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Defense Contractors: October 2009

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American Police Force

Reporter-Turned-APF-Flack: "I Made A Great Career Choice"

Zachary Roth | October 1, 2009, 12:07PM

Becky Shay

Reporters who go to work in public relations often encounter a bit of skepticism from their former colleagues (see Wolffe, Richard.) But that skepticism may be especially pronounced when the company on whose behalf the former reporter is spinning is a mysterious private security force that has won a contract to take over an empty jail and won't reveal the source of its backing, and whose leader shows up in town wearing a military-style uniform, offering three Mercedes SUVs for use by local law enforcement, and dragging a long criminal record, including jail time for fraud, behind him.

Meet Becky Shay, the American Police Force's new director of public relations. Shay had been a reporter for 20 years, and had been covering the APF story for the Billings Gazette. She filed her last story Thursday night, apparently without telling her editors that she had been in negotiations for a job with the company she was covering. Then she abruptly quit the paper and announced that she had signed on with APF.

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Topics: American Police Force, Becky Shay, Defense Contractors, Media, Michael Hilton

American Police Force

American Police Force Offers Fugitive Tracking, 'Covert Pregnancy Testing' and More!

Rachel Slajda | October 1, 2009, 11:24AM

When reading TPMmuckraker's coverage of American Police Force, the shadowy private security firm that's taken over a prison in Montana, you might wonder what other services APF offers. Surely, you think, they do more than run empty jails for mysterious reasons?

Indeed they do. According to its web site, the company offers a wide range of services, including "Check Your Mate" cheating spouses investigations, "fugitive recovery" for fugitives hiding in one of those pesky non-extradition countries and help if a loved one is kidnapped and held for ransom.

Or is it the other way around?

Our highly trained staff will discover information that fits your needs to get the answers you need. Some of our services include Kidknapping & Ransoms for ransom, INTL Air Marshalls, Security for convoys in Iraq, Pakistan + More!

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Topics: American Police Force, Defense Contractors, Michael Hilton, Montana

American Police Force

American Police Force Leader's Long Criminal Record

Zachary Roth | October 1, 2009, 11:17AM

American Police Force logo

The American Police Force, that mysterious security company that just took over an empty jail in Hardin, Montana, is looking shadier than ever.

Since yesterday, details have been emerging about the background of the man behind APF -- a California-based grifter, who has said he's a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Montenegro, and uses the name Michael Hilton.