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What the hell is going on in Hardin, MT and who is the American Police Force?

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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 01:53 PM
Original message
What the hell is going on in Hardin, MT and who is the American Police Force?
Edited on Tue Sep-29-09 01:57 PM by Subdivisions
Here's an image of a Hardin, MT, Police Department vehicle insignia.



Problem is Hardin, MT, doesn't have a police department.

Video from http://www.kulr8.com/">KLUR Channel 8:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paP5UOk6GRA&feature=related

Hardin residents appear split over what American Police Force's intentions are, but Hardin mayoral candidate Kerri Smith says the group is here to help.

http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/61320122.html

http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/62465902.html?video=pop&t=a

Confusion and secrecy about American Police Force has grown during the last few weeks. While they gave details for the site, other questions went unanswered.



Rumors & Speculation

Publicity about this American Police Force has heated up, apparently to the point where APF has taken down their http://www.americanpolicegroup.com">website. There is controversy brewing over APF's logo of a double-crested eagle which some are saying is the reminescent of the Russian coat-of-arms.

This was captured from APF's website:



This is Russia's emblem:



There are accounts also of foreign "russian accents" among the APF ranks.

More video about Hardin, American Police Force, and the Hardin detention facility can be found on YouTube.


More on APF:

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_1f5ffbee-a4da-11de-b6ab-001cc4c03286.html
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rd_kent Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 01:55 PM
Response to Original message
1. Interesting......
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CrunchMaster Donating Member (308 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 02:25 AM
Response to Reply #1
86. It's Montana... probably Reich Wing up to dirty tricks
i imagine this is a birther, acorn type setup. to make Obama and the Federal government look like Commie sympathisers.. its Montana after all. Home of right wing extremophiles. The united states is having a terrible spell of RIGHTWING EXTREMIST UNDERGROUND NETWORK KOOKINESS. it'll pass. in the mean time things are getting retarded.. keep it real, call these creeps out when you see them up to dirty tricks

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MineralMan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 02:03 PM
Response to Original message
2. WTF?
Call in the state police.
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kestrel91316 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 02:03 PM
Response to Original message
3. Isn't it illegal to impersonate a police officer? Because whoever is putting
those logos on vehicles is doing just that.
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 02:08 PM
Response to Reply #3
4. I think so. And that door insignia is accompanied by a decal on the back bumper
of that MERCEDES SUV that read "Police Department". The use of Mercedes as a police department vehicle is kinda unusual I would think. There were supposedly a convoy of 12 that came into town after the agreement between Hardin and APF was apparently signed.

Also, the detention facility cost $27,000,000. Hardin doesn't look like the sort of place that has that kind of money to build a detention facility (even through a bonds sale) that has for two years stood idle. Something weird going on in that little dale.
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JordanSmith73 Donating Member (24 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:41 PM
Response to Reply #3
35. Interesting
Interesting
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Canuckistanian Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 02:15 PM
Response to Original message
5. LIKE the Russian coat-of-arms? It's EXACTLY the Russian coat-of arms


Except for the knight facing the wrong way.
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 10:48 PM
Response to Reply #5
8. It's curious alright. n/t
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intheflow Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:16 PM
Response to Reply #5
22. But we peaceniks are the Stalinists.
:crazy:
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:28 PM
Response to Reply #22
28. I bet the Freepers will look right past that Russian emblem and the
"commie" connotations that come with it. Can't be goin' against the tyranny they so dearly love to recognize that it's their own ilk sporting such a symbol.
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Rubble Donating Member (33 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-01-09 06:13 AM
Response to Reply #5
109. Its the shield from the Serbian Coat of Arms
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Blue_Tires Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 02:15 PM
Response to Original message
6. could be our old friends in moyock:
from the story:


"Public records show that the APF Web site, Americanpolicegroup.com, was first registered on May 15, about two weeks after an effort by the Two Rivers Authority to pursue prisoners from Guantanamo Bay made national headlines.

A section of text on the APF site refers to the company's "U.S. Training Center," and matches word for word text from the Web site for Xe, formerly Blackwater. That company's U.S. Training Center is touted as the largest facility of its kind.

APF representatives have said that their company is a subsidiary of an undisclosed parent corporation founded in 1984. Blackwater was started in 1997.

Public Internet records show that the APF Web site is one of six hosted on a single Web server, including a site for Defense Product Solutions."
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intheflow Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:11 PM
Response to Reply #6
19. Founded in 1984?
Sounds like Cheneyesque doublespeak for "1997."
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bananas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:56 PM
Response to Reply #6
45. "a newly organized subsidiary of the unnamed California company"
Sounds like Blackwater:
Hardin betting on mystery company
By BECKY SHAY Of The Gazette Staff | Posted: Sunday, September 20, 2009 12:00 am

<snip>

Al Peterson won't say the name of the company that wants to fill the empty jail in Hardin.

He says he's seen documents that prove the company is legitimate, but he won't discuss the contents or nature of those documents either.

And, he's been to California to meet personally with company officials and to haggle over a 10-year contract he says will bring in hundreds of prisoners, scores of jobs and thousands of dollars to his beleaguered community.

<snip>

Despite all the mystery, Peterson insists that everyone will be believers in the next few weeks when American Private Police Force Organization, a newly organized subsidiary of the unnamed California company, begins hiring local staff for the prison.

<snip>
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:02 AM
Response to Reply #45
48. Check my post #47 below... n/t
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MineralMan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 02:16 PM
Response to Original message
7. I've been scrambling around the web, and there's
nothing really concrete about this outfit. They seem to be connected with several other organizations, but the APF web site is 404.

The impersonation thing is very odd, along with the lack of a contract. The associated companies have names that look to be Saudi as the principals.

Very strange. It sounds like the MT state police need to whistle into town, along with a few FBI agents and pin down what's going on.

Lots of forum discussions about this, but little real info.
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earth mom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 10:54 PM
Response to Original message
9. Is this near where Cheney has a home?
:yoiks:
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 10:58 PM
Response to Reply #9
11. I don't think so. But, when I lived and worked in Jackson Hole, WY,
I worked on houses in his neighborhood, once next door. Was less than 50 feet away from the snake at the Wilson Vol Fire Dept driveway on Nov 2, 2004. Yep, you got it...the day he voted for himself for vice-president for the second time.
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earth mom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:00 PM
Response to Reply #11
14. So his home is actually in Wyoming? Opps!
:hide:
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:03 PM
Response to Reply #14
15. Yes. And whenever he would come to Jackson, he'd bring a military
Edited on Tue Sep-29-09 11:08 PM by Subdivisions
contingent with him that would park nearby, out of site, and included a mobile rocket launcher. I gladly cast my vote for Kerry/Edwards. I like to think I proudly countered his vote.
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earth mom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 03:18 AM
Response to Reply #15
89. I think I forgot because I'm really trying not to think about that evil bastard more than I have to.
But that said, we should all probably be watching him now more than ever. :scared:
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RoyGBiv Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 10:58 PM
Response to Original message
10. Website is back up ...

