"Wrong Bond" freed after held in U.S. fraud probe
DURBAN, South Africa (Reuters) - The name's Bond -- but not that Bond.
U.S. officials said Wednesday that 72-year-old Derek Bond, held in South Africa for 20 days on suspicion of being an internationally wanted fugitive, was in fact what he had claimed to be all along: a frightened British pensioner who was the victim of identity theft.
"He certainly deserves an apology and an explanation," John Lewis, a U.S. federal prosecutor involved in the case, told Reuters by telephone Wednesday.
The mild-mannered retiree, who saw his South African wine tasting holiday transformed into an ordeal in a Durban police cell, said he was shocked U.S. officials had mistaken him for one of America's most wanted criminals.
"The FBI owes me a great deal, a lot more than a verbal apology," an emotional Bond told a news conference after his release. "All I want to do now is get this whole ordeal over with and be home with my family."
Bond, of Bristol, southwest England, was arrested in South Africa on Feb. 6 after his name, passport and description matched those of a fugitive wanted in Texas in connection with a multi-million dollar telemarketing fraud scheme.
South African police, acting on an Interpol warrant, seized him from a coastal holiday resort and placed him in custody while FBI investigators sought to nail down his identity.
Early Wednesday, U.S. officials admitted making a mistake -- but only after the real suspect was collared in Las Vegas.
SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED
Looking thin and shaken, Bond told reporters he had struggled to persuade officials he was not a criminal mastermind and that FBI investigators had not bothered to interview him during his first 10 days in jail.
"My criticism of the FBI is extreme. America is meant to be a humane country, but under no circumstances did they behave in a humane way," Bond said.
He said he was forced to sleep on a thin mat on his cell's concrete floor, and was only allowed to meet his wife Audrey after the intervention of the British consul.
Audrey Bond, who had maintained a vigil for her husband's release, said she was overjoyed to have him back at her side. "I've been worrying about him constantly. It's not fair what has happened to us and something has to be done," she said.
Federal prosecutor Lewis said his office received a phone call Tuesday tipping them off to a man in Las Vegas who also went by the name Derek Bond -- as well as the name Derek Sykes, which appears on the Interpol wanted list.
Lewis said the man was confronted by FBI agents and arrested.
"We realised the man in South Africa couldn't possibly be the correct person," he said, adding that the mix-up was almost certainly a case of identity theft.
U.S. embassy spokeswoman DeAngela Burns-Wallace said it had taken time to verify Bond's identity because he had waived a hearing in South Africa -- setting in motion extradition procedures that had to be followed.
"We do regret that this situation occurred, but we were following the normal procedures," she said.
02/26/03 10:26 ET |
