Extortion charge dropped against Ombudsboy

It was a high profile police sting but today the Director of Public Prosecutions elected to withdraw a charge of extortion against Lionel Castillo. The thirty-three year old assistant to the Ombudsman was accused of taking a fifteen hundred dollar payment from former prison mate Kelvin Reneau in exchange for allegedly arranging his parole. The transaction occurred in August of 2007 at Old Belize following Reneau’s parole in July. Castillo is not entirely off the hook, however, as in December he was charged with an additional offense in connection with the same incident, namely “Agreement for Influencing an Officer”. The preliminary inquiry on that charge is set for February twentieth.