Looks like a Xe/Blackwater type outfit.

What stuns me at the moment is they have freakin' Ravel's Bolero playing as background music on the site's front page. That turns the creepy factor up about twelve notches.

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Cetacea Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 10:59 PM
Response to Reply #10
12. Yeah. Pretty creepy.
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:00 PM
Response to Reply #10
13. Weird. I still can't see it. Goes to an oops page. n/t
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RoyGBiv Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:05 PM
Response to Reply #13
17. May be a DNS problem ...
Edited on Tue Sep-29-09 11:09 PM by RoyGBiv
It's on a shared server with GoDaddy. If it got moved to another box or some such thing, that could be the cause. Or it could just be a DNS glitch somewhere else.

If you try to put in the IP only, it goes to a 403 (unauthorized) but will load for me with the URL. I use OpenDNS as my DNS server.

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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:14 PM
Response to Reply #17
20. Ok, I've got it in FF. IE has an issue with it. Damn! That's my first look
at their website. Creepy to the Nth.

I would like to know why this (possibly foreign) paramilitary group is allowed to impersonate police. Where is the state police and FBI? Is this legal?
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RoyGBiv Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:16 PM
Response to Reply #20
23. I can't imagine that it should be ...

... but this is Montana. I'd suspect such things are covered by state or local laws, which could be rather weird.

(This is not a slam against Montana, just a note that some of our lesser populated states have some non-traditional laws on the books.)

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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:22 PM
Response to Reply #23
25. From what I can gather from the available information, Hardin has terminated
it's contract with the county sheriff and has made some kind of deal (which is under wraps according to KLUR's report) with this outfit to run the detention facility (which has been reported to be a FEMA facility built by Kellog-Brown & Root, which needs to be confirmed) and apparently to provide security for the town.

If this is legal, it will set a startling precedent that cannot be allowed to stand. WE CANNOT HAVE PRIVATE CORPORATE POLICE FORCES IN AMERICA!!!
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AuntPatsy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:31 PM
Response to Reply #25
31. Fema facility? who exactly goes to fema detention facilities?
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:38 PM
Response to Reply #31
32. This particular detention center cost $27 Million and, from what I understand, has
been sitting idle for two years. Apparently this APF outfit is being hired to fill it with prisoners. As for why a small town of 3000 would spend $27 Million to build a "jail" that has since stood empty is anyone's guess. I am trying to determine who built this facility - if it was KBR or not.

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AuntPatsy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:42 PM
Response to Reply #32
36. Okay,,now you really got me freaked out...so just who is supposed to fill
up the rooms inside this ummm america is broke twenty seven million dollar prison facility calling it a fema one and which is by the way presently empty and has been for two years since it's completion...okay..royaly freaked out..
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RoyGBiv Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:10 PM
Response to Reply #13
18. Partial screenshot ...
... Contact Us page ...

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Shanti Mama Donating Member (625 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:17 PM
Response to Reply #18
24. Interesting "Overview"
dedicated to "maintaining our well deserved reputation". Sounds like Sarah Palin, but without the well-deserved.

I find these guys to be scary.
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:25 PM
Response to Reply #24
27. Speculation (I haven't fully read their site) is running high around the net that
this outfit is populated by foreign mercs and by ex DynCorp and Xe/Blackwater members. Information on this APF is scarce. Apparently they incorporated right after the news coverage that this town was attempting to be chosen to house Gitmo prisoners when Gitmo is closed. It's like they formed out of thin air, despite their "well-deserved reputation".
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intheflow Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:29 PM
Response to Reply #24
30. Notice no names, no facts, not even a date when they were founded.
So what reputation do they have to begin with? :shrug:
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arcane1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 02:41 PM
Response to Reply #18
103. The "Domestic Services" blur gives me the creeps
a paramilitary org that determines "spouse's commitment"?
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Dennis Donovan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 05:40 AM
Response to Reply #10
91. They show a pic of a military-style helicopter - must be Blackwater...
That site is uber-creepy!
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havocmom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 10:51 PM
Response to Reply #91
105. Or some con artists quick with cut and paste method of stealing web page 'content'
:popcorn:
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astral Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:05 PM
Response to Original message
16. Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this!
Edited on Tue Sep-29-09 11:20 PM by astral
I was searching for something about it before I post, not wanting to be the first one to bring it here. This is the stuff of nightmares, I tell you.

EDIT: Okay, I read through your posts first to see what you already know. I first heard this online this morning, and found this one link that has a great deal of the content I heard this morning on it but I do not know if you all approve of this site, just posting it for now as a beginner's point, and an FYI of what I HEARD is coming down, and it's scary not just for Hardin, Montana.

Here is the link and some excerpts from the page, as the stuff that the article starts out with might be off-putting to some before you get to the meat of the matter:
______________________________________________
http://www.stevequayle.com/News.alert/09_Global/090928.out.of.time.html

We are Out of Time!
City of Hardin & surrounding area is now becoming a police state!

Yesterday, a convoy of twelve 'blacked out' Mercedes Benz SUV’s were brought into town. They were already painted with Hardin’s colors and ‘Hardin Police Force’ was already painted on them! Hardin’s sheriff’s department will no longer be in operation after the month of October. During October, the Sheriff’s Department is to train this new security force in all the logistics of running the town of Hardin. If you go on the American Police Force site, you might notice that the logo they use is actually a Russian logo. I have been told that the man who came with this new security force as the captain, has a thick Russian accent.

Earlier this month, in an interview in regards to this Hardin prison and the training center that they are planning to build, we were told that seventy five percent of the security officers that were to be trained would be ‘international’.
________________________________
"""hence the Russian accent, heh?""""
________________________________
They said they are scouting out thirty towns in the U.S. but that Hardin is the first. Also, President Obama has authorized and signed a bill for full government funding of the privatization of the police departments throughout the U.S. By the end of October, it is their plan to have all major cities locked down!
________________________________


Other tidbits: we wil be forcibly quarantined or be given a chip bracelet to wear which cannot be taken off if we refuse to get the vaccine. (Yes, I am an anti-vaccine tin-foiler, sorry, i can't hide it!)

State borders will be manned and locked down in the near future.

I didn't see the part I heard where they are building a gate at the entrance to the town in this article.

I see it as NO COINCIDENCE they recently got this super-duper private prison built there, and now this. The grand guinea pigs of the USA, watch what happens for a preview of coming attractions --- soon, to yours and my town!

I am not joking here, I am totally freaked by this.

FOREIGN TROOPS = foreign people manning "private" police departments. The idea that foreign troops will be patrolling OUR streets while our troops are overseas on some other country's shores was told to me close to 30 years ago. And a few other things that are coming true now, but I'm afraid it's NOW. Right now, show's already begun, hang on to your seats.

