Ravenwood, American Police Force Concerns Citizens of Hardin, Montana

Montana AG Drops Investigation of APF

October 13, 2009

KULR-8 Television (Billings, MT) - Montana's Attorney General dropped his investigation in to California-based security company American Police Force Tuesday.

A statement released by Montana's Attorney General Steve Bullock said the goal was to guarantee that, "No Montanans were taken advantage of or conned by this company."

Since Michael Hilton and APF ended plans to do business in the state, Bullock's office decided to suspend its inquiry. Officials asked APF to release documents about their funding, current contracts and corporate backing. APF did not provide these documents.

Spokeswoman Becky Shay said the company faxed the AG a one-page letter saying APF did no business in Montana other than to negotiate the jail contract, which they discontinued.

Bullock's statement concludes, "Mr. Hilton's failure to answer these simple questions about his company speaks volumes about his company's legitimacy."

“Ravenwood” Comes to America

October 10, 2009

Chuck Baldwin - Fans of the CBS-terminated TV series JERICHO will recognize the name “Ravenwood.” This was the ruthless mercenary force used by the illegitimate federal government at Cheyenne to subjugate the citizens of Kansas in the aftermath of a massive nuclear attack against two dozen American cities. As with much of JERICHO’s superbly written story line, Ravenwood reflected real-world entities.

Private mercenary forces have been used extensively throughout the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, as well as in many other theaters. And as JERICHO correctly depicted, these “private contractors” have largely operated without oversight or accountability. (Can anyone say, “Blackwater”?) For the most part, the American people are unfamiliar with these mercenary forces, because they normally operate in foreign theaters of war. JERICHO put them on the streets of U.S. cities. Now it looks like JERICHO was more prophecy than fiction.

An underreported (what’s new?) story out of a little town in Montana has brought real-life drama to the CBS blockbuster TV series. Interestingly enough, CBS is the only major news network that has covered the Montana story.

In the little town of Hardin, Montana (which is about the same size as the fictitious town of Jericho, Kansas, in the TV series), a private security firm, American Police Force (APF), has been contracted to provide all police services and to manage the operation of the town’s jail. According to local news reports out of Billings, Montana, “American Police Force officials showed up in Mercedes SUV’s that had ‘Hardin Police’ stenciled on the vehicles. The twist, the city of Hardin doesn’t have a police department.

“Two Rivers Authority [the city's economic development agency] officials say having APF patrol the streets was never part of their agenda.” (Source: KULR-8 Television, Billings, Montana)

Until now, the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office was responsible for patrolling the city. However, numerous Hardin citizens have testified to APF mercenaries patrolling Hardin’s streets.

The Hardin jail is an interesting situation, all by itself. Completed in September 2007, the 464-bed facility has sat totally empty (which begs an investigative analysis as to how and why the facility was built in the first place). APF promises to fill the jail (with whom is not clear) and also intends to build a 30,000-square-foot military-style training facility and a 75,000-square-foot dormitory for trainees. Costs are to be covered by Ravenwood’s–excuse me–APF’s “business activities,” which includes security and training, weapons and equipment sales, surveillance, and investigations.

Of course, under our Constitution, there can be no such thing as an “American Police Force” in the United States. Any kind of national police force is not only unconstitutional; it is anathema to everything American law and jurisprudence is built upon. Law enforcement is clearly and plainly the responsibility of the states and local communities. That a mercenary organization would take the moniker American Police Force is, by itself, disconcerting. But there is much more.

APF touts itself as providing security and investigative work to clients in “all 50 States and most Countries.” It boasts having “rapid response units awaiting our orders worldwide.” It further brags that it can field a battalion-sized team of Special Forces soldiers “within 72 hours.” APF states that it “plays a critical role in helping the U.S. government meet vital homeland security and national defense needs.”

Yet, an Associated Press search of two comprehensive federal government contractor databases turned up no record of American Police Force. Representatives of security trade groups said they had never heard of APF. Alan Chvotkin, executive vice president and counsel for the Professional Services Council, said, “They’re really invisible.”

An attorney for APF, Maziar Mafi, said the company was a spin-off of a major security firm, but declined to name the parent company or give any other details.

But at least one source reports, “American Police Force, the paramilitary unit patrolling a small town in Montana, has been exposed as being a front group for the disgraced private military contractor Blackwater, now called ‘Xe’.”

Whoever is backing APF has deep pockets; that much is for sure. That APF might be connected to Blackwater makes this situation even more problematic. But there is still more.

