The Illinois Supreme Court has announced the filing of disciplinary orders involving a number of licensed lawyers. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law. More information on each case is available at the
ARDC website.
DISBARRED
- Robert Bruce Becker, Peoria
Mr. Becker, who was licensed in 1993, was disbarred on consent. He was convicted of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and criminal sexual assault. He was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court on November 27, 2007.
- Susan Grace Castagnoli, Zion
Ms. Castagnoli, who was licensed in 1979, was disbarred. She exerted undue influence over clients, charged excessive fees without authorization from the bankruptcy court and, in some cases, without her clients’ knowledge or consent, and engaged in dishonest conduct. She was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court on April 27, 2010.
- Charles August Conner, Jr., Chicago
Mr. Conner, who was licensed in 1987, was disbarred. He misappropriated more than $137,000 in funds relating to 37 different clients and/or their creditors. Further, on multiple occasions, he submitted false bank records to the ARDC in order to conceal those conversions. He was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court on December 22, 2010.
- Kenneth Glen Mason, Wilmette
Mr. Mason, who was licensed in 1976, was disbarred on consent. He was convicted in a federal court of aiding and abetting securities fraud in connection with his participation in an investment fraud scheme.
Mr. Mayer, who was licensed in Illinois in 1987, was disbarred on consent. He pled guilty in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to charges of tax evasion and conspiracy to defraud the United States. His conduct involved the marketing and use of fraudulent income tax shelters.
- Mahendra R. Mehta, Chicago
Mr. Mehta, who was admitted in 1970, was disbarred. He misappropriated over $100,000 in real estate escrow funds and used most of those funds to pay sanctions entered against him by a bankruptcy court in Houston, Texas. He later falsely testified in court proceedings that he had been authorized by the parties to the real estate transaction to take the escrow funds, and that his client told him to take the funds as payment for attorney’s fees. He was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court on December 29, 2010.
- George Angelo Palivos, Chicago
Mr. Palivos, who was licensed in 1987, was disbarred. He participated in a scheme to defraud the United States Small Business Administration. He was suspended on an interim basis and until further order of the Court on August 29, 2005.
- L. Tod Schlosser, Chicago
Mr. Schlosser, who was licensed in 1993, was disbarred. He neglected eight different immigration matters, did not respond to client requests for information, and failed to return unearned fees totaling $31,025. He did not participate in his own disciplinary proceeding.
- Peter Raymond Vogel, Sugar Grove
Mr. Vogel, who was licensed in 1972, was disbarred. He misappropriated approximately $3,850 in funds belonging to a client and engaged in the unauthorized practice of law in Wisconsin. He failed to appear at his disciplinary hearing.
- Adalbert Paul Wojewnik, Chicago
Mr. Wojewnik, who was licensed in 1992, was disbarred. He misappropriated approximately $5,000 in escrow funds that he had agreed to hold in connection with a client’s real estate transaction and failed to comply with a subpoena from the ARDC. He also failed to appear at his disciplinary hearing.
SUSPENDED
