More charges for accused Paslow arsonist

Eight months after the Paslow building went up in flames, the man accused of arson is back in court. Twenty-three year old Ivan Ayuso was escorted to Magistrate’s Court in Belize City this afternoon to answer to twenty-two additional charges. Ayuso, out on bail for two counts of false accounting and arson was charged with eleven counts of theft and eleven new counts false accounting. He was offered but could not meet the twenty-five thousand dollar bail plus one surety of the same amount and has been remanded to Hattieville Prison. Police investigators tell News Five the new charges stem from evidence salvaged from the scene and a review of the court’s financial records. It is suspected that Ayuso, who worked as an accountant for the Magistrate’s Court in the Paslow building, collected payment on behalf of the court but never handed over the cash to the Treasury Department. That practice came to light after an audit was conducted at Magistrate’s court and it is alleged that Ayuso, believing he would be caught by the authorities, set fire to the Paslow Building to burn his tracks. As the police investigation into the entire affair continues, sources say it is quite likely that more charges could be added to Ayuso’s lengthening rap sheet.