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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:15 PM
Response to Reply #16
21. Has me scratching my head. n/t
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AuntPatsy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:38 PM
Response to Reply #16
33. could it be they don't trust american law enforcement to be completely impartial if they were to be
ordered to do something to american citizens that are a bit iffy? wow..okay..thanks for making me look like I now wear tin foil...
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:50 PM
Response to Reply #33
39. If you haven't already, check out this vid...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paP5UOk6GRA&feature=rela...

Creepy that lady mayoral candidate Carrie Smith's language "We can't panic. You just go with the flow and everything will be fine." And her husband, Two Rivers Authority Executive Director Greg Smith, has been place on administrative leave during this APF visit.

Weird.

...

Weird.


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intheflow Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:25 PM
Response to Original message
26. This is very, very scary.
They're a domestic mercenary group who claims to work with the US government to "provide security." This has GOT to be illegal. It's a private army within our borders. It doesn't surprise me at all that this is coming from Cheney's home state.
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AuntPatsy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:28 PM
Response to Original message
29. did the mayor state what kind of help they plan to give? this sounds bad..very bad...
and it smells of blackwater types..if not the very same...no like here..
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JordanSmith73 Donating Member (24 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:41 PM
Response to Original message
34. Interesting
Interesting
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AuntPatsy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:45 PM
Response to Reply #34
37. Ummm can you think of anything besides saying interesting twice no less in the same thread?
Edited on Tue Sep-29-09 11:46 PM by AuntPatsy
we got it..you think its interesting..never mind...lol I see you have added more..honestly...even this killer flu has not freaked me out as much...simply because someone not to long ago said nothing like this could occurr..told him...yes it could..
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:51 PM
Response to Reply #37
40. All 18 posts (so far) from this newbie have been the same. 15 minutes ago
this post had 1 post.
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Irish Girl Donating Member (265 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:47 PM
Response to Original message
38. ???
:wow:

This is pretty chilling stuff. Private mercenaries aren't constrained by the Constitution in ways our government or the US military is; private companies can operate under completely different rules of engagement.
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astral Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:07 AM
Response to Reply #38
49. "Aren't Constrained by the Constitution" is RIGHT
and that will go for how they treat anyone who gets locked up in that empty prison. How can they be allowed to just not divulge any information about ANYTHING? This just does not make sense. This can not be secret, WHO their parent company is, WHERE their prisoners are coming from --- and furthermore, something is wrong with that story that the prison was built in the first place with no idea what to do about filling it and having it be bringing in funding after they were done -- somebody lied to somebody on that one!

And the prison is conveniently right where they want it for the new "Law and Order" moving in.
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madeline_con Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:52 PM
Response to Original message
41. APF's website works fine. They seem to be mercenary cops. n/t
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:53 PM
Response to Reply #41
42. I got it working now. It was down for awhile earlier for alot of people who
are currently watching this situation.

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madeline_con Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:55 PM
Response to Reply #42
44. They claim to be private investigators.
I wonder what the law is in regards to using a private org to "police" a city.
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EmeraldCityGrl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:54 PM
Response to Original message
43. Another blog with more info...


"The APF has as of yet not been made aware that the State of Montana has a constitution that forbids the creation of a private police force. Those were called posses during the lawless Wild West days in Montana back in the late 1800’s"


http://montanawithkids.com/terry/2009092921/american-police-force-hits-hardin-montana/
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:59 PM
Response to Reply #43
47. Didn't Blackwater try and fail to build training facilities in Idaho and
California awhile back? Could this be a re-incarnation of that effort moved to Montana?
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EmeraldCityGrl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:08 AM
Response to Reply #47
50. I don't know. But, someone is throwing a lot of money at this project.
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Rex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-29-09 11:59 PM
Response to Original message
46. Look at what they say they've done
'American Police Force offers private investigation services in all 50 states and international countries. Our main office is located in Washington D.C. and we service all 50 States and most Countries. Our experienced staff consists of highly experienced former law enforcement officers. American Police Force has years of experience and vast global resources to provide timely and professional international investigation services. 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!'

Sounds just like the fucking murders at Blackwater.
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Ellipsis Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:08 AM
Response to Original message
51. More info from Nowpublic and David Icke
Edited on Wed Sep-30-09 12:19 AM by Ellipsis
http://www.nowpublic.com/strange/mysterious-us-security-force-raises-questions


http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84108

n Santa Ana, American Police Force occupies a single suite on the second floor of a two-story office building. During a visit to the location Thursday, a reporter for The Associated Press encountered a uniformed man behind a desk who would identify himself only as “Captain Michael.”

The man declined to discuss basic details about the company and referred the reporter to the company’s Web site. In a subsequent phone interview, he provided his surname but insisted it not be used because of security concerns. The man said he was a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Montenegro with decades of experience in military and law enforcement operations.

The man said his boss is a retired U.S. Army colonel named Richard Culver who is currently overseas. Culver’s role with the company could not be immediately verified.


.
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hfojvt Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:09 AM
Response to Original message
52. sounds like a bunch of internet rumors
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:42 AM
Response to Reply #52
64. So, I guess you're also saying that the TV station KLUR is involved in this rumorage? n/t
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hfojvt Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 01:16 AM
Response to Reply #64
70. the report on youtube is pretty empty
kinda strange that they cannot get any answers from a city official or a state legislator. They just report that nobody in the town knows what's going on, or will say.
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starroute Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:10 AM
Response to Original message
53. That double eagle is Serbian, not Russian
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me b zola Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:36 AM
Response to Reply #53
60. Hey!
You're gonna ruin the Russian (communist), FEMA camp story.
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:40 AM
Response to Reply #60
63. No. If you read the OP under "Rumors and Speculation", you'll see that I
said that the emblem "is reminescent of the Russian coat-of-arms", not that it was. It was later determined that the AFP emblem is Serbian. Now, what the fuck is a Serbian-emblemed merc force doing in Hardin, MT, attempting to take control of a jail and possibly police that town?

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starroute Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:51 AM
Response to Reply #63
65. Googling on "Serbian mercenaries" turns up a bunch of stuff
Edited on Wed Sep-30-09 12:54 AM by starroute
For example:

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2006&mm=07&dd=18&nav_id=35689

18 July 2006

The 90’s wars brought the mercenary stories with them. First, about mercenaries and volunteers fighting for the enemy, and then, there was a man nicknamed ‘Captain Dragan’, the first Serbian mercenary, or at least the first talked-about Serbian mercenary. The list went on and on, and one of the last names on it is that of Milorad Ulemek. The Blic daily had a story about the new breed of mercenary.

