Naperville Sun

By: Bill Bird

A disbarred attorney from Naperville was sentenced Monday to 3 1/2 years in prison for stealing nearly $500,000 from the law firm in which he once was a partner.

Steven D. Gustafson remains free on an $80,000 cash bond. He is scheduled to surrender Jan. 3 and begin serving his sentence in the Illinois prison system, said Paul Darrah, spokesman for DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin.

Circuit Court Judge John J. Kinsella, in a bench trial earlier this year, convicted Gustafson of four counts of forgery. Kinsella imposed Monday’s sentence.

Gustafson, 47, is a former resident of far east-central Naperville who reportedly now lives on the city’s south side. He was found guilty of stealing more than $466,000 over a six-year period from the now-defunct James, Gustafson & Thompson Ltd. law firm, where he had been the managing partner.

The state’s attorney’s office in March 2009 accused Gustafson of writing unauthorized checks to himself between 2001 and 2006 that were drawn against a trust fund bank account held by the firm. He then cashed the checks or deposited them into his personal bank account, according to the allegations.

Gustafson was subsequently investigated by the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. That agency is affiliated with the Illinois Supreme Court and investigates and prosecutes lawyers suspected of or charged with malfeasance.

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