Who Here is from Montana?

Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock launched an investigation Thursday into American Police Force, the California company founded by a Serbian immigrant with a lengthy criminal history that is seeking to run an empty, 464-bed jail in Hardin.

Bullock sent a nine-page demand letter late Thursday afternoon to Becky Shay, the spokeswoman for APF and the company’s only Montana employee.

Shay did not immediately respond to phone calls Thursday.

According to the document, Bullock is launching the civil investigation into APF over concerns that the company might be violating the Montana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act.

Among other things, Bullock demanded that the company provide proof for many statements about the company included on APF’s Web site. The site says that the company frequently has contracts with the U.S. government and has operations in all 50 states.

Research into the company has turned up no record of APF contracting with the federal government. Bullock has requested that the company provide proof of its federal contracts and operations in other states.

Bullock also requested a copy of the contract between APF and Two Rivers Authority, the economic development arm of the city of Hardin, which built the jail two years ago.

The contract is reportedly a 10-year, multimillion-dollar deal with APF to run the jail.

Although Michael Hilton, the man behind APF, and local officials say the deal is as good as done, US Bank, the trustee for the bonds sold to build the jail, has never signed off on it.

People involved in the deal are jumping ship:

A California company’s bid to take over an empty jail in rural Montana appears to be unraveling, with an attorney involved in the project cutting ties Friday and a second company, once named as a subcontractor, denying any involvement.

Those moves followed revelations earlier in the week that Michael Hilton—the lead figure of the company, American Police Force—is a convicted felon with a history of fraud and failed business dealings in California.

“We met with him and he asked us if we can support him,” said Edward Angelino, chief executive of Allied Defense Systems, an Irvine, Calif.-based defense contractor. “We checked his background, we checked his company. He’s not an adequate person to do business with.”

A check with the California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services shows that as of 3 OCT 2009 they are not a licensed private security company here. There filing information was only as a corporation with the State. Nor could the owner be licensed in California as he has a lengthy criminal record that includes felonies.

http://www.billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_f311dee6-afbe-11de-8149-001cc4c03286.html?mode=video

APF spokesperson holds emotional press conference; lawyer quits project

TOM LUTEY Of The Gazette Staff | Posted: Friday, October 2, 2009 7:40 pm

American Police Force spokesperson Becky Shay holds a press conference to discuss the controversies that arisen around the deal between American Police Force and the Two River Authority.

American Police Force public relations director Becky Shay talks about how the controversy surrounding the American Police Force is affecting the Hardin community.
A sobbing spokeswoman for the secretive company occupying the Hardin jail welcomed an investigation by Montana's attorney general Friday and expressed concerns for her own safety amid rumors about her company.

Becky Shay, in a 45-minute, wide-ranging press conference during which she occasionally broke into tears, said the California-based American Police Force welcomed an information request made Thursday by Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock.

Meanwhile, an attorney involved in the project cut ties with APF Friday and a second company, once named as a subcontractor, denied any involvement.

Shay said she hadn't been formally served papers by the attorney general, who said he is concerned that APF might be violating the Montana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act. APF has reached a multimillion-dollar agreement with Hardin's economic development arm, Two Rivers Authority, to run the empty Hardin jail, built two years ago to house inmates under contract. She said she had read of Bullock's request in the news media.

Shay mentioned the attorney general's request almost as a two-minute side note in a press conference that revealed that the former Billings Gazette reporter and new face of APF fears for her safety.

"A lot of work I've done has been to calm down or at least try to counteract comments from people I consider to be fear mongers," Shay said. "What has happened in the interim, however, is those people's friends around the nation have been in contact with me or tried to access me. I realize I'm being pretty vague so that we don't support or incite these people. I don't want my words to be taken out of context to further inflame the tensions that I'm working under."

At that point, Shay began to cry. She asked TV media at the conference to turn their cameras off because, she said, "it's important to me that I do not appear as vulnerable as I feel."

APF officials, who rolled into Hardin last week in three black, Mercedes sport utility vehicles bearing faux police insignia and no license plates, have since departed, leaving Shay as the company's lone point of contact for all comers, including those reading dire motives into APF's insistent secrecy.

Shay said APF front man Michael Hilton plans to return to Hardin for a two-day job fair beginning Oct. 12.

Specifically, Shay mentioned Internet radio personality Alex Jones, of Austin, Texas. Jones, of infowars.com, was in Hardin on Thursday reporting on APF. Government and corporate takeovers of society are hot topics on Infowars. Jones indicated the Hardin situation was an example of the possibility of government or corporate takeover of a rural area.

Jones said Hardin's story involved a convicted felon, Hilton, landing in the middle of nowhere and taking over a large jail capable of serving a city of several hundred thousand people. The facility, empty since it was constructed roughly two years ago, has room for more than 464 beds.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Friday dismissed the notion of any secretive government scheme.

