The entire eastern wall of Judge David A. Noce’s courtroom, in the Thomas Eagleton Federal Building, is windows that provide a spectacular view of downtown St. Louis.

Last Thursday, Bill Anthony Jakob sat quietly at the defense table with his back to this wall of windows waiting  for the judge’s arrival. From 17 floors above the ground, it appeared that Jakob had dressed to match his dramatic backdrop. His sky-blue shirt and light khaki pants seemed a part of the brilliant blue summer sky with its puffy clouds that floated behind him.

Jakob’s attorney, Joel Schwartz, strolled over to the rail to speak with the two reporters who were present.

Across the aisle, in the spectators gallery, were Jakob’s wife and an attorney assisting Schwartz, who led Mrs. Jakob from the room before the proceedings began.

Jacob had turned himself in to federal authorities and had already deposited the required 10 percent of his $50,000 bond.

This, his initial appearance in federal court, would be the first time he would formally hear the 23 charges found against him.

Four of these charges involved a fraudulent U. S. Army Corps of Engineers order for electronic locks placed with Total Lock and Security Company. As an employee for the lock company, Jakob impersonated contracting officers for the Corps using two different female identities. He attempted to use an expired Mastercard that had been issued to him by the Missouri National Guard. The charges related to this case are: mail fraud, wire fraud and two counts of impersonating a federal agent.

The indictment reads “During late January 2008, defendant Jakob left the offices of Total Lock and never returned.”

Shortly after that date, Jakob showed up in Gerald with a new scheme ready to set in motion. One that U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway called “a plague on that community.”

The remaining charges read against Jakob pertained to his activities while posing as a federal agent in Gerald. Nineteen counts ranging from posing as a federal law enforcement official while conducting searches and arrests to lying to federal investigators.

After Noce entered the courtroom, Jacob was led to a podium in front of the judge. The chain that bound his feet shortened his normally confident, long stride.

As Noce explained Jakob’s rights, his voiced bounced around the nearly empty courtroom. When asked if understood his rights, Jakob replied quietly, but clearly, “Yes, sir.”

The judge cautioned Jakob to avoid contact with victims or witnesses and he was instructed to comply with “medical or psychiatric treatment as recommended by Pretrial Services.”

At the end of these proceedings, Jakob’s hands were cuffed behind his back and he was led out of the courtroom.

Earlier that afternoon, three floors above the courtroom, a press conference had been called by U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway. She stressed that there was still an ongoing investigation and more charges could be expected. When asked what his motive might have been, Hanaway replied, “Only he can answer as to what was his gain.”

Schwartz, speaking before the proceedings began in Noce’s courtroom, offered his best guess, “Why? For a sense of belonging, a sense of ego. Ultimately, he just wanted to be a police officer.”

Jakob was arraigned Monday before Magistrate Judge Audrey Fleissig. He entered pleas of not guilty to all 23 counts against him.