Man Faces Sentencing in Hitching Post Arson

A New Mexico man faces a sentencing in federal court on a charge of conspiracy to commit arson in the 2010 fire that destroyed the main building of the Hitching Post Inn, a landmark hotel in Cheyenne, Wyo.

Ajay Jariwala of Albuquerque pleaded guilty in May before U.S. District Judge Nancy Freudenthal in Cheyenne. The judge has set sentencing for Jariwala for Monday afternoon.

Jariwala faces between five to six years in prison under an agreement with federal prosecutors. Prosecutors agreed to drop 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 hotel. Prosecutors say Jariwala retained two other men to burn the building to try to collect more than $13 million in insurance.