According to numerous local news reports, APF’s lead figure has a criminal history. APF’s head is a man named Michael Hilton. And recent revelations have turned up the fact that Hilton has served several years in jail–along with being served several civil judgments–for fraud. In fact, Hilton is currently scheduled to appear in a California court over an outstanding judgment in a fraud case. This has caused the Two Rivers Authority (TRA) to step back from the APF deal. And at this writing, the future of the agreement between TRA and APF is uncertain.

Adding to the dubious image of APF is the accusation that their on-the-ground leaders seem to be Russians. According to Hardin residents, the APF officer in charge had a “thick Russian accent.” (Of course, Hilton himself is Serbian, and it appears that many of his personnel are likewise Serbian.) Residents also state that they were told seventy-five percent of the security officers that were to be trained would be “international.” Is this what we have to look forward to: foreign mercenaries–employed by international corporations and backed by the federal government–being used to police American cities?

Local protests against the introduction of APF mercenaries in Hardin have already caused APF to change its name. Late news reports state that the private contractor is now operating under the name of American Private Police Force.

In the meantime, Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock has launched an investigation into the Hardin matter. According to the AG’s office, the investigation is predicated upon concerns that the company might be violating the Montana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act.

The Hardin saga is both noteworthy and troublesome. It is the latest example–but certainly not the first–of how private security companies are being employed as law enforcement personnel.

Retired lawman Jim Kouri recently wrote a fascinating piece in which he chronicles the growing trend of private security companies exercising police powers. Kouri summarizes an American Society for Industrial Security report, saying, “There are more than one million contract security guards, with perhaps another million guards who are proprietary security officers who are hired directly by businesses and institutions. On the other hand, there are about 700,000 sworn law enforcement officers working for towns, cities, counties, states and the federal government.”

Of course, most of these “private police” mercenaries are military-trained. And they are also the ones providing most of the military-style training to America’s various law enforcement agencies.

Kouri goes on to point out that Lexington’s (Kentucky) Police Department contracted Blackwater Security International to provide “homeland security training.” And in New Orleans, Louisiana, mercenaries openly patrol city streets. Kouri notes Blackwater officials as saying they are on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and have been given the authority “to use lethal force if necessary.”

See Kouri’s column at http://newswithviews.com/BreakingNews/breaking168.htm

All of the above is disconcerting enough, but when one factors in President Barack Obama’s desire to create a “Civilian Defense Force,” potential problems only intensify. For example, in 1995, the United Nations’ International Police Task Force (UNIPTF) was created. Ostensibly, the UNIPTF was formed to “carry out programs of police assistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina.” Then, in 2003 the Civilian Police International (CPI) was created. This was a joint venture between the U.S. State Department and such notable private companies as Wackenhut and Kellogg Brown & Root (a Halliburton company; and, by the way, so is Blackwater. But this is just a coincidence, right?). The stated purpose was for “international law enforcement and criminal justice programs.” Inertia for mercenary-style (backed by the federal–or even international–government) law enforcement has been growing ever since.

The question must then be asked: “Could the whole APF and Hardin, Montana, affair be a test run for Obama’s budding Civilian Defense Force?”

In the CBS TV series, JERICHO, residents resisted the federal government’s mercenary force, Ravenwood, and fought ferociously for their freedom and independence. At the time the show aired, it all seemed like fantasy. But if you talk with the residents of Hardin, Montana, today, they might say that fantasy is fast becoming reality.

Stay alert, America: your town could be next.

P.S. I have posted a web page devoted to the Hardin, Montana, story for anyone that wants to review or keep abreast of this situation. Go here.

U.S. Mystery 'Police' Force Has Small Montana City on Edge

October 9, 2009

FOXNews.com - When two brand new, shiny black Mercedes SUVs bearing a "Hardin Police Department" logo drove through the main thoroughfare of Hardin, Mont., last week, people took notice.

"How many police forces have Mercedes?" said Charlene Warren, a local business owner who has lived in Hardin for more than half a century. "That threw up a red flag."

And speaking of flags, it did not go unnoticed that the emblem on the sides of the SUVs bore a strong resemblance to the Serbian national flag.

Furthermore, those "police department" cars were rolling through Hardin, a small southeastern Montana town of 3,600 that just happens not to have a police department.

The luxury vehicles that rolled through town belonged to the American Police Force (APF), a California-based security firm that is drafting a contract that will give it control over a $27 million medium-security prison that was built in Hardin more than two years ago, but has never held any prisoners.

