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Michael Hilton, the mysterious figure at the center of a failed plan by American Police Force to take over the vacant 464-bed detention center in Hardin, did not show up for a scheduled court hearing today in California. Hilton had been ordered by a judge in Superior Court of Los Angeles to appear in court and to disclose his assets to a plaintiff who has a civil judgment of almost $700,000 against him. The judge issued a bench warrant for Hilton, who is now subject to arrest for his failure to appear, said Cris Armenta, an attorney representing the plaintiff,...

BILLINGS, Mont. - Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock has dropped his investigation into a California company following its attempted take over of an empty Montana jail. The company, American Police Force, had missed a Monday deadline to provide documents sought by Bullock's office after revelations that company founder Michael Hilton had a lengthy criminal background. But because American Police Force has since pulled out of its bid to take over a 464-bed jail in rural Hardin, Bullock said Tuesday he was ending the investigation. Bullock said Hilton's failure to answer questions about the project "speaks volumes about his company's legitimacy."

The Hardin jail deal is off, said a spokeswoman for the cryptic California company contracted to run the for-hire hoosegow, now two years empty. Becky Shay, spokeswoman for American Police Force, said Friday that her company withdrew its offer to operate the 464-bed facility. The announcement comes after investigative reporters revealed that APF's frontman, Serbian immigrant Michael Hilton, has a criminal record and that some APF claims about its jail proposal were bogus. The canceled deal leaves Hardin's economic development arm, Two Rivers Authority, which owns the jail, without a contractor yet again. Officials for the organization did not respond...

After trying in vain for two years to fill a 464-bed jail, it appeared deliverance was finally at hand for officials in this remote Montana town. They had struck an agreement with a California company to take over their never-used facility. But those plans have been placed on hold following news that Mike Hilton, lead figure of the newly minted American Police Force, of Santa Ana, Calif., has a history of fraud that includes several years in jail and three civil judgments against him for more than $1.1 million. "We won't move forward. I don't think any of us want...

HELENA - Michael Hilton, the self-styled "Captain Mike" and California felon who founded the private security firm seeking to run an empty jail in Hardin, has been summoned back to court in California over an unpaid judgment in a fraud lawsuit. California Superior Judge Andrew Kauffman on Friday ordered Hilton, who has also gone by more than a dozen aliases, to appear at an Oct. 29 Los Angeles County hearing where he's been asked to provide a stack of financial documents, including details of who has paid for his recent trips to Hardin. Hilton and several of his former associates...

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...

The American Police Force (APF) is a mysterious group reportedly hoping to lease the Two Rivers Detention Center in Hardin, Montana. Trouble is, the APF is not answering questions regarding the source of their financing, their parent company, or even from where the group plans to obtain prisoners. Worse yet, the APF is rumored to have other plans for the area – some not approved by local officials. The APF claims to be a private security company, however, a search of two comprehensive contractor databases by the Associated Press turned up no record of the company. Representatives from the Defense...

Think things in America can't get any more unsettling? Well, you're wrong. Meet the American Police Force, which will soon take over a Montana jail that once asked to house Guantanamo inmates. And, shocker, they're shady as hell. Let's look... Unorganized militia's played quite the role in America's revolution, and they've been experiencing a bit of a revival in the scary recent past. The anti-immigrant Minute Men are out in full force down Arizona way, while the once-defunct Michigan Militia seems to have revived itself: they just had a training exercise called Operation Pita Storm. But those groups are small...

In this Friday, Sept. 24, 2009 picture, Albert Peterson with the Two Rivers Authority stands outside an empty jail that Hardin, Mont. built for $27 million. The authority wants a California security company, American Police Force, to take over the facility. 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...

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...

"...Two River Authority officials have entered into a 10-year contract with an out-of-state security firm to bring 1,000 prisoners to the Hardin jail by mid March, but law enforcement has never heard of the firm..."

American Police Force (APF) Facts: - APF was incorporated in California in March, soon after Hardin leaders desperately announced that the empty jail could be used for Guantanamo Bay terrorism detainees. - APF claims to be a private security company, but does not show up in existing government contract databases. - APF claims to have "rapid response units awaiting our orders worldwide" and that it can field a battalion-sized team of special forces soldiers "within 72 hours." - APF says they have between 16 and 28 people in the U.S. and 1,600 contractors worldwide. - Defense Department, State Department, and...

Conspiracy theories abound, and they’re developing around American Police Force Corp. Neoliberal blogs are claiming rather amazingly that APFC is a militia, one sign the left couldn't identify a militia if it fell from heaven and hit them on the head. Fact is, a lot of hard information isn’t exactly forthcoming. The logo for the American Police Force Corp., a little known security company sparking controversy in the town of Hardin, Montana, is eerily similar to a royal Serbian coat of arms. APFC appeared to be claiming jurisdiction over the town on Tuesday when three Mercedes SUVs belonging to the...

CODY, Wyo. - 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...

The logo for the American Police Force, a mysterious security company that may or may not be taking over the town of Hardin, Montana is the same as a Serbian coat of arms.APF appeared to be claiming jurisdiction over the town yesterday when three Mercedes SUVs belonging to the group arrived bearing Hardin Police markings. Trouble is, Hardin hasn't had a police department in 30 years and currently have a contract with the Big Horn County Sheriff's Office.The mayor told the APF to remove the decals.Michael Hilton, who might or might not be a spokesman for APF, said in a...

Tons of readers are asking about the American Police Force jail contract in Hardin, Montana.Neil Katz at CBS News reported: This is the strange story of how American Police Force, a little known company which claims to specialize in training military and security forces overseas, has seemingly taken control of a $27 million, never-used jail, and a rural Montana town’s nonexistent police force.After arriving in this tiny city with three Mercedes SUVs marked with the logo of a police department that has never existed, representatives of the obscure California security company said preparations were under way to take over Hardin’s...

The logo for the American Police Force, a mysterious security company that may or may not be taking over the town of Hardin, Montana is the same as a Serbian coat of arms. APF appeared to be claiming jurisdiction over the town yesterday when three Mercedes SUVs belonging to the group arrived bearing Hardin Police markings. Trouble is, Hardin hasn't had a police department in 30 years and currently have a contract with the Big Horn County Sheriff's Office. The mayor told the APF to remove the decals. Michael Hilton, who might or might not be a spokesman for APF,...

<p>Font Size:Default font sizeLarger font size BOB ZELLAR/Gazette Staff Hardin officials began construction on the $27 million Two Rivers Detention Facility in June 2006, and it was completed in September 2007. . .Related Links Related: American Police Force The Two Rivers Detention Center was promoted as the largest economic development project in decades in the small town of Hardin when the jail was built two years ago. But it has been vacant ever since.</p>

BILLINGS - 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 officials say having APF patrol the streets was never part of their agenda. "I have no idea. I really don't because that's not been a part of any of the discussions we've had with any of them," said Two Rivers Authority's Al Peterson. As it stands now the Big Horn County Sheriff's Department is contracted to patrol the city and APF has no jurisdiction. If that was...

Below is a posting at Resistnet of someone in the town of Hardin, Montana witnessing BO's thugs taking over a town with a civilian police force with the purpose of forcing people to take the swine flu vaccination. The private police force has plans for thirty other town across the U.S. according to the eyewitness account. The eyewitness account is verified by an article at http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/61320122.htmlFrom: A Good Friend in Montana Subject: OUT OF TIME: CITY OF HARDIN, MT NOW BECOMING A POLICE STATE! TV Ch8 Verified This came to me from a faithful watchman! WE ARE OUT OF TIME!...