The man hiding behind the name of ‘Gabrijel’, and whose true identity is known to the paper, says he is doing what he does best, what he has dedicated his life to, and adds there is no other job he would take on. Gabrijel is a special forces operator, originally from Sarajevo, for the past four years working in Iraq for the world’s leading companies providing security. A year ago he and another ex-Serb secret services member decided to open a training camp in Obrenovac, for the personnel bent on continuing their military careers in one of the crisis-stricken regions. Due to his duties in Iraq, he has not been in daily contact with the training camp for the past three months, but says he often meets the trainees in Baghdad and Mossul.

Gabrijel says his motive is always one and the same: the thrill. ‘Sometimes I get sick of the job I do, sometimes I’m forced to work in places I wouldn’t choose to work in and with the people I would rather not be around. I can’t say that the word ‘pleasure’ is what describes it best, but it is closest to what I feel during an operation. Of course, the money is excellent, too. However, I have managed to earn more or less the same amount in my own country’, he says. The earnings range from $ 4 000 per month, for convoy escort, to $ 30 000 per month, for body-guarding officials. Gabrijel says he first arrived in Iraq in 2003, within the scope of the job he did in the Balkans. ‘The plane landed on an improvised runway, it was pitch-dark, and Saddam’s regular army troops were still fighting the Coalition forces. The second time I came to Iraq was in 2004, working for a British company with a Sarajevo field office. We entered Iraq virtually illegally, via the Turkish-Iraqi border. There were comic reliefs during these trips, but also moments when we were on the verge of bloodshed. We were both lucky and clever. We didn’t suffer a single loss in six months, neither from among the personnel we were guarding, nor the field operatives. I would say that even with the thorough preparations and planning to the last detail, credit to dear God that we are alive’, Gabrijel says.

While he worked for a foreign company performing the so-called deep reconnaissance in the Sunni triangle, Gabrijel received an offer to join one of the world’s leading companies. ‘Two days later, I was in Baghdad. The process was relatively simple. I received a business letter via the internet that is used as a basis for getting a one-month temporary visa at the Baghdad airport. The usual route is via Vienna or Frankfurt to Amman, Jordan, and then to Baghdad. Most of the large companies employ tourist agents who meet people in Amman. If you have been in the business for long enough, you always have a few addresses you can contact and let them know you are available and ready and often you get work within a couple of weeks. In our trade we say that the address-book is often more important than the wallet’, he says.


http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=68c393b4db74f12d009eab2321704610

Not only apartheid-era terrorists are finding opportunities in Iraq. Prior to the U.S.-led war, Saddam Hussein hired over a dozen Serb air-defense specialists -- at the reported cost of $100,000 a month -- to devise a mobile radar system that would protect Iraq's air defenses from attack. Many were wanted for their paramilitary activities during the Balkan Wars in Europe.

Upon the American takeover of Iraq, some of these Serbs remained behind, selling their services to the highest bidders, including security firms under contract to provide protection for employees of Blackwater USA and Titan Corporation of San Diego. They have now been joined by some of their compatriots, who had been working for the Pentagon for several years in Afghanistan. "The Bush administration is so eager to avoid responsibility for order in Afghanistan that they've outsourced to mercenaries the work of protecting Afghan President Hamid Karzai," Dave Marash reported in the Washington Monthly in March 2003.

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me b zola Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 08:19 PM
Response to Reply #63
104. I owe an apology to you and the topic
I gave a knee-jerk response to seeing two things in the OP that mirror rw lunacy. I was wrong to post w/o digesting the info. Tonight's thread confirming that the "police force" is Blackwater made me realize that I owe you and the topic an apology.
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:37 AM
Response to Reply #53
61. Yup, that's been cleared up since I made the OP on Tuesday morning. n/t
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ovidsen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 01:12 AM
Response to Reply #53
69. Close, but I don't think so..
Edited on Wed Sep-30-09 01:14 AM by ovidsen
The raptor in the Russian coat of arms is carrying a shield featuring a knight on a horse. It's virtually a mirror image of the American Police Force symbol.

The Serbian coat of arms does not.

I know, a minor detail. But it does make me curious.
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drm604 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:14 AM
Response to Original message
54. Their website works fine.
They appear to be some kind of mercenary organization. Whoever designed that website certainly has a flair for the dramatic.
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kid a Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:15 AM
Response to Original message
55. UPDATE tonight from Billings Gazette (40 miles NW of Hardin)
http://www.billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_558fa26e-ad63-11de-8892-001cc4c03286.html

"Montana legislators said Tuesday they want to know more about a secretive California company that wants to take over an empty jail in the southeastern corner of the state and build a military training center on adjacent property.

The company, American Police Force, has attracted widespread attention with its plans - but won't reveal its backers or where it would get prisoners for the jail, located in the rural city of Hardin.

With Hardin officials also saying little about the company, rumors have flourished. On a Web site run by right-wing radio show host Alex Jones, a posting claimed that employees of American Police Force had "occupied" the city and started patrolling its streets.

Montana Rep. Bob Ebinger said more rumors were likely until Hardin and the company provide more details."
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kid a Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:18 AM
Response to Reply #55
56. New APF spokesperson: Gazette writer.
Edited on Wed Sep-30-09 12:21 AM by kid a
"Company spokeswoman Becky Shay said there were no plans to reveal the project's financial backers.

"We're still sitting tight," said Shay, who took the job with American Police Force last week after abruptly leaving the Billings Gazette, where she had written extensively about the jail over the last several years.

Hardin built the jail two years ago as an economic development project but was never able to find any prisoners."
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Irish Girl Donating Member (265 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:20 AM
Response to Original message
57. Local news casts
Some local newscasts found on YouTube. Their spokesman Captain Michael - who would not divulge his last name - sounds like a foreigner. (around 1:24 mark)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y5qL3Vi9H0">All American Police Force News Casts 9/14 - 9/28 Hardin, MT
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NoodleyAppendage Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:25 AM
Response to Original message
58. WOLVERINES!
If they get a sighting of Powers Booth then we know "its on!"

J
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cliffordu Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 01:28 AM
Response to Reply #58
73. That's right - this is a complete fraud...I'll bet it's a guerrilla campaign for a movie
or some fucking Video Game.....
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 01:29 AM
Response to Reply #73
74. Well, that would just be all kinds of fucked up. n/t
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:34 AM
Response to Original message
59. Raw Story picks up coverage:
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MagickMuffin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:37 AM
Response to Original message
62. Check out their Weapons and Equipment Supply List
American Police Force (APF) offers the world's finest products and services to the military, police, and security professionals. We present to you our comprehensive product category list:


Weapons & Equipment Sales - INTL ONLY


• Security Systems Military Supplies.

• Duffle bags, tritium compasses, Alice packs, pistol belt, thermo gear, 1st aid kits, and M17 bags.

• Shields, riot gear, police and military uniforms, cooling vests, body armor, ballistics vests, hazmat suites.

• Police Cars, trucks, command and control vehicles, fire trucks, ambulances, towing trucks, fuel trucks, general shop vehicles, passenger busses, vans, water transport trucks, 4 WD trucks and other specialty vehicles.

