State seeks to disbar Torrington attorney who pressured clients for sex Officials: Lawyer who pressured clients for sex violated deal

The building housing the law office of Ira Mayo as seen Monday at 62 Cook St. in Torrington. The building housing the law office of Ira Mayo as seen Monday at 62 Cook St. in Torrington. Photo: Esteban L. Hernandez — The Register Citizen Photo: Esteban L. Hernandez — The Register Citizen Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close State seeks to disbar Torrington attorney who pressured clients for sex 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The state has filed a motion to disbar a Torrington attorney after he allegedly violated an agreement prohibiting him from representing women just weeks after the deal was struck in July.

The latest allegations of misconduct against Ira S. Mayo resulted in a July deal which would have suspended him for four months in the fall to avoid disbarrment. However, the state claims Mayo has already violated the terms of that agreement.

According to court documents filed Aug. 6 by state disciplinary counsel Desi Imetovski, Mayo is scheduled to appear at Middlesex Superior Court in Middletown Sept. 8 for allegedly violating an agreement between Mayo and his attorney Randolph Richardson that prohibited him from representing women.

Mayo’s career has been marred with accusations of misconduct, with female clients accusing him of requesting sexual acts in exchange for services and others alleging he made inappropriate comments to them. His misbehavior has resulted in previous suspensions.

His latest misstep could cost him his law license.

The deal in early July offered Mayo an opportunity for reinstatement after the suspension was served. It also forbid Mayo from representing any women in any legal matter.

The motion for disbarment alleges that on July 30, Mayo represented Jessica Policastro in her case in Litchfield. A transcript of the court appearance shows Mayo addressing the court briefly during Policastro’s appearance.

This is the second time this year that the state disciplinary counsel has attempted to disbar Mayo.

According to the Connecticut Law Tribune, the state attempted to disbar him in July after Mayo violated a previous clause to not represent women. The paper reported Mayo represented as many as 11 female clients after being readmitted. He was first ordered to refrain from representing women in domestic relation cases on July 2010.

While the ruling against him was made July 2, his suspension was set to start Oct. 1 and end Jan. 30, 2015.

Mayo was previously accused of having an improper sexual relationship with a woman he represented, which resulted in a 15-month suspension in September 2005. He was reinstated in January 2007.

A grievance filed in 2009 reported that Mayo made sexual advances toward a woman seeking legal representation for a domestic violence case, including an expectation that the client would sleep with him if he represented her in court. The court documents state that Mayo never collected any legal fees from the client while he represented her.

In 2013, the Litchfield Judicial District Grievance Panel found probable cause of an ethical violation after Mayo allegedly made inappropriate comments to the mother of a man he was representing. The man later discharged him as counsel. Mayo was ordered by the grievance panel to take online legal ethics courses after that incident.

Mayo has been licensed to practice in the state of Connecticut since 1999. He did not return calls seeking comment. There was no one present Monday at his office on 62 Cook St. in Torrington. A neighbor said they had not seen anyone near the office during the last two weeks.

Richardson declined to comment on Monday and Imetovski did not return calls seeking comment.

Reach Esteban L. Hernandez at (860) 294-0158.