A former Chicago lawyer who fled the country to avoid going to prison surrendered to authorities last month, more than six years after being convicted of defrauding a client.

Steven J. Della Rose, 61, surrendered to authorities in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on Dec. 11, 2012 -- more than six years after he was to begin serving a 41-month prison sentence for defrauding a client, a release from the U.S. Attorney's office said.

The former Chicagoan was returned to the United States, where he immediately began serving his prison sentence, the release said. And he faces an additional 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine if convicted of a new charge of failing to surrender to begin serving a sentence.

In 2002, Della Rose was released on his own recognizance after being charged with mail fraud, the release said. In March 2003, a jury found him guilty of defrauding a client of $64,000 in a workers compensation case and a judge handed down the sentence on Dec. 5, 2003.

However, two appeals delayed the beginning of the sentence, and Della Rose wasn't ordered to surrender until Aug. 7, 2006, the release said. But he failed to surrender and remained a fugitive until turning himself in.
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