But that contract is now on hold as the Montana State Attorney General's Office investigates APF and the Big Horn County Sheriff's Department enters preliminary talks about incorporating a real police department in Hardin so a similar episode doesn't occur in the future.

At first, Hardin residents were pleased that APF was planning to turn their empty prison into a training facility. Hardin has a double-digit unemployment rate and is desperate for revitalization, and the area was left high and dry last spring when the federal government decided not to use the facility to harbor Guantanamo Bay detainees. Opening the prison would mean jobs.

But since the SUV incident, APF's reputability is under scrutiny.

"We have covered this story for years now, and for the last month, it’s been one twist and turn from the other" Nick Lough, a reporter at KULR-8 in Billings, Mont., told FOXNews.com.

The latest twist: The owner of APF, Michael Hilton, is a convicted felon, including two convictions in grand theft cases, and an alleged con-artist who, according to some sources, utilizes more than 20 aliases.

"That is big controversy, is the unknown," said Warren. "There are too many lies."

Michael Cohen, a former Secret Service agent named as the would-be operator of the prison, served 14 months in prison for stealing $2,800 from the agency after his conviction in 2004. Cohen told the Associated Press he spoke with Hilton about the position but was not offered the job.

Hardin's Two Rivers Authority Board — an economic development agency — was contacted by APF about a month ago to draft a contract that would hand over control of the prison. But now the board's Web site prominently displays the following words:

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.

Residents and concerned citizens now are voicing their opinions on street corners, at town hall meetings and in the blogosphere. They are demanding to know who APF's parent company is, what the company plans to do in their town and, finally, what on earth those two Mercedes were doing roaming their streets.

Bob van der Valk, contributing writer for the Terry Tribune and editor of the travel website Montanawithkids.com, doesn't think the people of Hardin will let the APF get the contract to run the prison.

"I think the people found out that what occurred was an under-the-table deal that shouldn't have happened," he told FOXNews.com. He said he hopes the facility will be turned into a high school to combat school overpopulation in the community.

FOXNews.com contacted Hilton's office at APF, but he declined to comment. The company's public relations director, Becky Shay, formerly a reporter for the Billings Gazette, also refused to comment. According to one report, Shay fears for her own safety and recently hired her own security team. Residents, bloggers and the media are said to be filling her inbox with their grievances, and there are reports that she has received death threats.

"They just can't give us any answers," Warren told FOXNews.com. "People are afraid. This is a good little town, we got a nice people here, and I wouldn't want to see some dishonest person, like this American Police Force, do any harm to our town."

"They found us real vulnerable right now," Warren says, "and they are just taking advantage of a good thing."

Montana City's Jail Deal Delayed Amid Controversy

October 5, 2009

Associated Press (Hardin, Mont.) — Plans for a California company to take over this city's empty jail were put on hold Monday, following last week's revelations that the company's lead figure has a criminal history.

The decision came as Hardin's leaders announced the resignation of both the attorney and the economic development official who helped craft the jail deal for the city. Also Monday, a security industry veteran whose name was linked to the project denied involvement.

Officials in Hardin, a small city of 4,500 just outside the Crow Indian Reservation, had tried in vain for two years to fill the 464-bed jail.

Last month, deliverance finally appeared at hand when the city struck an agreement with Mike Hilton and his newly minted Santa Ana, Calif.-company, American Police Force.

But following last week's news that Hilton has a history of fraud — including several years in jail and three civil judgments against him for more than $1.1 million — Hardin's economic development authority said it was stepping back from the deal.

"We won't move forward. I don't think any of us want to be on the chopping block," said Gary Arneson, president of Hardin's Two Rivers Authority, which owns the jail.

Arneson said no further action would be taken until the authority hires an attorney to replace Becky Convery, the lawyer who helped forge the agreement with American Police Force. Montana's Attorney General launched an investigation into the company last week, also demanding that the city turn over any documents it has related to the jail deal.

Authority board members appeared chagrined at their monthly meeting on Monday.

After residents peppered them with questions about what kind of due diligence had been done on Hilton and his company, Arneson said a background check had been carried out by the agency's executive director, Greg Smith. Smith was put on paid leave and resigned late Monday.

An agreement with Hilton was approved by the Two Rivers Authority in early September. But a more detailed contract with the company was never ratified by a bank serving as trustee on $27 million in bonds used to build the jail.

Hardin built its jail in 2007 as an economic development project. It was lured into the deal with Hilton over the summer, after several city officials flew to California and met with Hilton. He told them a major security corporation was backing the deal but wished to remain anonymous.

