American Private Police Force

Hardin Jail

Bureau Of Prisons Shoots Down AP Report On Hardin As Gitmo Site

Justin Elliott | November 16, 2009, 12:20PM

Two Rivers Detention Center

The Bureau of Prisons is not looking at the empty jail in Hardin, Montana -- which was recently at the center of the American Police Force con -- as a potential site for Guantanamo inmates, contrary to an AP report today, a spokesperson for the bureau tells TPMmuckraker.

Con Man

Another Hilton Lie? Work Of Art He Claimed Was His Own Bears Sticker Of LA Furniture Store

Justin Elliott | November 6, 2009, 4:43PM

A rendering of Mother Theresa handed over by Michael Hilton.

Perhaps we didn't give American Police Force chief Michael Hilton enough credit earlier this week when we reported on his excuse for not handing over works of art to help pay off a hefty fraud judgment in California. Now Hilton, who has admitted the APF deal in Hardin, Montana, was bogus, has allowed a courier for one of his victims to take the art from his Santa Barbara home.

But, as the Billings Gazette reports, Hilton's description of the works, which he claims are his only assets and include a rendering of Mother Theresa, was false:

Con Man

Hilton: I'm Too Sick To Forfeit Self-Portrait For Auction

Justin Elliott | November 3, 2009, 9:40AM

Michael Hilton

The Billings Gazette in Montana has the latest from now-admitted conman Michael Hilton: asked to hand over four works of art to help pay a $700,000 judgment in a California real estate fraud case, Hilton claimed he had the flu and couldn't make it.

Michael Hilton

Hilton Admits: I'm Broke And Had No Corporate Backing for Jail Bid

Zachary Roth | November 2, 2009, 9:57AM

Michael Hilton

"I'm out of the game. I'm done," Michael Hilton has told the Associated Press in a phone interview.

The California grifter had just testified in court that he's broke, is struggling to pay rent on his apartment, and recently borrowed money from his girlfriend. And he appeared to come close, perhaps for the first time, to admitting that he had deceived local officials in Montana about his effort to take control of an empty jail.

Michael Hilton

Failed Hardin Sheriff Michael Hilton Wanted In CA

Alex Amend | October 29, 2009, 5:11PM

Michael Hilton

Michael Hilton, the shadowy figure behind the unsuccessful attempt to take over a rural Montana prison, failed to show in a California court Thursday in an unrelated years-old case about duping investors in an elder care home that was never built. A bench warrant has been issued. This from the San Francisco Chronicle.

"Captain" Michael Hilton first appeared on our radar when his private security firm, American Police Force, struck a deal to turn a 464-bed jail in Hardin, Montana, into a law enforcement training facility for operations as elaborate as defending cruise ships. The contract has since been canceled but Hilton apparently is still on the lam.

American Private Police Force

Reporter-Turned-APPF Spokesperson Becky Shay Is Now On The Job Market

Justin Elliott | October 19, 2009, 9:54AM

Becky Shay

Becky Shay, the beleaguered spokesperson for the American Private Police Force who as recently as last week was a true believer in her company and its felon leader, never received a paycheck for her work and is now gunning for a job as the chief of the Hardin, MT, agency that made the jail deal with APPF in the first place.

The AP reported Friday, in an article that refers to APPF's Michael Hilton as a "con artist":

American Private Police Force

The Unkindest Cut: Hardin Loses Its APPF Mercedes SUVs

Zachary Roth | October 15, 2009, 5:59PM

Michael Hilton

Did we just hear the death rattle of the Hardin-American Private Police Force deal?

The last two Mercedes SUVs that the mysterious private security contractor brought to the tiny Montana town have been taken back.

American Private Police Force

Montana AG Suspends Probe Of American Private Police Force

Justin Elliott | October 14, 2009, 10:56AM

Michael Hilton

The attorney general of Montana has suspended a short-lived probe of the American Private Police Force, saying that "Captain" Michael Hilton's failure to answer the AG's questions "speaks volumes about his company's legitimacy."

Attorney General Steve Bullock released this statement last night:

American Police Force

American Private Police Force Faxes One Page Non-Response To AG's Request

Justin Elliott | October 13, 2009, 3:50PM

Michael Hilton

In the least surprising development of the day, American Private Police Force has declined to answer the Montana attorney general's questions seeking information about its (supposed) business and (supposed) past clients.

Attorney General Steve Bullock sent a letter two weeks ago demanding the information, before the deal for APPF to run a jail in Hardin fell apart.

KTVQ in Billings reports: