Impostor at bridge collapse has history of false identities, authorities say

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) - When a southeast Missouri man posed as a military captain and took control of rescue efforts at a bridge collapse in Oklahoma last month, it wasn't the first time he donned a soldier's uniform in an effort to deceive, authorities said.

Cape Girardeau police said William Clark, 29, conned a woman out of her car almost 10 years ago, offering her a bogus check as payment while dressed in Army fatigues and regaling her with made-up stories of his behind-enemy-lines exploits.

"He's a pretty good con artist," detective David Sanders, who worked the 1993 case, said. "When people see some clean-cut military type, they're going to trust him. He came across as legitimate and trustworthy, but he was anything but."

It was that offense, authorities say, that eventually sent the Tallapoosa, Mo., native to jail until last December. Months after his release, police say Clark showed up at the scene in Webbers Falls, Okla., soon after the Interstate 40 bridge collapse May 26 over the Arkansas River.

There, Clark claimed he was a captain with U.S. Special Forces. He was wearing a beret, camouflage fatigues and boots. He gave orders and media interviews about the accident, in which a barge struck the bridge, sending 10 vehicles into the river. Fourteen people died.

Clark has since been arrested after fleeing to Canada and awaits a hearing next week.

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