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.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

Private Prison Business

The Muni Bonds In The Hardin Jail Project: Who Lost Money?

Justin Elliott | October 16, 2009, 1:41PM

Two Rivers Detention Center

We posted an investigative piece Monday about the back story on the empty jail in Hardin, MT, explaining how a consortium of companies made millions on the project that has netted exactly nothing for the struggling town.

But what about the $27 million in high-risk municipal bonds that were issued to fund the construction of the speculative jail in 2006 and 2007?

Read more »

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.

Read more »

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:

Read more »

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:

Read more »

Private Prison Business

Behind Montana Jail Fiasco: How Private Prison Developers Prey On Desperate Towns

Justin Elliott | October 12, 2009, 3:14PM

Two Rivers Authority parade float, 6/27/09

With the unraveling of the deal for the shadowy American Private Police Force to take over and populate an empty jail in Hardin, Montana, it's pretty clear that the small city got played by an ex-con and his (supposed) private security firm.

But an investigation by TPMmuckraker into how Hardin ended up with the 92,000 square foot facility in the first place suggests that, long before "low-level card shark" Michael Hilton ever came to town, Hardin officials had already been taken for a ride by a far more powerful set of players: a well-organized consortium of private companies headquartered around the country, which specializes in pitching speculative and risky prison projects to local governments desperate for jobs.

The projects have generated multi-million dollar profits for the companies involved, but often haven't created the anticipated payoff for the communities, and have left a string of failed or failing prisons in their wake.

"They look for an impoverished town that's desperate," says Frank Smith of the Private Corrections Institute, a Florida-based group that opposes prison privatization. "They come in looking very impressive, saying, 'We'll make money rain from the skies.' In fact, they don't care whether it works or not."

Read more »

Hardin

APPF Backs Out Of Hardin Jail Deal

Zachary Roth | October 9, 2009, 6:01PM

American Police Force logo

The end has come...

Controversial private security contractor American Private Police Fore has officially backed out of a deal with Hardin, Montana, to run a local prison, APPF spokeswoman Beck Shay announced this afternoon. (Watch Shay's press conference here.)

Read more »

American Police Force

Early Agreement Said APPF Would Provide Hardin With Police Force For $250K

Justin Elliott | October 9, 2009, 10:04AM

APPF SUVs with 'Hardin Police Dept.' decal, 9/30/09

Here's a nice get by the Billings Gazette, which went to court to pry another document from the hands of Hardin, MT, officials on the town's deal with the shadowy American Private Police Force.

The August 18 agreement, signed by APPF's Michael Hilton and Hardin economic development chief Greg Smith, who resigned this week, makes clear that Smith wanted APPF to provide a police force for the town, which doesn't have its own department. Read the whole thing here.

Read more »

American Police Force

Anonymous APPF 'Investor' Comes Forward, Claims Jail Project Still Alive

Justin Elliott | October 8, 2009, 11:36AM

Just when we thought the American Private Police Force saga might be over, a putative APPF "investor" has come forward -- anonymously.

KULR in Montana reports on a "California man" who claims, under condition that his name not be used, that he is one of several private individuals who gave APPF money for the Hardin jail project.

Read more »

American Police Force

The Tragedy Of Becky Shay: Beleaguered APPF Spox Presses On

Justin Elliott | October 7, 2009, 6:36PM

Becky Shay

It's been a rough couple of weeks for Becky Shay, the spokeswoman for the American Private Police Force.

Amid it all -- the tearful press conference, the confrontations with a conspiracist shock jock who parachuted in from Texas, the media scrutiny of her abrupt career shift from Billings Gazette reporter covering APPF to the public face of APPF, and, above all, the persistent charges that her new company is a fraud -- Shay has kept her eye on the ball.

And, she told TPMmuckraker in an interview today, she's damn proud of it.

Read more »

Hardin

Hardin To Create Own Police Force -- But Pledges Not To Hire APPF

Zachary Roth | October 7, 2009, 10:02AM

American Police Force logo

We told you this week the contract between Hardin, Montana and American Private Police Force gave the shady security contractor the chance to take over the town's policing needs, in addition to running Hardin's prison. It appears to have been this potential law enforcement responsibility that led APPF to roll into town late last month in three Mercedes SUVs bearing the words "City of Hardin Police Department," setting off a panic that soon spread far beyond Hardin.

Now that the APPF deal seems to have been on hold, you'd think local officials might now be wary of doing anything that might re-open the police force issue. But yesterday, Big Horn County commissioners nonetheless went ahead and voted to allow the city to create its own police department - though only after making assurances that APPF won't get the job.

Read more »

Al Peterson

Did Hardin Official Benefit Personally From APPF Deal?

Zachary Roth | October 6, 2009, 1:38PM

Fmr. TRA Director Greg Smith

How did American Private Police Force convince the town of Hardin to put it in charge of a 464-bed prison, despite having essentially no proven track record with such projects? The complete answer isn't yet clear. But could the mysterious private contractor have dangled a job for the wife of a top city official to seal the deal?

Let's lay out the evidence...

Read more »

American Police Force

APPF's 'Major Security Firm' Parent Company: Does It Exist?

Justin Elliott | October 6, 2009, 12:49PM

Michael Hilton

One of the abiding mysteries of the American Private Police Force story is who, if anyone, provided the financial backing the private security company claims to have.