• All United States made handguns, shot guns and U.S. major selection weapons.

• Fire Machine Guns and associated accessories including cleaning kits.

• 9mm hand guns & AK 47's.

• Unit level armors kit, ammunitions.

• Telecommunication (Thuraya Satellite telephone, cell/mobile phones, Motorola GP 320 Handheld UHF/VHF Radios, battery cells and more).

• IT Systems (computers, laptops, fax machines, copiers, scanners, cartridges, scanners, printers, etc).

• Body Armor, batons, fire glass riot helmet, and shin guards, & megaphones.

• Armored cars and vehicles (Vans, SUVs, Cars, and trucks).

• Police riot equipment.

• Force Protection- WMD.

• Nuclear/Biological/Chemical (WMD).

• Monitoring and Access Control Systems.

• X Ray, robot systems, mine clearing, tools, explosives/perforators, and disposal containers.






My questions are:

Where are THEY getting Nuclear/Biological/Chemicals to sell to other people?!?

Who do THEY actually sell them to?!?

Is there any government oversight to who THEY sell these supplies and equipment to?!?





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Ellipsis Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:55 AM
Response to Reply #62
66. This has got to be a spoof. Great film location... an empty prison.
Edited on Wed Sep-30-09 01:02 AM by Ellipsis
WMD? 1984? This has the makings of a great publicity stunt.
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Rex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 01:06 AM
Response to Reply #66
68. Yeah it does not pass the smell test.
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Ellipsis Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 01:21 AM
Response to Reply #68
71. Captian Michael?
Edited on Wed Sep-30-09 01:22 AM by Ellipsis
Archangel Michael who, as captain of the heavenly hosts...


http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84108

Santa Ana, American Police Force occupies a single suite on the second floor of a two-story office building. During a visit to the location Thursday, a reporter for The Associated Press encountered a uniformed man behind a desk who would identify himself only as “Captain Michael.”

The man declined to discuss basic details about the company and referred the reporter to the company’s Web site. In a subsequent phone interview, he provided his surname but insisted it not be used because of security concerns. The man said he was a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Montenegro with decades of experience in military and law enforcement operations.

The man said his boss is a retired U.S. Army colonel named Richard Culver who is currently overseas. Culver’s role with the company could not be immediately verified.

Richard Culver - Head of security for fox entertainment?



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Rex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 01:25 AM
Response to Reply #71
72. Oh listen to you!
Next thing ya know you will find a link to Xenon or Halliburton or Carlyle! :thumbsup:
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Ellipsis Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 01:31 AM
Response to Reply #72
75. Richard Culver, VP of Global Security Operations, Fox Entertainment Group
just sayin...
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cliffordu Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 01:31 AM
Response to Reply #75
76. Glenn Beck's commanding general....
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Ellipsis Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 01:39 AM
Response to Reply #76
77. Hmmm Could it be...
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Rex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 02:18 AM
Response to Reply #77
84. He sure looks like a Soviet officer. Fantasies of a madman?


I think I found his character in WOW!
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cliffordu Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 10:40 AM
Response to Reply #84
94. Not to run with a cliche, but that is a NAZI, not a soviet....
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LeOrchidinDC Donating Member (2 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-01-09 01:11 PM
Response to Reply #75
114. Bio for Richard Culver
Finally found a bio of sorts for this guy. From pg. 5 of a PDF, found http://www.internationalsos.com/en/files/Hotline_(all_content)_1-05.pdf">here. Screenshot of the bio:


He's also been linked to a company called Gray Security Services, where he was the 'Managing Director (Eastern Transvaal)'- Info from
http://cache.zoominfo.com/CachedPage/?archive_id=0&page_id=632630435&page_url=%2f%2fwww.hqmsinc.com%2fbenefits.htm&page_last_updated=6%2f23%2f2004+3%3a50%3a17+PM&firstName=Richard&lastName=Culver">here
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LeOrchidinDC Donating Member (2 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-01-09 04:52 PM
Response to Reply #114
115. Culver's fmr. employer, Gray Security Services became G4S, and bought Wackenhut and ArmorGroup
The following will trace how American Police Forces is very likely to be owned or affiliated internationally by G4S and in the US by The Wackenhut Corpo., and lastly, how Richard Culver is possibly the link. To summarize: Michael Hilton, CEO of APF said (via AP) that his boss is Richard Culver. Richard Culver previously worked for Gray Security Services Pty Ltd. I can't find Culver's exact employment dates, but there is definitely a connection between Gray Security Services and APD. The evolution of the company is, best as I can figure, as follows: Gray Security Services became Securicor Gray Pty Ltd., which was then bought by 'Group 4 Secirty Services PTY LIMITED', then became Group 4 Securior. Finally, Group 4 Securior was purchased by G4S, who in turn owns The Wackenhut Corporation and ArmorGroup.

CONNECTION 1: Grey Security Services is a UN Registered Vendors
Document: UN PDF found http://www.un.org/Depts/ptd/pdf/vendors.pdf">here
Grey Security Services is listed on pg. 88, registered in the United Kingdom on June 27, 2000, with a vendor ID of 14299

CONNECTION 2: JCI (Johannesburg Consolidated Investment Company Limited)
JCI is 'a specialised and prominent resource finance house investing in opportunities in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa.'
Document: PDF 'CIRCULAR TO JCI SHAREHOLDERS' found http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.113.5387&rep=rep1&type=pdf">here

- pg 68: Alternate Names for the Company
"6.6.5 Securicor Gray (Lesotho) (Pty) Ltd (“Securicor”)-
Securicor, previously known as Gray Security Services (Lesotho) (Pty) Ltd, provides site security services to Letsˇeng Diamonds based upon a contract signed in November 1999. The value of the contract is M42,000pm. Securicor’s sole function is to “minimise the risk of loss by fire, theft, burglary, vandalism, terrorism, riot or civil commotion”.

- pg. 189, in Appendix 8:
October– 1999 Securicor Gray (Lesotho) Agreement between LetsˇengDiamonds and Securicor Gray (Lesotho) (Pty) Ltd
(Pty) Ltd

CONNECTION 3: Company background for Securicor / Gray Security Services
Document: Article titled 'From Military to Civilian Life: The case of retired Special Forces Operators' found http://www.issafrica.org/pubs/ASR/5No5/Cock.html">here, on pg. 55

- Context of the article, from pg. 40: 'Hence,there is a need to provide an objective account of the extent to which retired Operators have successfully reintegrated into civilian life in South Africa, which is the aim of this paper. The research informing this paper is part ofa bigger project on demobilisation and defence rationalisation in South Africa by the Centre for Conflict Resolution in partnership with the Department of Defence. The objective of the research on retired Special Forces Operators was to examine the extent to which they have successfully made the transition into civilian life.'

