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BRIEF: The Federal Bureau of Investigations office in Houston is under fire for ordering the arrest and detention of 72-year-old british citizen Derek Bond, on charges that he was an escaped fugitive wanted in Texas for a multi-million dollar telemarketing fraud scheme. Bond was arrested while on holiday in South Africa and detained in a South African jailhouse for more than two weeks, before Houston FBI officials determined they were awaiting extradition of the wrong man. Houston federal prosecutor, John Lewis, acknowledged the FBI error and that the elderly Bond "certainly deserves an apology and an explanation." The FBI office in Houston received a tip on Tuesday that Derek Bond was in Las Vegas. When confronted by FBI agents, this Derek Bond admitted he was the mastermind of the telemarketing scam. According to federal agent Lewis, "at that point there were two people in custody on the same charges. We realized that the man in South Africa couldn't possibly be the correct person." FBI officials conceded that this mix-up was an example of identity theft, and that the Las Vegas suspect had probably been using Mr. Bond's identity for years. Friends and members of Mr. Bond's rotary club said that his passport has been stolen a few years ago and indeed the individual apprehended in Las Vegas shared the same passport number as Mr. Bond. The elderly Mr. Bond spent 17 days sleeping on a bare floor, with no electricity, and only crossword puzzles to pass the time. Mr. Bond says he protested his arrest, insisted his innocence, and then became "despondent" after zero response from officials. According to Mr. Bond, "no one took a statement from me until I had been 10 days in the police cells, and that was the first time they asked me who I was." Mr. Bond's 70-year-old wife was in South Africa for his release this morning. They intend to go home to Britain at once. They say they may pursue legal action against American authorities and the Houston FBI. Charles Snider, KPFT News, Houston. E-mail Charles Snider at charles@77002.com . This story was broadcast on February 26, 2003.