitching Post hotel. Prosecutors say Jariwala retained two other men to burn the building in 2010 to try to collect more than $13 million in insurance.