Gerald, Missouri is a small town of only 1,200 residents, but it is the center of one of the craziest con jobs we’ve ever heard about. The town was recently rocked with the news that the sheriff and two officers (more than half the town’s entire police force) were being fired for allowing a fake DEA agent to con the police department for months. The fake DEA agent quickly gained acceptance in the police department with a flashy badge and charisma, making arrests and participating in raids with police. It wasn’t until a local newspaper looked into the man’s past because of the rough ways he treated suspected drug users that the deception was uncovered. He was apparently kicking down doors without search warrants, and a single reporter’s work revealed the lies.

How could a man work months alongside police officers without being caught?

The fake DEA agent was a charismatic and confident person, but was never a federal agent. However, he seemed to know the “in and outs” of law enforcement and had a convincing federal ID card and DEA badge. He was clean-cut and well-built, coming into the police station with a Ford Crown Victoria decked out with a siren bar and police radio. He told the police that he was part of a regional drug task force, the DEA would foot the bill, and he would leave the car when he left the job.

The small, financially strapped police department eagerly accepted the man, and small background checks seemed to collaborate his story. A number that he gave them verify himself was answered by a message talking about a “multi-jurisdictional task force.” Many people in the town were convinced that he was genuine, except reporter Linda Trest with the Gasconade County Republican.

The mayor was forced to fire three of the five policemen in the department because of the potential political liability, and the scandal might hurt several pending criminal cases. The fake agent joined in on several drug arrests and raids, and even made arrests that netted methamphetamine and pounds of marijuana.

That’s not just egg on their face, but a whole omelet!

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• Police forces are using civilians for minor police duties
• When the cops come a-knockin’, guy comes a-rockin’…a meat cleaver?
• Man fakes community service after sentenced for reporting fake crime
• Police chief shoots himself while training others
• The great police car escape featuring one member of the gay twin rooftop robbing team