Montana city's jail deal delayed amid controversy

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 to be on the chopping block," said Gary Arneson, president of Hardin's Two Rivers Authority, which owns the jail.

The Hardin economic development authority's decision to step back from the deal came as town leaders on Monday announced the resignation of both the attorney and the economic development official who helped craft the jail deal for the city. Also Monday, a security industry veteran whose name was linked to the project denied involvement.

Montana's Attorney General launched an investigation into the company last week, demanding that the city turn over any documents it has related to the jail deal.

On Friday, a California judge ordered Hilton to appear in court Oct. 27 over an outstanding judgment in a fraud lawsuit.

In that case, Hilton lured investors to sink money into an assisted living complex in Southern California that was never built.

An attorney for the plaintiffs, Cris Armenta, said the $340,000 judgment awarded in 2000 has grown to about $700,000 with interest factored in. Armenta said she planned go after any and all of Hilton's assets, including his wages, property and three Mercedes SUVs that Hilton had once offered to donate to Hardin.

Over the summer, several Hardin officials flew to California and met with Hilton, and they were told a major security corporation that wished to remain anonymous was backing the deal.

An agreement with Hilton was approved by the city's Two River's Authority in early September. But a more detailed contract with the company was never ratified by a bank serving as trustee on $27 million in bond that have gone into default.

Arneson said no further action would be taken until the authority hires an attorney to replace Becky Convery, the lawyer who helped forge the agreement with American Police Force.

At a board member meeting Monday, Arneson said a background check on Hilton had been carried out by the agency's executive director, Greg Smith. Smith was put on paid leave and resigned late Monday.

Meanwhile, the man whose name was offered up as the jail's future operations director said he was never offered the job _ and would not have taken it regardless.

Hardin officials said they were told by Hilton that he was hiring Michael Cohen, an executive with International Security Associates in Dublin, Ohio, for the post.

"Excuse my French, but he's talking with forked tongue there," Cohen said Monday, adding that he had only cursory discussions with Hilton and was led to believe the post involved military and law enforcement training.

"He kept saying, come to Montana, come to California and meet me. He wouldn't give me any information" about the job, Cohen said.

Hilton's office referred questions to Becky Shay, the company spokeswoman, who said she continues to operate under the assumption that the jail project is moving forward.

I found an article listing Mike Hilton's criminal history. If he is a veteran as he claims, it wasn't in any branch of the US military that I can find.

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.

Over the years, Hilton has served jail time for fraud, and had a string of arrests and other run-ins with the law. Based on reports from the AP, the Billings Gazette, and Prison Legal News, here's a quick rundown:

• 1988: Hilton arrested in Santa Ana, Calif. for writing bad checks.

• April 1990: Hilton is again arrested in Santa Ana for writing bad checks and for grand theft.

• 1992: A civil judgment of $83,000 is entered against Hilton and Ilia Dokovich.

• March 1993: Hilton pleads guilty in Orange County court to 14 felonies, including 10 counts of grand theft. One charge involves a $20,000 real estate scam, in which Hilton persuaded an associate to give him a deed on property in Long Beach, Calif., saying it was to be used as collateral on a loan, then sold the property to someone else. According to the AP, he spends six years in prison in California.

• 1999: A small claims judgment is entered against Hilton for $3,979.

• 2000: the same plaintiff obtans another small claims judgment against Hilton in Los Angeles County, this one for $1,852.

• March 2000: Hilton is accused of fraud, larceny, and breach of contract, in connection to a venture in which Hilton and others recruited the plaintiff to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to create collectible Super Bowl commemorative coins. According to the complaint, Hilton and the others said the money would be used for the design and manufacture of the coins and for a license to produce them from the National Football League -- but the NFL never issued a license. Hilton is ultimately ordered to pay the plaintiff $200,000.

• Around the same period: Hilton also faces two similar fraud suits: In one, he's accused of posing as a fine arts dealer to deceive a Utah couple into giving him a $100,000 silver statue. In the other, he is said to have teamed with a doctor to recruit investors for a southern California assisted-living facility that was never built.

• November 2002: Hilton files for bankruptcy, in order to avoid eviction by his landlord.

• March 2003: Hilton is arrested for DUI in Huntington Beach.

• February 2004: Hilton files for bankruptcy once more, again to avoid eviction.

• January 2006: A $5,052 judgment lien is entered against Hilton in Orange County, CA.

A Lexis search conducted by Prison Legal News turned up the following aliases used by Hilton: Miodrag Dokovich, Miodrag Djokich, Miodrag Djokovich, Michael Hamilton, Anthony M. Hilton, Michael A. Hilton, Michael Milton and Hristian Djokich, plus related variants.

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