The name of that corporation has never been revealed.

Meanwhile, the man whose name was offered up as the jail's future operations director said Monday he was never offered the job — and would not have taken it regardless.

Hardin officials said they were told by Hilton that he was hiring Michael Cohen, an executive with International Security Associates in Dublin, Ohio, for the post.

"Excuse my French, but he's talking with forked tongue there," Cohen said Monday, adding that he had only cursory discussions with Hilton and was led to believe the post involved military and law enforcement training.

"He kept saying, come to Montana, come to California and meet me. He wouldn't give me any information" about the job, Cohen said.

Hilton's office referred questions Monday to Becky Shay, the company spokeswoman. Shay, the company's only Montana employee, said she continues to operate under the assumption that the jail project is moving forward.

Back in Hilton's home state of California, a judge has ordered the lead figure of American Police Force to appear in court Oct. 27 over an outstanding judgment in a fraud lawsuit. In that case, Hilton lured investors to sink money into an assisted living complex in Southern California that was never built. An attorney for the plaintiffs, Cris Armenta, said the $340,000 judgment awarded in 2000 has grown to about $700,000 with interest factored in. Armenta said she planned go after any and all of Hilton's assets, including his wages, property and three Mercedes SUVs that Hilton had once offered to donate to Hardin.

APF Changes Name, Logo & Website to Diffuse Tension

October 5, 2009

Prison Planet.com - In response to growing criticism and suspicion, American Police Force has changed its name, changed its logo and altered several areas of its website in an attempt to “diffuse tension” surrounding the private paramilitary organization that wants to take over law enforcement duties while bossing a $27 million dollar detention facility in Hardin, Montana.

Following threats of legal action on behalf of the government of Serbia against APF for using a near copy of the Serbian Coat of Arms, on Sunday the logo was changed although it still remains a double-headed eagle, which is widely accepted as signifying imperial power, not something many would be comfortable with for an organization that wants to provide law enforcement.

In addition, the company has changed its name from American Police Force to American Private Police Force.

The organization has also changed the language on its website and altered the claim that it runs the U.S. Training Center, which is actually controlled by Blackwater.

The previous statement on this page read, “Our extensive tactical firearms training facility, the U.S. Training Center is capable of providing a wide range of instruction and training for all types of law enforcement organizations,” a passage that was lifted directly from the Blackwater or “Xe” website.

Following rumors of threats from Blackwater, the page now reads, “Our extensive tactical firearms training facility (ETA Spring 2010) will be capable of providing a wide range of instruction and training for all types of law enforcement organizations.”

Why APF originally claimed that they already had a training center, whereas now they say it won’t even be ready until 2010, is just another one of the bizarre mysteries surrounding the organization.

“The group’s leader, Capt. Michael Hilton said the crest was a family emblem and he used it to honor his grandfather. APF Spokeswoman Becky Shay said she is not aware of any lawsuit from the consulate and Hilton made the change as, “the quickest thing he could to diffuse tension” with the old logo. She would not elaborate on exactly what those tensions were,” reports KURL 8 News.

There has been a noticeable effort on behalf of APF over the last few days to portray themselves as victims of a media harassment campaign, particularly heaping blame on Alex Jones and his crew for being persistent in demanding answers from the organization. The people of Hardin need to understand that the last people to wake up to being scammed are those who have been targeted by the scam, known as the “mark”. In this case, the media is their friend, not their enemy and people in the town need to come to this realization before it’s too late.

This attempt to shift the emphasis of the story has also served to distract from the core issue behind the whole saga – that Hardin is close to turning over a $27 million dollar detention camp as well as responsibility for policing the town, to a career criminal and a convicted fraudster who Wyoming authorities still have an arrest warrant out for. This fact alone should torpedo the whole deal and ensure APF never realize their agenda to implement similar schemes in dozens more towns and cities across America.

Two Rivers Authority board members will meet today to discuss the contract with APPF to man the $27 million dollar detention facility in Hardin. The meeting will take place at the Hardin City Hall from 3pm and is open to the public.

Watch a clip from KURL 8 News below.

American Police Force Concerns Citizens of Hardin, Montana

October 2, 2009

KURL-8 Television (Hardin, MT) - Now that Hilton's criminal past is revealed, concerned Montana citizens show up at the Hardin jail demanding answers. Both APF and Two Rivers Authority officials tell us they were aware of Hilton's checkered past but still believe in his promise to bring prisoners to Hardin.

