If at first attorney Steven Colarossi's story seems like a one-off narrative about a Connecticut lawyer's troubles, the state's former chief disciplinarian says think again: Colarossi's case is a warning about how ignoring the wrong request could sweep away a lawyer's livelihood.

Already suspended, Colarossi's bad year got worse in December, when a judge extended the sanction in a dispute that centered on a $75 fee.

But that fee wasn't the real root of his latest problem, according to Mark Dubois, the man who once led the Connecticut agency responsible for prosecuting attorney-ethics cases.

"This $75 is kind of a sidebar, a footnote," said Dubois, who served as the state's chief disciplinary counsel from 2003 to 2011. "If you look at the presentment, it had to do with a random audit and the refusal to comply. Both invariably lead to interim suspensions."

And that's the takeaway for all lawyers.

"The biggest issue is you don't have any option but to fully and completely comply with a random audit. This attorney didn't," said Dubois, counsel at Geraghty & Bonnano in New London and visiting assistant clinical professor at University of Connecticut School of Law. "The audit can be unpleasant. … But if you comply, the focus is on compliance, not enforcement. If you don't comply, the consequences are predictable, swift and extremely unpleasant."

Colarossi is fighting an ethics suit. The Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel, which is prosecuting the case, alleges he failed to pay into the state's client security fund, which generates about $4 million annually to reimburse clients who've been the victim of attorney theft and misappropriation. Colarossi has denied he owes the money, and argues that he has in fact overpaid into the fund. His court pleadings also suggest financial hardships after two car crashes and a 2017 suspension affected his ability to secure full-time employment.

Colarossi did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

The presentment, which laid out the charge against the attorney, shows the Statewide Grievance Committee referred his case to the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel after Colarossi allegedly failed to reply to a notice for a random audit of his Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts, or IOLTA.

This—and not the administrative dispute—sparked potential disaster, according to Dubois, who tells an anecdote about an attorney who turned off the office lights and hid under the desk to avoid auditors.

The auditors, who had arrived early for the interview, saw the whole thing from the window.

Dubois' biggest tip for lawyers: Respond quickly, or face equally swift retribution.