Phony Federal Agent Talks Of The Adrenaline Rush He Got From Making Illegal Drug Arrests In A Small Missouri Town -- "60 MINUTES" Sunday

Town's Police Chief Who Lost His Job over it Says he Gave Bill Jakob Too Much Power
 
The man who posed as a federal agent to become an anti-drug crusader in a small Missouri town tells Katie Couric the illegal arrests he made gave him an adrenaline rush and a sense of purpose.  Bill Jakob's interview will be broadcast on 60 MINUTES Sunday, Nov. 2 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
 
Waving a badge he bought on the Internet and claiming to belong to the "Multi-jurisdictional Narcotics Task Force" - a fictional entity from the film "Beverly Hills Cop  2 " - Jakob fooled the town officials of Gerald, Mo.,  into  granting him the authority of a law enforcement officer.  Then, witnesses say, he took it too far, banging down doors, carrying a shotgun and making arrests. "I fed off of it and I enjoyed it and...I slept good at night...There was an adrenalin rush," he tells Couric.  "But that isn't really the thing I focused on the most," he says.  What he really thought about was that "just every bust...was a good bust." 
 
But none of the illegal busts was good in the end. In fact, many of the arrested people are suing Gerald now, even one who signed a lengthy confession.  Jakob's fraud, uncovered finally by local reporter Linda Trest, also resulted in the firings of three of the town's five police officers, including its chief, Ryan McCrary.   Asked by Couric whether he thinks he abdicated a little too much responsibility and power to Jakob, McCrary replies "Probably so."
 
In a small town with a growing drug problem and few resources, McCrary says Jakob seemed to know more than his officers.  "He had information on things and people that we didn't have," says McCrary.  He also had a used unmarked police car and fake Justice Department business cards.
 
One of the suspects brought in by Jakob and Gerald police officers says he was not read his rights.  Asked by Couric if he ever saw Jakob do anything against police procedure, McCrary says he can't say, "Because [federal] procedure and our procedure would be two different things."  McCrary says he had no reason to doubt Jakob's credentials. "Once everything started unfolding, he was the drug expert, pretty much, from the task force," he tells Couric.
 
But he wasn't and it wasn't the first time Jakob lied. Among other lies, the army veteran said he had been injured in Iraq when he had  never even been there.  "I told a few lies in my life and I told one big one," says Jakob.  "For me it wasn't about trying to pull something over on somebody....I knew what I was doing wasn't legal. But...it isn't like I was out robbing people...beating people...I was arresting drug dealers," he tells Couric.

Jakob  worked alongside the Gerald Police Department for two months full time until the real Feds arrested him for impersonating a federal agent, among other crimes. But until he was arrested and the truth came out, McCrary says, "It felt pretty good to actually have some backup finally."