- pg. 55:'Securicor Gray (formerly Gray Security Services):
"Gray Security Services was established as a small security company in Cape Town in 1980, but has over the past two decades grown into a major international company. In November 2000, Securicor Plc., a United Kingdom-based security services provider, acquired Gray Security Services. Securicor estimates that it employs over 40 000 people,and is one of the largest security services providers internationally. It has offices in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. At the time of conducting the research for this paper,it had more than 100 offices in South Africa. Securicor Gray provides security services in strategic installations, diplomatic missions; hotel, leisure and gaming industries; high-rise buildings; shopping centres and retailers;industrial premises;the petrochemical industry;the pharmaceutical industry; the mining industry (diamonds, platinum, gold, uranium and coal); motor manufacturers; the aviation industry; specialised investigation and forensic auditing; and revenue protection for public utilities suppliers.

Ten per cent of respondents indicated that Securicor Gray had employed them at some point in their post-military careers.Currently,it is estimated that five retired Operators occupy management positions with the company in South Africa,with another 25 retired Operators based in Securicor offices in other countries in Africa."

CONNECTION 4: Alternate company names for GRAY SECIRITY SERVICES PROVIDENT FUND:
Document: PDF from Pension Funds Adjucator brought by A SEKANKA, found http://www.pfa.org.za/site/content/downloads/ItemList.asp?ModuleTableName=Product&ModuleTableShortName=Product&SubCatID=384&SubSubCatID=1148">here
Alternate names include: GROUP 4 SECIRITY SERVICES (PTY) LIMITED; GLENRAND M.I.B. BENEFIT SERVICES (PTY)LTD.; Aon Consulting (Pty) Limited.

CONNECTION 5: Additional name: GROUP 4 SECURICOR becomes to G4S site
Site: http://mweb.brabys.com/search-results.asp?name=®ion=8&whatareweviewing=&town=-1&cat1=-1&cat2=-1&cat3=-1&cat4=-1&cat=185&intlist=&pgnum=2">here
Site 2:Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G4S">here
G4S is a UK-based company, and one of the largest security corporations in the world.

CONNECTION 6: G4S owns The Wackenhut Corporation:
Site: One of G4S's subsidiaries is The Wackenhut Corporation, proven http://www.hoovers.com/wackenhut/--ID__11598--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml">here

CONNECTION 7: G4S owns Armor Group:
Site: ArmorGroup, the private security company, became another casualty of the war in Iraq as it succumbed yesterday to a £43 million bid from rival G4S. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/support_services/article3593666.ece">here

I'll keep digging but I wanted to put this out there so others can work on it as well.
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ovidsen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:58 AM
Response to Original message
67. Their website has pics of black helicopters! I'm impressed!
And I admit I'm also a teensy weensy bit worried. Grown men and women walking around in ambiguous uniforms, wearing helmets and toting big guns? That ain't normal.

This is more than just "interesting." It's bizarre.
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Truth2Tell Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 01:58 AM
Response to Original message
78. I call bullshit. This is a hoax. nt
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tiny elvis Donating Member (619 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 02:02 AM
Response to Original message
79. are those real guns?
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Rex Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 02:19 AM
Response to Reply #79
85. Well they are not real soldiers, just pretend so I bet the guns are
nerfs.
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struggle4progress Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 02:06 AM
Response to Original message
80. Montana's "American Police Force," The Nation's Next Great Militia? (Gawker)
By Andrew Belonsky, 11:08 PM on Tue Sep 29 2009, 2,109 views

... # The prison in question was built two years ago, but, sadly, never got off the ground. Earlier this year, desperate for funds, the prison put in a bid to take some prisoners from Guantanamo Bay. That bid failed, apparently, because the city's economic group Two Rivers Authority just called on the AFP to takeover the prison's operations, although haven't signed an official contract.

# AFP's group's website boasts that they "successfully provided assistance in training foreign military organizations in combating transnational terrorism" and claims that it's "recognized as one of the top security and investigation forces in the world." Too bad no one's ever heard of them — not even the U.S. government, a group with which AFP claims to have worked.

# In addition to fighting terrorism overseas, the group's online digs say AFP's renaissance agents work on "kidknapping <sic>" cases, investigates cheating spouses and offer convoy security in places like Pakistan.

# A group spokesperson who called himself "Captain Michael" told local news channel KULR 8 that they're more interested in setting up a $17 million training camp than in operating the prison. This man would not specify how they plan to use the camp ...

http://gawker.com/5370717/montanas-american-police-force-the-nations-next-great-militia

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struggle4progress Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 02:08 AM
Response to Original message
81. Mont. lawmakers want info on secretive CA company
Mont. lawmakers want info on secretive CA company
By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press Writer
Posted: 09/29/2009 04:37:19 PM PDT
Updated: 09/29/2009 05:22:18 PM PDT

BILLINGS, Mont. — Montana legislators said Tuesday they want to know more about a secretive California company that wants to take over an empty jail in the southeastern corner of the state and build a military training center on adjacent property.

The company, American Police Force, has attracted widespread attention with its plans — but won't reveal its backers or where it would get prisoners for the jail, located in the rural city of Hardin ...

Ebinger and other members of the Legislature's Law and Justice Committee said they would ask Hardin officials to provide more information about the company.

In addition to taking over the 464-bed, $27 million jail, the company has said it will sink $17 million into a military training center and is seeking 5,000 acres or more for a live-fire training ground ...

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_13447296?nclick_check=1
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struggle4progress Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 02:09 AM
Response to Original message
82. Gazette Opinion: Extreme caution warranted on Hardin jail deal
Posted: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 12:00 am

The promises are simply incredible: $2.6 million in annual payments for 10 years for the use of the Two Rivers Authority jail in Hardin, plus an investment of $23 million in a new police and security forces training facility on the Two Rivers property, low- or medium-risk prisoners from the United States in Hardin by early next year with the local economic development organization getting a per prisoner per day payment, plus a homeless shelter, computers for schools, city police officers, narcotics officers, Mercedes patrol cars, free community use of a CT scanner, food for the poor and an animal shelter.

Yet the desperate promoters of the new, unused jail in Hardin have seized on these promises as a gamble worth taking. The new jail, built to create jobs in this small town, has been empty since it was completed two years ago; $27 million in bonds are in default. Two Rivers Authority, the city tax-supported economic development organization is running out of money. And just days after announcing the amazing deal with American Police Force, the authority's volunteer board of directors placed its executive director, Greg Smith, on paid administrative leave with no public explanation.

The American Police Force Web site was first registered in May, a couple of weeks after the Two Rivers Authority gained national notoriety for announcing it wanted to house prisoners now locked up in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. That bid for inmates brought immediate warnings from Montana's entire congressional delegation and U.S. Marshal Dwight MacKay, who united in saying that the high-security international prisoners, including suspected terrorists, should not be put in a low- to medium-security jail in rural Montana.

