An executive in the company that owned the landmark Hitching Post Inn hotel in Cheyenne has pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the September 2010 fire that destroyed the hotel’s main building.

52-year-old Ajay Jariwala of Albuquerque, NM, entered the plea early Friday evening before a federal judge in Cheyenne. He faces between five to six years in prison if the judge agrees to accept the plea after reviewing a pre-sentence

Jariwala was a principal in Delaware-based CJM Hospitality, which bought the Hitching Post for just over $1 million in early 2010 and took out a $13.6 million insurance policy on the hotel after announcing a multi-million dollar renovation project.

Prosecutors say Jariwala decided to burn the hotel…a favorite lodge and watering hole for Wyoming lawmakers for decades…for the insurance after deciding the renovation would be too expensive.

Two other defendants have pleaded guilty to related charges, including 44-year old Robert Rodriguez…also of Albuquerque…who said Jariwala hired him to set the fire and left the back door open with gas cans inside.

The hotel’s insurer…National Surety Corporation…has sued CJM Hospitality over the $13.6-million claim for the fire, alleging that CJM conspired in a pattern of racketeering with misrepresentations about buying the Hitching Post, applying for insurance, and arranging for the fire.

The suit also says that Fidelity Bank of Florida, which held CJM’s mortgage for the hotel, should not recover any damages because it failed to cooperate with National Surety during the investigation of the fire.

CJM, in turn, has sued National Surety to force payment of the claims. Both suits were put on hold late last year until the criminal cases were settled.