Police in Florida arrested a northwest Ohio man who customers complained never sent the Ohio State-Michigan football tickets they ordered from him in an online auction.

Mark West, 53, of Fostoria, was being held in a Volusia County jail following his arrest at a hotel bar Saturday in Daytona Beach, Fla., police there said. He was indicted in November on charges of theft and telecommunications fraud.

West had been missing since Nov. 15, the last time his wife reported seeing him. That would have been shortly after online auction site eBay Inc. suspended his account and notified law enforcement about the complaints from people who bought tickets to the Nov. 19 game in Ann Arbor.

“I went to the ladies’ room and when I came back, there’s Mark with a bunch of cops around him,” said bartender Marie Jones, 39. She said West was a frequent customer.

West had been staying about a block away at the Sunshine Beach Motel. He checked in Nov. 17 and paid a weekly rate of $196.48 — always in cash, said manager Denise Lingenfelter. The staff didn’t know much about him, she said.

Police did not say how they were tipped to West’s whereabouts.

A spokeswoman for Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro, whose office is investigating the case, said Sunday that authorities were pursuing a warrant for West’s extradition.

Petro has also sued West in Wood County Common Pleas Court, alleging several violations of the state consumer protection act and seeking a fine of $25,000 per violation.

Before disappearing, West told a Toledo television station that the football tickets were already mailed, and those who didn’t receive them would be reimbursed. Fostoria is about 35 miles south of Toledo.

An eBay spokesman has said that some customers who used eBay’s payment service that links to their bank accounts can get up to $1,000 reimbursed if they have buyer protection coverage. Others can pursue reimbursement from their credit card companies.

West could face six to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine on each charge.

Posted: 01|16|06 at 10:21 am. Filed under: Auction News.