Lionel Castillo, 33, assistant to the Ombudsman, Paul Rodriguez, who was charged with extortion in August last year, was charged with another offence in connection with the alleged extortion when he appeared yesterday in the #2 Magistrate’s Court.
Castillo was charged with “agreement for influencing an officer.”
Police alleged that on June 17, 2007, Castillo accepted $5,000 from prison inmate Kelvin Reneau and influenced two members of the Prison Parole Board to get Reneau paroled. One of them was the chairman of the Prison Parole Board, Cresencio Sosa, who is the Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The other was Assistant Superintendent of Police Alford Grinage, who represents the Commissioner of Police on the parole board.
But Magistrate Dorothy Flowers did not take a plea from Castillo because the Director of Public Prosecutions, Lutchman Sooknandan, will determine if the offence can be tried on indictment. If it cannot be tried on indictment, then the charge will be dismissed due to a statute of limitations which dictates that the charge has to be made within 6 months of the date the offence was committed.
Castillo was allowed to leave the courtroom without having any bail attached to the charge, since no plea was taken. By January 23, when Castillo is to return to court for the charge of extortion, he will know whether the new charge will stand.
The charge of extortion was as a result of a sting operation which the police reported they carried out on August 10, 2007, at Old Belize at Mile 5 on the Western Highway. Police alleged that on that day, Castillo accepted $1,500 from Reneau under cover of his office, as assistant to the Ombudsman.
Castillo was released on a bail of $2,000.