THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK -- Former New York Giant Mark Ingram was arrested in Michigan, nearly a month after he disappeared on the day he was scheduled to begin serving a prison sentence for bank fraud and money laundering.

U.S. marshals tracked the retired wide receiver to a hotel room in Flint, Mich., after a manhunt that began when he failed to turn up at a federal prison in Kentucky on Dec. 5.

A spokesman for the Marshals Service in New York, Timothy Hogan, said Ingram was arrested Friday without incident. The hotel wasn't far from Ingram's home in Grand Blanc, Mich.

Ingram, who has been in and out of jail since his playing career ended in 1996, pleaded guilty in 2005 to cashing counterfeit cheques and laundering money he believed to be proceeds from narcotics deals.

Before his flight, the 1991 Super Bowl standout had sought to delay the start of his nearly eight-year prison term so he could watch his son's freshman season as a running back at the University of Alabama.

His arrest came just before the start of his son's biggest game: A Sugar Bowl matchup against Utah, which Alabama lost 31-17.

Marshals also had been looking for Ingram in New Orleans, where the game was played, Hogan said.

Ingram's lawyer, Raymond Colon, did not immediately return phone and e-mail messages on Saturday.

Ingram spent six seasons with the Giants. He also played for Miami, Green Bay and Philadelphia in his 10-year career.

He is scheduled to appear in a federal court in Michigan on Monday. Ingram will travel to New York, where he was prosecuted, to face charges related to his flight.