California entrepreneur promising to revitalize rural Montana town has checkered past ( Hardin )

Los Angeles Times ^ | October 1, 2009 | 11:08 a.m | MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press Writer

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

In this Friday, Sept. 25, 2009 picture, Michael Hilton stands outside the city offices after meeting with Hardin, Mont. officials. 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) (Matthew Brown, AP / September 25, 2009)

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Michael Hilton showed up in Hardin, Mont., last week, presenting himself as an economic savior, the man who would take over the town's $27 million jail — empty since it was built as a development project in 2007 — and provide 200 new jobs in the process.

He wore a military-style uniform, and as a gesture to local law enforcement offered up the use of three Mercedes SUVs.

But the man who styles himself as a military veteran turned private sector entrepreneur and a California defense contractor with extensive government contracts also has another image, and that one is provided by public documents and interviews with associates and legal adversaries.

The record says that he is a convicted felon with at least 17 aliases, a string of legal judgments against him, two bankruptcies and a decades-long reputation for deals gone bad.

American Police Force is the company Hilton formed in March to take over the Hardin jail.

"Such schemes you cannot believe," said Joseph Carella, an Orange County, Calif., doctor and co-defendant with Hilton in a real estate fraud case that resulted in a civil judgment against Hilton......

[maine-iac7]

APF American Police Force -Note - the logo is the Serbian Coat of Arms???

see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_coat_of_arms

http://www.prisonplanet.com/images/september2009/290909top.jpg

http://www.americanpolicegroup.com/apf_international_operations.html

http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/61542322.html?video=YHI&t=a

“APF works in every country in the world”

(Someone reported that Captain Michael Hilton, who first refused to give his last name, has a “thick Russian Accent”)

Names of players of APF in Hardin: Captain Michael Hilton whose real name is Miodrag Dokovich? Emad (aka, Edward) Angelino (with connections to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)? Mohammad Abdalla? Maziar Mafif, the attorney for APF? So far, these are the main players in APF.

http://www.americanpolicegroup.com/weapon.html

Logo - Phoenix rising???

Town got suckered -but they deserved it - not one of the town fathers could “GOOGLE”? They'd have found all this ahead of time...

A local reporter gal quit her job and signed on as their public relations person - for $60,000 a year.
Hope she gets those checks cashed fast.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

See post #21.....thanks Maine-iac7.

[NeoCaveman]

His lawyer is a two-bit shyster of Iranian descent.... and his lawyer is also a fomer candidate for Congress as a Democrat.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

You link to .kulr8.com

is great,...pictures of the jail and the Mercedes and the town....nice looking town...

Making it more visible:

APF Reactions

Several video clips on the page....select APF Reactions

[Candor7]

American Police Force Cross Thread reference.

There may be more to this than meets the eye. (Obama wants a catch hme for GITMO “refugees” who cannot be placed?Did Obathing leave him hanging?)

Cross Ref Thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2351907/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2350572/

Please see this:
http://www.crushingchris.com/blog/?tag=american-police-force

“The server for APF’s website happens to host Defense Product Solutions’ website. This company registered its domain name way back on June 19, 2009. Note that both APF and DPS use the double-headed eagle for their corporate logos. AlliedDefenseSystems.com (registered March 2007) appears to be a related site. This website’s administrative contact is Mohammad Abdalla. Mr. Abdalla is listed as the COO for this company in Anaheim, CA.”

“Here’s where it gets more strange. The admin e-mail is for a Mr. Edward Angelino, who just happens to be listed as a small business contact for Defense Logistics Services, Inc., a company that appears to be providing foreign military sales support for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Mr. Angelino has an interesting tracking record when it comes to both lawsuits and government contracts.”

This site has a lot more information.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

See #25.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Billings paper:

APF head Hilton has history of legal trouble

***********************EXCERPT************************

Served time in prison for theft

RUFFIN PREVOST Of The Gazette Staff | Posted: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 6:25 pm | (111) Comments

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.

[Candor7]

Miodrag Dokovich and Midrag Ilia Dokovich.>>>>>>>>>>>>>

OMG! The Dogovich Brothers, Weren't they lampooned in the movie about Mickey O'Neil (Brad Pitt) a Gypsy boxer - in Guy Ritchie's Snatch (2001) from Screen Gems?

Those were so bad pups. No match for the Gypsies though.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I’m not a movie goer....LOL!

[TangoLimaSierra]

La Times, huh? Wonder what would have happened if they would have looked into the Unibama one tenth as closely as they did this guy.

[Moltke]

Damn, you beat me to it! My call was Boris ‘The Blade’ Yurinov, though. (Or is that supposed to be one of the brothers?)

[Candor7]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kceeP3eUj90

[af_vet_rr]

I wonder how far this con would have gotten without the internet exposing him.

Probably pretty far. It sounded like some people in town were in on the swindle. This guy was offering a job to one of the mayoral candidates if she lost, and her husband was involved with trying to get the contract for APF.

In retrospect, it was a pretty slick scam. It was a small town and the chances of people from there being able to dig anything up on him using the internet would have been low.

These people were desperate for jobs and like any good liberals they were willing to allow their local government to spend it's way into debt on some project that might bring in a few hundred jobs and all they could focus on was the jobs and the money. They never stopped to wonder why nobody was interested in their $25 million jail. You had town officials looking to win the next election or make some money some how. Some scam artist in California reads about their jail, comes up with some addresses, cuts and pastes stock photography and text from other websites, including apparently Blackwater/XE. He gets a few officials on his side and the rest is history.

[Candor7]

Boris the Blade took info from his relative to obtain the diamond in question ( 83 carats). The whole movie is difficult to figure, but Boris seems remarkably like Dokovich, aka Michael Hardin ( who apparetly has a dozen alias, whoever he is.)

Hardin bit he bibby on this grift, or Obama pulled the rug out from under Hardin. We likely will never know.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

State AG is now on it:

Montana AG launches probe of town's jail deal

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

see #35.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Ernest.

The record says that he is a convicted felon with at least 17 aliases, a string of legal judgments against him, two bankruptcies and a decades-long reputation for deals gone bad.

Also sez they've got empty jails... hmm... let me think...

[SunkenCiv]

"17 aliases? Felonies? Hey, if he's also a tax dodger, I may have a job for him in my administration!"

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

ROFLMAO!!!

[Marine_Uncle]

Been a bit busy with work schedules to keep up with all the recent news.