And the media did have a chance to pursue some points with Police Minister John Saldivar today. Earlier we showed you how his Cabinet colleague, Frank “Pawpaâ€￾ Mena, has publicly declared that it was Saldivar who introduced him to Mason. And last night, we told you how Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber said the same thing via text message.

So today, when we met him at another event, we asked him about the political blowback following the revelations that he was one of the high-ranking UDP ministers who Mason had befriended. Here's how that conversation went:

Mike Rudon - Channel 5 News
"We have been able to find out that Mr. Mason's business was extortion. That for many years he was in the business of extortion using information received against people to get money from them. Let me ask you point blank were you ever a victim of such an extortion attempt by him or anybody that you know of the cabinet ministers who we have discovered use to go to his home?"

Hon. John Saldivar - National Security Minister
"No I'm not aware of it and I have never been a victim. I do know of at least a couple other person who may have been like I said in my statement on Monday when I became aware last year of some of these things including what was on the internet that's when I realise this guy was no good and I disassociated myself from him."

Mike Rudon - Channel 5 News
"Can we ask you if you feel a little betrayed at the comment made by your colleague deputy prime minister Patrick Faber? Because he has to have known you have been taking a little bit of head because of Mr. Mason and yet in a text he seemingly deliberately mentioned that you are the one who introduced him to Mr. Mason."

Hon. John Saldivar - National Security Minister
"Well I don't think we can hide from that fact and I've not tried to hide from the fact that I knew Mr. Mason and had dealings with him; had business with him in terms of my football team, had socialized with him. I have not tried to deny that fact and indeed minister Faber and myself and another minister had visited him on one occasion last year but I certainly do not take that to mean that any of us knew of his illicit activities or condoned it."

Daniel Ortiz
"Sir it is a concern of yours that no matter how you try your very best to defend your integrity there will always be those who question and say da man must have some other dealings that he's not sharing with us."

Hon. John Saldivar - National Security Minister
"That is how politics is; I'm a political figure and I expect that people to try and attack my integrity that's what you do in trying to take my place in the political scheme of things but I know that the end of the day nothing can be unearthed that will suggest that I have done anything untoward with this gentleman. I'm confident of that and I reiterate that to the Belizean public. I think we all understand just as I have said and I sure they as angry as I am in terms of the fraud that gentleman has played on all of us. We did not know of his past and so many of us, many persons including the two that you've mentioned I guess were befriended by him and unfortunate we feel duped, we feel that we have been betrayed yes but what can we do? We did not know of his character until now."

Mike Rudon - Channel 5 News
"Is there a bit of concern and I'm not referring to you personally but there are many ministers who use to go to this man's home and it has been revealed that he has a very extensive surveillance system. I'm asking because Mr. Faber had said that he went to have congratulatory drinks. This man business again seems to have been extortion. Is there some concern about what the police may uncover that was recorded in that home?"

Hon. John Saldivar - National Security Minister
"Well I certainly do not have any concerns but what he may have recorded about my and I'm sure I think I have to put in a plug there for my ministers from what I know of them and nothing untoward took place in any of those visits to his. We were befriended by him we thought he was a genuine business man and it turned out that he wasn't but in the meantime we did have encounters with him."