Fake Cop's Drug Busts Stir Missouri Town

Man With Checkered Past Accused Of Making Several Arrests With Excessive Force

(CBS/ AP)  Imagine the surprise in a small Midwestern town when an officer arrives to help solve a growing crime problem, but turns out to not be who he said he was.

Bill Jakob arrived in Gerald, Mo., a rural community about 70 miles west of St. Louis armed with a self-imposed mission to curb the community's methamphetamine problem.

He had a badge and a gun and told officials he had previously worked as an anti-drug agent in Illinois. He even drove a fully-equipped Ford Crown Victoria, which he said was for undercover work.

Jakob waged his own war on drugs and followed his own rules. Those who he arrested say it was routine for Jakob to use excessive force and kick down doors.

There was just one problem: Jakob was no cop. He was an unemployed truck driver with a criminal record and had recently filed for bankruptcy.

Now this village of 1,200 people is confronting allegations that Jakob and other officers mistreated and robbed many of the people they arrested.

"I never had any intention for any laws to be broken. I purely wanted to help and do the best job that I could," Jakob said in an exclusive interview with CBS' The Early Show Wednesday.

At least 17 people have sued, including an elderly woman who was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric ward because she didn't cooperate with the police and a man who said Jakob held a gun to his head and threatened to shoot while the man's child watched.

"Not only did they break in and threaten to kill people and violate their civil rights, they stole money, prescription drugs and legally owned weapons. It's crazy that this could happen in 2008," said attorney Dan Briegel, who represents the woman who was placed in the psychiatric ward for a week.

Complaints about Jakob's rough treatment of suspects led a reporter from the Gasconade County Republican newspaper to ask the sheriff about the new officer. That's when Jakob's story unraveled.

Jakob claimed he had been a federal agent attached to an anti-drug task force in an Illinois town. But the community he named dissolved a decade ago. And it turned out that Jakob bought the police vehicle from a used car dealer.

"He had credentials. He had a badge. He had a phone number to call for verification," said Gerald Mayor Otis Schulte. "I don't know what else we could have done."

When police called the number Jakob provided, the woman who answered verified he had worked for the task force. The mayor and other authorities now suspect the person at the other end of the phone was Jakob's wife.

Jakob, 36, was arrested in mid-May but has not yet been charged with a crime. His attorney expects a federal indictment later this month. Jakob did not respond to a written request for an interview left at his home 30 miles away in Washington, Mo.

His attorney, Joel Schwartz, said his client's involvement in drug raids was the result of Jakob's poor decisions, but also those of Gerald police.

"We are not saying for one moment that Bill Jakob didn't make serious errors in judgment," he said. "I am strongly suggesting the responsibility needs to be shared."

Jakob first showed up in Gerald in February in hopes of speaking about a job with then-police Chief Ryan McCrary, Schwartz said.

When Jakob's deception came to light, agents from the FBI and the Missouri Highway Patrol descended on Gerald's tiny City Hall. Because he was never a police officer, all the arrests he made without warrants were illegal.

The city fired McCrary - who had sought reserve deputy status for Jakob - along with two other officers in the five-officer department. A sheriff's deputy who accompanied Jakob on two trips to pick up extradited inmates was also dismissed.

A cursory check of public records would have revealed that the mysterious lawman had a checkered past.

In 1994, at age 22, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor sex abuse in St. Clair County, Ill., and paid a $100 fine for having sex with an underage girl.

In 2003, Jakob and his wife filed for bankruptcy, listing debts in excess of $180,000. And in 2007, a jury found Jakob liable for $600,000 in damages in the death of a 6-year-old boy who ran onto a rural highway and was hit by Jakob's pickup truck.

The verdict was overturned on appeal. Jakob and the child's mother have since tentatively agreed to a $50,000 insurance settlement.

Seventeen people who were either arrested by Jakob or whose homes were raided by him came forward to file two separate federal lawsuits alleging civil rights violations and excessive force. Another attorney plans to file a third lawsuit on behalf of at least 12 other town residents.

Both lawsuits name the mayor as a defendant. The suit brought by Briegel, who is seeking $11 million for each of his 11 clients, also names the town's four aldermen.

A petition seeking to oust Schulte as mayor is also being circulated.

"The town is angry," the mayor said.

The mayor compared his town's predicament - and Jakob's deception - to the story of con artist Frank Abagnale Jr., who in the 1960s impersonated a police officer, lawyer and airline pilot. His story was portrayed in the 2002 movie "Catch Me if You Can."