Toni Myers drove from Columbus, Montana, in search of answers in the ongoing story between the Hardin Jail and American Police Force. "I want to know who they are, where they're coming from, and who they're bringing with them," said Myers.

"My job is not to give you the answers you want. My job is to give the information I've been employed to release or not release," said APF spokesperson Shay.

Shay spent all day answering questions from media members and the public after an AP story linked the security firm's leader Michael Hilton to multiple bankruptcies and convictions for more than a dozen felonies.

"Michael disclosed this information to me before I agreed to come work for him," said Shay.

Along with Shay, TRA Vice President Al Peterson said he knew about the convictions long before the report came out but is still confident in APF.

"I firmly believe APF is legitimate and a solid corporation," said Shay.

Peterson declined an on camera interview but released this statement saying:

"I believe that the TRA has a better chance of getting the detention facility open with APF than with any Montana officials. What do we have to lose if it doesn't work out," said Peterson.

APF also continues to stand firm on its stance to not releasing the parent company.

"That information won't be disclosed," said Shay.

But Myers and others like her pledge to continue their research and to try to get to the bottom of the mystery behind the Hardin Jail.

Calls to Michael Hilton were not returned. Becky Shay says Hilton is currently in California on business and is expected back in Hardin in the next couple weeks.

Court records from Orange County, California indicate Michael Hilton has a lengthy criminal past including a six year prison sentence for a dozen counts of grand theft and other charges. Court documents show more than a decade of courtroom appearances for Hilton starting in 1982 through 1999 on charges including bad checks, fraud, breach of contract, and grand theft. After his release from prison, court documents indicate he was entangled in at least three civil lawsuits alleging fraud or misrepresentation.

And KULR learned Thursday there's a warrant out for Hilton's arrest in Wyoming. A Sheridan, Wyoming circuit court judge issued a warrant September 1st. A court clerk says he was ticketed for driving with a suspended driver's license on Interstate 90 in Sheridan on August 15th.

The arrest warrant was issued after he failed to appear in court.

Investigation Could Sink American Police Force

October 2, 2009

Prison Planet - The plans of American Police Force to boss the $27 million dollar detention center in Hardin Montana as well as expand their presence across the country while training foreign troops inside the U.S. could be mothballed after Montana’s Attorney General launched an investigation and demanded the organization turn over all its records.

Suspicions that the paramilitary unit, which attempted to pose as law enforcement in Hardin last week by placing decals on SUV’s that read “Hardin Police Department,” is a cut-out or a front group for a larger company, may be realized after AG Steve Bullock ordered Hardin city officials to turn over all their documents related to their dealings with APF by October 12.

“His office made a similar demand of American Police Force, including information that would back up (Michael) Hilton’s claims of multiple defense contracts with the U.S. government and other agencies,” reports the Associated Press.

As we have highlighted, APF grandstands as a major player in the world of international private security, even claiming on its own website that it runs the U.S. Training Center, a Blackwater or “Xe” owned facility. This has led many to claim that the company is a shell or a front organization for something far more sinister, rumors that have only grown with APF’s blanket refusal to name its parent company.

The investigation was prompted by the revelation yesterday that APF founder “Captain” Michael Hilton is a career criminal and a convicted fraudster who has operated under no less than 17 different aliases. Hilton, a native of Montenegro, was sentenced to 6 years in jail in 1993 for “Such schemes you cannot believe,” according to Joseph Carella, an Orange County, Calif. doctor, namely a dozen counts of grand theft. Hilton has defrauded numerous different individuals to the tune of $1.1 million dollars over the past 20 years.

APF’s plans to construct another facility in Hardin that will train international paramilitary forces also looks doomed following intense media scrutiny of the organization’s shady dealings with local authorities and their probable violation of article 2 section 33 of the Montana Constitution.

Judging by the reaction of Attorney Becky Convery, who negotiated the original deal between Hardin authorities and APF, the contract to man the detention center and build the training facility could be torpedoed.

“Convery said Two Rivers director Greg Smith had a tentative deal with Hilton’s company to provide law enforcement service, but she said it was never finalized and she was uncertain whether it would be legal,” reports the AP.

“We are not at all pleased with American Police masquerading as if they were the police for the city of Hardin,” she said.

American Police Force and Hilton are now obviously engaging in desperate damage control, trying to offset concerns that they were on the verge of transforming the town into a “privately run police state,” as the AP article puts it, before press scrutiny forced them to put the breaks on.