As the project unravels and more of APPF's claims are shown to be dubious, it seems like the key question is not who the parent company is, but: does it actually exist?

Read more »

Hardin

Hardin Official To APPF: Tell Us "Where The Money Is Coming From"

Zachary Roth | October 6, 2009, 12:01PM

Al Peterson

A Hardin, Montana official who has been the public face of the town's controversial prison contract with American Private Police Force (APPF) is now expressing serious concerns about the deal.

Yesterday, Al Peterson of the Two Rivers Authority (TRA), the city's economic development agency, sent an email to Michael Hilton of APPF and to the TRA's board members, declaring:

Read more »

American Police Force

Hardin, Montana, Puts Jail Deal With APPF On Ice

Justin Elliott | October 6, 2009, 9:08AM

Michael Hilton

Spooked by a man who turned out to be a convicted felon and who appears to have repeatedly lied on his way to acquiring a lease for an empty jail in Hardin, MT, town leaders yesterday put the deal with American Private Police Force on hold.

Last week, the state attorney general launched a probe of the deal that was pushed through by a man calling himself "Captain" Michael Hilton.

The AP reports on the Hardin board meeting yesterday that put a stop to the whole project:

Read more »

American Police Force

APPF's Dubious Story Gets Even More Dubious

Justin Elliott | October 5, 2009, 6:46PM

We've known since last week that the story surrounding a deal that handed an empty jail in Hardin, MT, to shadowy private security company American Private Police Force just wasn't adding up. Today, it became still more clear that APPF has a lot of explaining to do.

Let's review the developments:

Read more »

American Police Force

Hardin Official: Unnamed But 'Highly Qualified' APPF Director Of Ops In Afghanistan Right Now

Justin Elliott | October 5, 2009, 6:08PM

American Private Police Force has hired a director of operations for the Hardin jail project who will not be publicly named until next week but who is a "highly qualified" retired U.S. military person doing training in Afghanistan, a Hardin official tells TPMmuckraker.

"I've got his resume and it looks pretty nice," says Al Peterson of the Hardin economic development agency, which brokered the jail deal with APPF.

Peterson wouldn't say who the director of operations is, but confirmed it was not a Hardin local.

Read more »

American Police Force

Another Blow To APPF's Credibility: Contractor Says Web Site Material Was Lifted

Justin Elliott | October 5, 2009, 4:35PM

From Allied Defense Systems Web site

The head of a California defense contractor says that American Private Police Force brazenly copied information from its Web site and that it's considering legal action against APPF.

CEO Edward Angelino of Allied Defense Systems told TPMmuckraker that APPF's "Mike Hilton came to us for our help looking for supplies and equipment" for the mysterious project at an empty jail in Hardin, Montana.

After a bit of due diligence, Angelino deemed that Hilton and APPF were not fit to do business with -- but not before referring APPF to Allied Defense Systems' Web developer.

Read more »

American Police Force

APPF Lawyer Who Said Info Would 'Gradually Be More Clear' Quits

Justin Elliott | October 5, 2009, 3:35PM

Attorney Maziar Mafi

Maziar Mafi, the California lawyer who had been variously identified as American Private Police Force's legal affairs director, president, and a "major" in the company, on Friday severed his ties to the Hardin, MT, jail project until he sees "more concrete action."

Mafi's practice, like APPF, is based in Santa Ana, California. As a specialist in personal injury, immigration, and business law, he had seemed an odd choice of counsel for a firm that claims to play a critical role in filling the United States government's "homeland security needs."

Mafi told the AP: "For the time, I'm pulling out. I need to see more concrete action before I can be involved."

Read more »

American Police Force

Scrubbed: APF Web Page That Claimed Ownership Of Blackwater Training Center Now Reads 'ETA Spring 2010'

Justin Elliott | October 5, 2009, 12:31PM

We knew that American Police Force, the shadowy private security company that has taken over an empty jail in a small Montana town, has a history of making outlandish and flat-out bogus claims. And it now appears that the company is taking some of the criticism to heart.

The firm, which is now calling itself American Private Police Force (feel better?), has toned down -- ever so slightly -- some of its colorful Web site's claims. (Old version here, current version here.)

APPF has deleted a reference to a training facility which it had earlier claimed to control, but which is in fact owned by Xe, aka Blackwater,

Read more »

American Police Force

Mysterious Private Security Firm Gets Control Of Empty Jail In Small Montana Town

Justin Elliott | September 30, 2009, 3:16PM

American Police Force logo

A shadowy private security company that has no known clients but claims to have helped foreign governments combat terrorism and will protect anything from cruise ships to Pakistani convoys has taken over a jail in a small Montana town, with plans to build a law enforcement training facility on the property.

The state legislature is looking into the matter and residents of Hardin, MT, were alarmed last week when executives from the firm, American Police Force, showed up in the town, which does not have its own police department, with Mercedes SUVs bearing "City Of Hardin Police Department" decals.

And the town has had to tamp down reports on conspiracy Web sites that APF plans to impose experimental H1N1 vaccines on residents under threat of quarantine in the jail.

Under a lease signed with Hardin, APF, based in Santa Ana, California, and incorporated just six months ago, is now in control of a 400-bed detention facility the town built a few years ago but never used, a town official confirmed to TPMmuckraker today. The town reportedly stands to make over $2 million per year.

Read more »