Attorney Withdraws from American Private Police Force
Prison Legal News, Jan. 1, 2009.
Press Release - Attorney Withdraws from American Private Police Force 2009
PRESS RELEASE
Prison Legal News – For Immediate Release
October 2, 2009
ATTORNEY WITHDRAWS FROM AMERICAN PRIVATE POLICE FORCE
Hardin, MT – On September 30, Prison Legal News (PLN), a non-profit monthly publication that reports on criminal justice-related issues, provided background research to the Associated Press and other media agencies regarding the American Private Police Force Organization (APF), which has offered to operate an empty prison in Hardin, Montana.
In conjunction with the Private Corrections Institute, Prison Legal News had linked Michael Hilton, APF’s representative, with a 2000 fraud and conspiracy lawsuit in California in which the court noted that Hilton had a criminal record. That case was Bentley v. Carella. The connection was made after PLN associate editor Alex Friedmann tracked down parties involved in the civil suit who positively identified APF’s Hilton from photos in news articles. This information and related research was provided to the Associated Press, which broke the story on September 30, concurrently with a separate investigation by the Billings Gazette.
PLN’s research included details about Maziar Mafi, the Santa Ana, California-based attorney representing APF. Mr. Mafi contacted PLN today to thank PLN for pointing out a discrepancy on his website related to his track record in the appellate courts, and stated that the discrepancy will be corrected. Mr. Mafi also said that on September 30 he sent letters to APF and his contacts at the Two Rivers Authority in Hardin, indicating that he had “decided to discontinue my work with American Police Force at this time.” Mr. Mafi stated in a phone conversation with PLN that he wanted to “pull back and see some of the concrete stuff that can happen for this to have a reasonable chance of success,” referring to APF’s proposal to operate the Hardin facility.
The controversy surrounding APF and the vacant prison in Hardin has resulted in national media attention; state lawmakers have expressed concerns about APF, and Montana’s Attorney General has launched an investigation. An article about Hardin’s offer earlier this year to accept terrorism suspects from Guantanamo Bay to fill its detention facility appears in PLN’s October 2009 issue, and PLN’s recent background research on APF is posted on its website.
Prison Legal News (PLN), founded in 1990 and based in Seattle, Washington, is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting human rights in U.S. detention facilities. PLN publishes a monthly magazine that includes reports, reviews and analysis of court rulings and news related to prisoners' rights and criminal justice issues. PLN has almost 7,000 subscribers nationwide and operates a website (www.prisonlegalnews.org) that includes a comprehensive database of prison and jail-related articles, news reports, court rulings, verdicts, settlements and related documents. PLN is a project of the Human Rights Defense Center.
For further information, please contact:
Alex Friedmann, Associate Editor
Prison Legal News
5331 Mt. View Road #130
Antioch, TN 37013
(615) 495-6568
afriedmann@prisonlegalnews.org
PRESS RELEASE
Prison Legal News – For Immediate Release
October 2, 2009
ATTORNEY WITHDRAWS FROM AMERICAN PRIVATE POLICE FORCE
Hardin, MT – On September 30, Prison Legal News (PLN), a non-profit monthly publication that reports on criminal justice-related issues, provided background research to the Associated Press and other media agencies regarding the American Private Police Force Organization (APF), which has offered to operate an empty prison in Hardin, Montana.
In conjunction with the Private Corrections Institute, Prison Legal News had linked Michael Hilton, APF’s representative, with a 2000 fraud and conspiracy lawsuit in California in which the court noted that Hilton had a criminal record. That case was Bentley v. Carella. The connection was made after PLN associate editor Alex Friedmann tracked down parties involved in the civil suit who positively identified APF’s Hilton from photos in news articles. This information and related research was provided to the Associated Press, which broke the story on September 30, concurrently with a separate investigation by the Billings Gazette.
PLN’s research included details about Maziar Mafi, the Santa Ana, California-based attorney representing APF. Mr. Mafi contacted PLN today to thank PLN for pointing out a discrepancy on his website related to his track record in the appellate courts, and stated that the discrepancy will be corrected. Mr. Mafi also said that on September 30 he sent letters to APF and his contacts at the Two Rivers Authority in Hardin, indicating that he had “decided to discontinue my work with American Police Force at this time.” Mr. Mafi stated in a phone conversation with PLN that he wanted to “pull back and see some of the concrete stuff that can happen for this to have a reasonable chance of success,” referring to APF’s proposal to operate the Hardin facility.
The controversy surrounding APF and the vacant prison in Hardin has resulted in national media attention; state lawmakers have expressed concerns about APF, and Montana’s Attorney General has launched an investigation. An article about Hardin’s offer earlier this year to accept terrorism suspects from Guantanamo Bay to fill its detention facility appears in PLN’s October 2009 issue, and PLN’s recent background research on APF is posted on its website.
Prison Legal News (PLN), founded in 1990 and based in Seattle, Washington, is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting human rights in U.S. detention facilities. PLN publishes a monthly magazine that includes reports, reviews and analysis of court rulings and news related to prisoners' rights and criminal justice issues. PLN has almost 7,000 subscribers nationwide and operates a website (www.prisonlegalnews.org) that includes a comprehensive database of prison and jail-related articles, news reports, court rulings, verdicts, settlements and related documents. PLN is a project of the Human Rights Defense Center.
For further information, please contact:
Alex Friedmann, Associate Editor
Prison Legal News
5331 Mt. View Road #130
Antioch, TN 37013
(615) 495-6568
afriedmann@prisonlegalnews.org