Hilton has now pledged to donate the SUV’s that were marked with the police decals to the city while still pushing ahead with plans to provide law enforcement for the area for $250,000 a year. The fact that APF’s training center plans to recruit foreign assets who could then be patrolling the streets of America bossing U.S. citizens is obviously a frightening prospect, completely unconstitutional, and another reason why APF needs to abandon its plans to act as a private police force completely.

"American Police Force" is a scam of epic proportions. If, in fact, there is some larger entity driving this company from behind the scenes, it appears (at least to this observer) that they are an utterly incompetent, motley crew of bumbling con artists that may (at best) inspire an interesting screenplay along the lines of a low-budget "Ocean’s 11"….except with a very ugly cast. - Felix Barbour, APF: License? We Don’t Need No Stinking License!, October 2, 2009

American Police Force Official Has Extensive Criminal Record

October 1, 2009

Billings Gazette - Michael Hilton pitched himself to the city as a military veteran turned private sector entrepreneur – a California defense contractor with extensive government contracts who promised to turn the rural city’s empty jail into a cash cow. But now a much different picture of Hilton is emerging from public documents and interviews with his associates and legal adversaries.

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.
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 logo on a Mercedes SUV brought to Hardin, Mont., by a California security company that wants to take over Hardin’s empty jail is seen in this Sept. 24, 2009 photo. Michael Hilton pitched himself to the city as a military veteran turned private sector entrepreneur – a California defense contractor with extensive government contracts who promised to turn the rural city’s empty jail into a cash cow. But now a much different picture of Hilton is emerging from public documents and interviews with his associates and legal adversaries. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown) (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

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.

American Police Force Is A Blackwater Front Group

October 1, 2009

Prison Planet.com - American Police Force, the paramilitary unit patrolling a small town in Montana, has been exposed as being a front group for the disgraced private military contractor Blackwater, now called “Xe”.

The American Police Force website, on a page that has swiftly been deleted but remains cached here, states that APF runs the “U.S. Training Center,” which proves “a wide range of instruction and training for all types of law enforcement organizations, from basic firearms training to complex SWAT tactics,” according to the website.

The Blackwater website carries on its contact page the following address, underneath the logo for U.S. Training Center.

Xe Services, LLC
PO Box 1029
Moyock, NC 27958

Xe Services LLC is the new name of Blackwater USA. In addition, the U.S. Training Center contact page carries the exact same address.

PO Box 1029
Moyock, NC 27958

The U.S. Training Center is run by Blackwater. Indeed, The U.S. Training Center website, can be accessed via Blackwater’s forwarding URL at http://www.blackwaterusa.com/.

According to a February 2009 NY Times article, the U.S. Training Center is a Blackwater “subsidiary that conducts much of the company’s overseas operations and domestic training.” Blackwater changed the name of the facility from its old title, Blackwater Lodge and Training Center, earlier this this when they also changed their own name to “Xe”.

Since Blackwater runs the U.S. Training Center, and the American Police Force stated on its own website, before it was deleted this morning, that it also runs the U.S. Training Center. This means that either APF is lying about running the U.S. Training Center and is therefore effectively posing as Blackwater, or APF and Blackwater are one and the same.

A domain registry check confirms that the U.S. Training Center website is registered to XE Services.
The fact that American Police Force attempted to hide the link by deleting the page on their website is further evidence that they are trying to conceal the fact that they are nothing more than a front group for Blackwater.

The U.S. Training Center is the training facility for Blackwater’s front group, American Police Force. This means that the new training facility that “American Police Force” are trying to build in Hardin is another Blackwater training facility.

This also means that Blackwater troops, under the guise of “American Police Force” have been patrolling Hardin, posing as law enforcement, and are also attempting to boss the $27 million dollar detention center recently built in the Montana town.

Many people have expressed suspicions that the convicted criminal running “American Police Force,” Michael Hilton, is not really the leader of the company and is merely a go between for his bosses. This is now confirmed by the revelation that APF is a front group for Blackwater.

APF’s reticence to divulge who their parent company was to reporters is also explained by the fact that they are a Blackwater front.

As the videos below discuss, Blackwater has been widely attacked for its involvement in atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan. To have such individuals patrolling the streets of American towns posing as law enforcement and manning detention camps is a chilling precedent and all the more reason why American Police Force – or Blackwater as we should now call them – should be kicked out of Hardin immediately and face criminal charges for violating article 2 section 33 of the Montana Constitution.