Did that "Montana Gitmo" publicity lead to the mysterious American Police Force to Hardin? ...

http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/editorial/gazette-opinion/article_d906168c-a714-11de-937a-001cc4c002e0.html
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struggle4progress Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 02:13 AM
Response to Original message
83. American Police Force Corporation Takes Over Small Town Police Force and Prisoner-Less Jail
... After arriving in this tiny city with three Mercedes SUVs marked with the logo of a police department that has never existed, representatives of the obscure California security company said preparations were under way to take over Hardin's jail, which has no prisoners ...

And on Friday came the revelation the company's operating agreement for the facility has yet to be validated - two weeks after city leaders first unveiled what they said was a signed agreement ...

After meeting briefly with Hilton on Friday, Mayor Ron Adams said he wanted the police logos removed ...

On Friday, American Police Force announced its first local hire: a reporter for the Billings Gazette, Becky Shay, who has covered events surrounding the jail since its construction. She will be the company's spokeswoman for $60,000 a year ...

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/09/29/crimesider/entry5351491.shtml
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drm604 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 03:04 AM
Response to Original message
87. They share an IP address with defenseproductsolutions.com.
Edited on Wed Sep-30-09 03:27 AM by drm604
I should be careful to state that it could be coincidence that they happen to be on the same IP. However, it would be quite a coincidence that, among the 4 domains on that IP address, two of them are defense contractors with domains that were created within a month of each other and both websites have a similar graphically oriented style.

If you click on http://defenseproductsolutions.com it forwards you to http://www.dpsna.com which was created in the same time period but with a different registrar and hosted on a different server.

All of the domains are using domain privacy services to protect the identity of the domain owners except for defenseproductsolutions.com, which may have slipped up or something.

Registrant:
Defense Product Solutions
1800 Century Park East
Suite 600
Century City, California 90067
United States


This is an office complex in Century Cite, CA.
http://www.regus.com/locations/US/CA/LosAngeles/CaliforniaCenturyParkEastNorthropGrummanPlaza.htm
Situated in the heart of Century City's central business district, the Century Park Center offers clients a high-profile location for their business, with an elegant corporate environment and superior business support services. Many of the center's private offices feature excellent views of the Los Angeles Country Club. Clients enjoy access to a handsomely appointed reception area and three furnished meeting rooms which can accommodate up to 16. Videoconferencing is also available in the presentation room. In addition, the friendly, knowledgeable staff is on hand to support clients' long- and short-term business needs.

The Century Park Center is minutes from the upscale stores and restaurants of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and the outdoor Century City Shopping Center. In addition, clients are in close proximity to many of the area's finest hotels, restaurants, theaters and financial institutions.

On Site

* 24 hour access
* Business Lounge
* Meeting Rooms
* Parking
* Secure underground parking
* Elevator
* Break-Out Areas

Technical Facilities

* RegusNet high speed internet access
* Videoconferencing studio
* Voicemail

People Services

* Vending Machines
* Outside Seating Area / Terrac

This sounds to me like one of those places where you share office space, meeting rooms, secretaries, etc. with other businesses. Sort of the next step up from Mailboxes Etc. That doesn't seem to me like something a big defense contractor would use.

It was difficult to find any names associated with any of this but I looked at the source for the main page of dpsna.com and found this at the top:
<meta name="description" content="Defense Product Solutions,Inc.">
<meta name="keywords" content="Defense Product Solutions,
Defense Logistics,
Defense System,
Defense Logistic Services,
Defense Product Solutions,
DPS,
Quazi Defense Product Solutions,
Edward S. Angelino,
Eddie Angelino,
Military Services,
DPS,
2007,
Irvine,
California,
Purepoint Design,
Purepoint Media, Inc.
2007 - paul@purepointdesign.com,
Orange County,
California">

Purepointmedia.com appears to be some kind of media company, presumably the website designers. Who is Edward S. Angelino?

Googling that name, I found this:
http://worldaerodata.com/mb/msg/802.html
Posted by EDWARD ANGELINO on July 24, 2003 at 14:10:41:

In Reply to: Re: Ground support equipment posted by P.ESWARAN on May 19, 2003 at 02:36:27:

Dear Sir/Mada,:

I have a client requesting cargo loaders for the C-130 in the U.S. We are currently in the process of changing contractors. I am a defense consultent for the USAF here in Southern California. I was told that your company can provide these loaders. Can you roughly provide me with a COTS estimate for these loaders. I am looking for January 2004 timeframe procurement.

Best Regards,

EDWARD S. ANGELINO

Defense Consulting Group, INC.
19744 Beach Blvd. # 250
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
Office: (714) 376-9797
FAX: (714) 969-8882
eangelino@aol.com

I Googled "Defense Consulting Group, INC." and found this business listing:
http://www.black-business.us/listings/Certified_Vendors/CA/DEFENSE_CONSULTING_GROUP_INC_9792.html
It shows EANGELINO@AOL.COM as the contact. It also gives what looks to me to be an incomplete address:
DEFENSE CONSULTING GROUP INC
# 250
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA 92648
United States

I was inclined to dismiss this as a publicity stunt for some upcoming movie or TV show, but it appears that Mr. Angelino has been involved with various defense contractors since 2003 if not before.

This seems vaguely similar to the whole Wilkes / Cunningham thing where there were a bunch of apparently shell defense companies sitting on the same server. They were cool looking, but actually contained very little information. This does seem different though. There is obviously some real world business being done here.
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drm604 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 03:15 AM
Response to Reply #87
88. But wait boy and girls... There's more!
Edited on Wed Sep-30-09 03:26 AM by drm604
Doing some more Googling I found that eangelino@aol.com is also the contact for another defense contractor, allieddefensesystems.com.

Now check out the "about us" pages for "Defense Product Solutions" and "Allied Defense Systems".

http://www.dpsna.com/aboutus.htm

http://www.allieddefensesystems.com/aboutus.htm

They are EXACTLY the same templates and nearly exactly the same wording!

Seriously, WTF? We have a bunch of defense contractors that appear to be shells and the contact for all of them is some guy with a freaking AOL email address! :crazy:

Check out the whois info for this one:
Whois Record

Domain Name.......... allieddefensesystems.com
Creation Date........ 2007-04-10
Registration Date.... 2007-04-10
Expiry Date.......... 2011-04-10
Organisation Name.... mohammad abdalla
Organisation Address. 2116 crone ave
Organisation Address.
Organisation Address. Anaheim
Organisation Address. 92804
Organisation Address. CA
Organisation Address. UNITED STATES

Admin Name........... mohammad abdalla
Admin Address........ 2116 crone ave
Admin Address........
Admin Address........ Anaheim
Admin Address........ 92804
Admin Address........ CA
Admin Address........ UNITED STATES
Admin Email.......... edangelino@yahoo.com
Admin Phone.......... +1.7147764444

I assume that edangelino@yahoo.com is our friend Mr. Edward Angelino.
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drm604 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 04:31 AM
Response to Reply #87
90. A little more.
Edited on Wed Sep-30-09 04:31 AM by drm604
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Subdivisions Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 09:49 AM
Response to Reply #90
92. WTF? A home-based security firm that wants to run a jail and
conduct a town's policing?