"I think a low-level card shark is not going to rise to the level to get some kind of government defense contract," the governor said.

Many of Jones' concerns about APF were no different than ones raised by the local press. He questioned the credibility of Hilton, a felon with 17 aliases, who has filed for bankruptcy and faces multiple fraud accusations in the California civil courts. And he questioned whether California-based APF was truly a private government contractor and security force as it suggests, but provides no supporting evidence.

Shay said alternative media reports sparked rumors that APF was stopping motorists in Big Horn County and ticketing them for not wearing seat belts. Earlier in the week, rumors stirred that APF had barricaded Hardin and wouldn't let anyone in or out.

The Two Rivers Port Authority, Hardin's economic development arm and the agency responsible for contracting the jail to APF, posted this message on its Web site earlier in the week:

"We welcome anyone to visit our town! There are no commandos in the streets. There is no fence or gate being built around Hardin. People are free to come and go as they please. APF is not running our town or our police force."

Hardin Mayor Ron Adams said Friday that despite his reservations about the project, he would still like to see it go forward so the jail can be filled.

Shay said the secrecy surrounding the APF - which has provided no information about its principles but suggests that it combats terrorism worldwide and performs everything from cruise ship security to covert pregnancy tests - has caused distractions interrupting everyday business in Hardin. Storekeepers take as many as 60 calls a day from outsiders wanting information about APF and the Hardin jail, Shay said.

If APF and Two Rivers don't reveal their information to the attorney general, they could face contempt charges, according to Bullock's office.

Maziar Mafi, a lawyer from Santa Ana, Calif., who served as the legal affairs director for American Police Force, said he wanted to see the project begin to move forward before he could continue his involvement.

"For the time, I'm pulling out," Mafi said. "I need to see more concrete action before I can be involved."

Mafi's involvement began last month. Hilton, who claims an extensive military background and uses the title "captain," initially described Mafi as a "major" in American Police Force. He later said Mafi was the company's president - although Mafi denied the role and said he had no military or security background.

Hilton also had claimed Allied Defense Systems would provide the uniforms for guards at the jail. On Sept. 30, an attorney for the Irvine company sent a letter to Hilton threatening a lawsuit over the use of the company's name.

Edward Angelino, chief executive of Allied Defense Systems, an Irvine, Calif.-based defense contractor, said his company met with Hilton.

"We checked his background, we checked his company. He's not an adequate person to do business with," Angelino said.

Shay said she was unaware of the move by Allied Defense Systems and had not spoken with Mafi directly.

Mafi guaranteed the Sept. 10 purchase of two Mercedes SUVs by Hilton as part of his plans for the jail. They were among three Mercedes that Hilton brought to Montana last week, saying he intended to turn over to Hardin for use by law enforcement.

A financing payment on at least one of the vehicles is now overdue.

Only one Mercedes remains in Montana. It's being driven by Shay, who said Friday that she intends to register it soon.

Two Rivers board raises questions about Hardin prison contract
By ED KEMMICK Of The Billings Gazette | Posted: Monday, October 5, 2009 1:50 pm |

PAUL RUHTER/Gazette Staff
Two Rivers Authority treasurer Bob Crane was the first board member to voice an opinion about the criminal record of American Police Force figure Michael Hilton. The TRA met Monday and voted to retain legal counsel before continuing discussions with APF.

HARDIN - The president of the Two Rivers Authority board said today that he has too many questions to even think of signing a contract with American Police Force to take over Hardin's empty jail.

Gary Arneson, board president and manager of the Hardin Generating Station, made his remarks this afternoon during a meeting of the TRA, Hardin's tax-funded economic development agency.

The board was talking about the need to hire an attorney to review its proposed contract with American Police Force when board member Bob Crane said he had discovered that he and the board were being lied to repeatedly by Michael Hilton, who has been the public face of APF.

"It just seems like it's one thing after another, and there's too many red flags coming up," Crane said.

Specifically, Crane said the man Hilton identified as the person he hired to run the jail, Mike Cohen of Dublin, Ohio, said he had no association with Hilton.

Reached later today, Cohen said he applied for a job with APF early in September but had too many suspicions about the company to pursue the matter. Nevertheless, he said, Hilton apparently brandished the resume he'd sent in - showing Cohen's extensive experience in military training - and touted Cohen as his new director.

The first Cohen heard of all this was when Crane called him Friday, Cohen said.

"I told him flat out I have no idea who this joker is," Cohen said.

"I feel sorry for everyone up there in Montana," he added. "He's (Hilton) scamming everyone up there."

Meanwhile, a California judge has ordered Hilton - a felon with a history of fraud - to appear in court on Oct. 27 over an outstanding judgment in a fraud lawsuit.