"He was very adamant about not telling anyone anything," Schulte said. "He said, 'I'm here. I'm undercover.' That's it."

The mayor hopes Jakob's case will be a cautionary tale to other communities.

"There's one good thing to come out of it," he said. "Every small town that hears about it is going to be more careful now."

[deacon20081]

Hey, this guy would fit in down in Williamson County TX, Guilty until proven innocent is the rule.

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That is a fact. Williamson County is the one county in the country where you had better stay out of trouble.
Prison terms are almost automatic there.

[patriot12436]

Apparently a proper background check was not performed. You do not verify information given byt eh person by calling the phone numbers given. You check thru NCIC. or other federal avenues for background checks. Someone dropped the ball big time, now these criminals will benefit from it. If his intentions were sincere, then it was an honorable intent , but he did it the wrong way.

[kfloyd300]

it just so happens that i live in gerald missouri, the thing that bothers me most is that...im not saying all of these people, but most of these people were doing something illiegal.....i hate drugs and all they stand for.....so these people are all suing over civil rights issues...the unfair part of all of this is that these people are going to be paid large sums of money for doing drugs...whether it be using, selling, whatever...the are going to be paid for breaking the law....thats the worst...i realize that things were done that were sneaky and underhanded, but to award known drug offenders for getting caught doing something illegal....it just so unfair....specially for us, mr or mrs joe average....struggling day in and day out just to get by from paycheck to paycheck, while KNOWN drug offenders are going to be given at least thousands, if not millions of dollars....i 100% percent believe in civil rights and the constitution......but for known lawbreakers who may now never have to work another honest day in their life, as if most of them ever did anyway, is just plain wrong. the whole thought of it just sickens me

[kansas1946]

Jakob waged his own war on drugs and followed his own rules. Those who he arrested say it was routine for Jakob to use excessive force and kick down doors.
***********************************************

Who cares. The drug war has decimated civil liberties, corrupted law enforcement, ruined millions of American''s lives, caused the death of thousands and thousands of Americans, and has cost the US trillions of dollars. But everyone wants to hide under their bed in fear of the horrible drugs, when it is the drug war that is causing most of the problem. This guy just exploited the fear and everyone was fine with it.

[gopack443]

rushlimpdrug
Are you saying he did it for the donuts? I hadn''t thought of that but you might be right! Good Point!

[slim1h2o]

This story sounds like a Andy Griffith episode with Barney Fife leading the way. Lets see if I have this right, A fake cop walks up to some real cops, and says he is one too. And the cops don''t check his story?

Yup,, sounds like Barney getting into trouble again!

How can a fake cop arrest someone and check them into jail?

[honestabe8]

If he wants to act like a cop, perhaps he will enjoy the "benefits" that cops receive in prison. Don''t drop the soap, piglette.

[drputt45]

Hey, this guy would fit in down in Williamson County TX, Guilty until proven innocent is the rule.

[honestabe8]

People who use drugs deserve excessive force used upon them. They are scum. Vigilaties are welcome.
Posted by FAITH_IN_W

So, I guess according to FAT_IN_W''s view, most of the people in the country are deserving of excessive force. After all, only a small minority use no drugs of any kind. On the other hand, FAITH_IN_W is just here to incite, so what he or she says is just entertainment. Kind of like a spoof.

[honestabe8]

faith_in_w is right. anyone who sucks down caffeine in the morning, or scotch in the evening, should have the hell beaten out of them by some cop wannabe.

hey, cop wannabe...enjoy jail

[smiley676]

What else could they have done?
Umm, background check, anyone?
Run his social security number. Hello.

If someone kicks your door down without knocking first, assume the worst. That''s why we have the right to bear arms...

The police MUST identify themselves before breaking the door down.

[faith_in_w]

ge556, Jesus.

[rushlimpdrug]

Donuts anyone?

[fedup_w_pols-2009]

If this is the amount of fact checking the police do when they have someone just "show up," how much investigating do they do before kicking in peoples doors. The scum are the crooked cops that abuse their positions and the politicians that refuse to admit they have lost the war on drugs.

People who use drugs deserve excessive force used upon them. They are scum. Vigilaties are welcome.

Posted by FAITH_IN_W at 11:11 AM : Jul 02, 2008

You don''t like the constitution much, do you?
In your vigilante world, who gets to decide who is guilty?

[faith_in_w]

People who use drugs deserve excessive force used upon them. They are scum. Vigilaties are welcome.