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The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission on May 22 accepted the resignation of a former Martinsville attorney and city council member following his suspension from the practice after he pleaded guilty to stealing money from clients.
On the same day, the commission issued an indefinite suspension against a Pendleton attorney for failing to cooperate with the commission.
Last July, the commission suspended former Martinsville attorney James Wisco from the practice of law after he pleaded guilty to seven counts of level 6 felony theft. He was sentenced to four years in prison and five years probation for the charges.
Wisco is a former attorney for Morgan County government and at Foley Peden & Wisco P.A. Wisco was investigated in December 2023 after several of his clients accused him of stealing their money. He later admitted to the theft and forgery of more than $164,000, according to court documents.
As part of his resignation, any pending attorney disciplinary proceedings against Wisco are now dismissed as moot. Wisco cannot petition for reinstatement to the practice of law for at least five years.
Wisco could not be reached for comment, and his court-appointed attorney in the theft and forgery case did not respond to The Indiana Lawyer’s request for comment.
The case is In the Matter of James K. Wisco, 26S-DI-167.
Also on May 22, the commission suspended Pendleton attorney Dean McConnell in the latest of several disciplinary cases against him.
He was originally suspended in December 2024 after the commission said he failed to cooperate with its investigation into professional misconduct allegations from September 2024. That disciplinary case was dismissed in February 2025 when he was suspended from the practice in a different disciplinary case.
At that time, the commission suspended McConnell for at least a year because he failed to report a drunken driving conviction he received in February 2023, according to the commission.
Then in February, McConnell filed a petition for reinstatement to the practice. The commission found that McConnell failed to comply with the duties required of suspended attorneys and gave him 30 days to come into compliance with the rule.
But McConnell’s recent suspension is connected to a separate disciplinary case filed against him in March. On March 26, the commission ordered McConnell to show cause as to why he shouldn’t be suspended from the practice for failing to cooperate with an investigation into allegations of professional misconduct.
In April, the commission stated that, although McConnell had filed several pleadings in the case, he had yet to address his failure to cooperate. Because of this, he is now suspended.
This suspension will continue until the executive director of the disciplinary commission certifies that he has cooperated fully with the investigation.
“That matter has concluded and there is nothing to report,” McConnell told The Indiana Lawyer in an emailed statement responding to the suspension.
The case is In the Matter of Dean E. McConnell, 26S-DI-96.
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