The judgment in the case is among several against Hilton totaling more than $1.1 million. In that case, Hilton lured investors to sink money into an assisted living complex in Southern California that was never built.

Hilton also spent several years in state prison in California in the 1990s.

Hardin built its jail in 2007 as an economic development project, but has been unable to fill it.

Associated Press writer Matthew Brown contributed to this report.

APF head Hilton has history of legal trouble
Story Discussion Image (4) RUFFIN PREVOST Of The Gazette Staff | Posted: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 6:25 pm | (170) Comments

LARRY MAYER/Gazette Staff
American Police Force's president Michael Hilton addresses the media during a press conference at the Two Rivers Authority jail Saturday, September 26, 2009.



Michael Hilton of American Police Force arrived in Hardin with promises of Mercedes police cars and expertise in operating prisons. He delivered the cars last week, but may have learned about prisons following a 1993 conviction for grand theft.

Public records from police and state and federal courts in California show that Michael Anthony Hilton, using that name and more than a dozen aliases over several years, is cited in multiple criminal, civil and bankruptcy cases, and was sentenced in 1993 to two years in state prison in California.

Hilton pleaded guilty in March 1993 to 14 felonies, including 10 counts of grand theft, one count of attempted grand theft and three counts of diversion of construction funds, according to Orange County court records. He was sentenced to two years in prison, but it is unclear how much time he served.

Court records in that case list his real name as Michael Hilton, but they also include the aliases Midrag Ilia Dokovitch, Midrag Ilia Dokovich and Michael Miodrag.

Hilton, who speaks heavily accented English, has told reporters that he is a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Montenegro, a country bordering Serbia, and once part of the former Republic of Yugoslavia.

The same aliases and other similar ones, all with slightly different spellings, show up in many other court documents citing Hilton, including a May 2003 Orange County case in which Hilton pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol.

A booking photo from the Huntington Beach Police Department from Hilton's DUI arrest on March 14, 2003, shows him heavier, beardless and with more hair than he has now.

It also shows the same facial features, including a distinct arched wrinkle over his left eye, along with three deep brow furrows, small, circular indentations in the center of his forehead and a cleft tip on the nose.

Michael Hilton and his aliases are listed as defendants in various Orange County civil cases alleging fraud and breach of warranty, including a March 2000 case where he is accused of fraud, larceny, breach of contract and false pretenses.

Court documents in that case allege that Hilton and others solicited investments of hundreds of thousands of dollars from the plaintiff for the creation of collectible Super Bowl commemorative coins.

The complaint alleges that Hilton and others falsely told the plaintiff that the money would be used for the design and manufacture of the coins, and to pay for a National Football League license to produce them.

In fact, the complaint states, no such license was ever issued by the NFL.

Court documents show that the plaintiff obtained a 2001 judgment for $200,000 against Hilton, listing his aliases of Miodrag Dokovich and Midrag Ilia Dokovich.

Hilton also declared Chapter 13 bankruptcy twice during a 15-month period.

He filed under his real name, citing the alias Miodrag A. Dokovich, in November 2002, listing a Stanton, Calif., home address and a Fountain Valley, Calif., business address tied to the Belgrade Market Liquor and Deli.

In February 2004, Hilton filed under his real name, citing the alias Miodrag Dokovich, and listing a Santa Ana, Calif., home address. He estimated his assets at less than $50,000, and listed as creditors only a credit union and his landlord.

Both bankruptcy filings appear to have been intended to delay eviction proceedings against him. Under federal bankruptcy law, tenants are generally protected from eviction while they reorganize their finances.

Anh Q.D. Nguyen, a Garden Grove attorney, said in an e-mail that he represented Hilton's landlord in an eviction case against Hilton that was filed in January 2004.

Nguyen said that Hilton "filed an eleventh-hour bankruptcy petition in which my office successfully obtained relief from the bankruptcy automatic stay, in order to reclaim possession of the rented premises."

Hilton had also been named as a defendant in July 2002 as part of separate eviction proceedings before his bankruptcy filing that year.

Hilton filed both bankruptcies without an attorney, paying less than $275 in filing fees for each. Both petitions were dismissed by the court after Hilton failed to provide necessary documentation, including a financial reorganization plan.

Chapter 13 bankruptcies generally remain on personal credit histories for seven years, and show up on standard credit checks.

When asked on Wednesday about Hilton's business dealings before his involvement with APF, company spokeswoman Becky Shay said, "That information is not going to be made available at this point."

"That's his private business. He is a man who distinguishes between private and business, between personal and corporate," she said.

Shay said she would check with Hilton for a comment about his DUI arrest, but did not provide further details.

She did not respond to an additional call made later Wednesday seeking more information about Hilton's other past legal problems.