Looks like a front operation to me. Question is, whose front?
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drm604 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 11:11 AM
Response to Reply #92
95. It looks like there's some kind of scam or something going on here.
Why have different shell companies for defense contracting? Like I said, it's reminiscent of the whole Wilkes / Cunningham thing, except for the real people showing up in a real town with real guns.

Is Edward S. Angelino a real person? Is Mohammad Abdalla the real mover behind this stuff? (I'm not trying to raise any flags about a guy named "Mohammad", that just happens to be his name.)

I noticed that the link I posted for "Defense Consulting Group" in post #87 is a site that lists businesses owned by African Americans. "Angelino" sounds Italian to me.

http://www.black-business.us
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kid a Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 11:15 AM
Response to Reply #95
96. Albert Peterson is either being duped, sinister (as many RW bloggers believe) or business savvy
Edited on Wed Sep-30-09 11:17 AM by kid a
"Albert Peterson, vice president of the city's Two Rivers Authority, which built the jail, said the deal calls for American Police Force to pay about $220,000 a month for the jail. The authority would get an additional $5 per prisoner per day and $10 per day for law enforcement and military trainees."
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drm604 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 11:24 AM
Response to Reply #96
97. I think the intent in Hardin is probably to run a private jail and training facility,
just as it appears to be, but there is something odd about the collection of different "Defense Contractors" that appear to be shells for one business. Is it a way to gain more government contracts than any one company would be allowed? Is it a way to launder money or hide profits somehow? Is it something else (your guess is as good as mine)?
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fishwax Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-01-09 12:06 AM
Response to Reply #95
108. Here's an article about Angelino's involvement
From the Billings Gazette: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_1f5ffbee-a4da-11de-b6ab-001cc4c03286.html

" "Angelino" sounds Italian to me."

I think I read somewhere that he is Kuwaiti. His first name in court records, according to the article, is Emad.
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havocmom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-01-09 07:50 AM
Response to Reply #108
110. Hmmm, now I am wondering: money laundry scam?
Scam for sure, just not seeing the end target. Con men won't get much from Hardin, so the con is for bigger fish to fry.
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drm604 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-01-09 08:44 AM
Response to Reply #108
112. Kuwait
From your link:
According to documents filed in connection with a civil lawsuit in Superior Court of California in Orange County, Angelino graduated from Al-Roda High School in Kuwait City, Kuwait, and is a U.S. citizen.
It's interesting that he seems to have a connection to Mohammad Abdalla. I think there may be some shady foreign business dealings going on here.

All very interesting.
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dixiegrrrrl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-01-09 12:42 PM
Response to Reply #90
113. Can you contact TPM and share this info???
I say TPM because they have the resources and the cred to build on this story.
Going MSM right now will only serve to alert the people we are trying to track.
This sounds way too suspicious.
Foreign names, shell fronts, claims of being USAF/ Military contractors, layers of identities,
and obviously access to huge amounts of money and material.
Most excellent sleuthing, btw. I am so impressed.
Please do not give up. Please build a file and continue to share.
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drm604 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 11:47 AM
Response to Reply #87
101. I just discovered this.
I don't know how I missed this before, but in his post on worldaerodata.com, Mr. Angelino gives the address for "Defense Consulting Group". It is (or was)

Defense Consulting Group, INC.
19744 Beach Blvd. # 250
Huntington Beach, CA 92648

There are around 20 different businesses at 19744 Beach Blvd, including "Mailbox Express"!

http://streets.metrobot.com/US/CA/06059/HUNTINGTON-BEACH-Map-Beach-Blvd-06059002272186M193.html (Scroll about halfway down the page for 19744)

I suspect that all of those businesses, including DCG, have no physical presence at that address but simply have boxes at "Mailbox Express".
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TrueGrit Donating Member (1 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-01-09 05:21 PM
Response to Reply #87
116. Edward Angelino
Yes it is the one and same Edward Angelino. His office is now
at 17702 North Mitchell North Irvine, CA 92614. 

This office is close to the John Wayne Airport.

His offices is in with Madison Harbor Attorney where last year
he started doing loan modifications. He drives very expensive
cars. He and his partners in the law firm like to rip off
employees by not paying them. They break contracts and are
totally untrustworthy.

A new name they are using is Mena Reps International.
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Echo In Light Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 10:13 AM
Response to Original message
93. WTF?
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Forkboy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 11:27 AM
Response to Original message
98. I got to laugh that the idea doesn't seem to bother some...until they associate them with RUSSIANS!
Oh noes!!!!

Color me reactionary, but isn't a phony police force scary enough regardless of where they're from? :)
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Echo In Light Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 11:30 AM
Response to Reply #98
99. Hey now, you're removing the trivializing factor required for disavowal of "Conspiracy Theories."
;-)
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Forkboy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 11:31 AM
Response to Reply #99
100. I never get these things right.
;)
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EC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 12:56 PM
Response to Original message
102. Sounds like the plot for the TV show "Jericho"
where a Blackwater type army were taking over towns one by one...it was corporate driven invasion and occupation rather than another country...
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951-Riverside Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 10:54 PM
Response to Original message
106. I think this is a scam
(I posted this in another topic but I thought it would also be appropriate to post it here too).





Lets look at their spokesperson Becky Shay. If you watch her http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/62755172.html?video=YHI&t=a">interviews shes shy, unsure, her hair has no style and her clothing is plain. In other words she looks/acts like a church lady than a spokesperson for a prison/mercenary force. I doubt anyone who is serious about this would hire someone this timid.

Then lets look at their other rep.



(take notice to the cheap suit, large sunglasses and unshaven face)

Unfortunately for http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/62755172.html?video=YHI&t=a">Becky Shay who quit her long time job as a reporter she might have become the victim of a scam. I doubt she'll ever see that $60,000 they promised to pay her or get help making the down payment on a home.

BTW, Take a look at her interviews
http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/62755172.html?video=YHI&t=a
http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/62465902.html?video=YHI&t=a

Edit: Then take a look at their cheesy website. The music and generic/inverted images just scream scam.

Images like these:






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fishwax Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-30-09 11:12 PM
Response to Original message
107. What a company! They provide Counter-terrorism AND "cheating spouse" services
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drm604 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Oct-01-09 08:35 AM
Response to Original message
111. They seem to be responding to the scrutiny.
Defenseproductsolutions.com and dpsna.com are both down this morning. Both were up yesterday and both have been connected to APF. They seem to be responding to the scrutiny.

However, allieddefensesystems.com is still up. It's definitely connected to defenseproductsolutions.com and even uses the same web templates.

All very curious.
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