Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Former Kirkcaldy hotel boss admits starting fire in his High Street store

Emergency services at the scene of the fire set by Remo Maciocia.
Emergency services at the scene of the fire set by Remo Maciocia.

Kirkcaldy businessman Remo Maciocia is being held in a hospital after terrorising his family and starting a fire in his High Street shop.

Earlier this summer, the 58-year-old was seen adding to a fire in his High Street unit, formerly occupied by HSS Hire.

He told emergency services it was to keep his plants warm.

The former boss of the Lang Toun’s Auld Post Hotel appeared from custody at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Tuesday to admit a string of charges.

Remo Maciocia.

His solicitor also admitted three separate charges in his absence the day before.

Maciocia, who is currently the director of The Colloidal Company, a supplement sales firm he founded, is being held at Stratheden Hospital.

Blaze at shop

He admitted that on May 1 this year, he culpably and recklessly ignited a fire in his business premises near Kirkcaldy’s harbour and then added items to the fire, exposing others to risk.

In 2020, Maciocia purchased the long-derelict building and outlined plans to rejuvenate it by means of commercial and residential development.

The scheme has never come to fruition.

Court papers show he lived in an upstairs flat and other flats were occupied in close proximity.

The aftermath of the fire in Kirkcaldy.

Fiscal depute Claire Bremner said: “The locus is a ground level property .

“At around 11am, a witness walking along Kirkcaldy High Street became aware of a strong smell of burning.

“He walked past the locus and saw the accused coming in and out of the shop entrance and saw a fire in the shop window.”

The witness called 999 and all emergency services arrived.

Maciocia was asked to leave and initially refused.

Firefighters entered and took five minutes to extinguish the flames.

Nobody was injured.

The premises remains locked since the blaze.

“The accused spoke with police and made various admissions,” Ms Bremner added.

She explained Maciocia told police the fire was “to keep his plants warm.”

He was released by police but arrested the next day.

Terrorised family

Maciocia also admitted two offences against his son.

On April 4 this year, he made an offensive phone call and a week later, slashed the tyres of his car at Deas Wharf.

Maciocia admitted an assault on his elderly father.

On April 17, at Townsend Crescent, he struck the 91-year-old on the head and repeatedly shouted, swore and acted in an aggressive manner towards his father and 89-year-old mother.

Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court sign

Having been ordered to keep away from the couple by police, Maciocia admitted breaching the orders just four days later by returning to the street.

Solicitor Michelle Renton said Maciocia was having “an episode of mania with psychotic symptoms.”

She said since being remanded at the Cupar hospital, he has made “significant improvements.”

Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane continued his case until August 3 as he continues to receive treatment.

Previous offending towards loved ones

In 2020, Maciocia was stopped by police officers who suspected him of drink-driving after he assaulted his partner.

At Dundee Sheriff Court, he admitted assaulting the woman at the Travelodge on Strathmore Avenue, on January 12 that year by pushing her to the ground and striking her head, to her injury.

He also admitted failing to provide breath specimens without reasonable excuse.

For all the latest from the court rooms of Tayside and Fife, join our Facebook group.