Deputy Pinal County Attorney Richard Wintory has agreed to a 90-day suspension from practicing law because of his conduct during a capital- murder case in 2011 while he was an assistant Arizona attorney general.

In that case, Wintory had several inappropriate telephone communications with a confidential intermediary hired by defense attorneys, according to a signed consent agreement between Wintory and the State Bar of Arizona that was filed Friday with the presiding disciplinary judge of the Arizona Supreme Court.

Wintory also did not reveal to the court, the defense attorney or his own supervisors the number of conversations he had with the intermediary.

Wintory, who was Arizona Prosecutor of the Year in 2007, is now chief deputy to Pinal County Attorney Lando Voyles.

In the consent agreement, Wintory “conditionally admits” that he violated the state’s Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys, specifically a rule under the heading of “misconduct” that he engaged “in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.”

Prosecutors are rarely disciplined for misconduct. Wintory entered the agreement rather than face a disciplinary hearing.

The consent agreement notes that “had this matter proceeded to hearing rather than being resolved by consent agreement, the State Bar would have contended that (Wintory) knowingly engaged in dishonest conduct. (Wintory) would have contended that, while negligent, he acted in good faith and had no intention to be dishonest or to deceive the court of his colleagues.”

The agreement needs to be approved by the judge.

Wintory was a prosecutor for 20 years in Oklahoma and had a history of allegations of prosecutorial misconduct in death-penalty cases there before he moved to the Pima County Attorney’s Office.

In 2010, he took a case against Darren Goldin, who was accused of hiring a hit man to kill a rival drug dealer 10 years earlier. Goldin had already been convicted of second-degree murder for a similar killing in Maricopa County.

Wintory was going for the death penalty against Goldin in the Pima County case. Wintory took the case with him when he moved to the Tucson office of the Arizona attorney general.

Goldin was adopted, and in order to find information about Goldin’s family history that might mitigate a potential death sentence, his defense attorney hired a confidential intermediary to locate Goldin’s mother.

The intermediary had a falling out with the defense attorney and, in August 2011, contacted Wintory to help her get legal representation so that she could sue the defense attorney.

Wintory spoke to the intermediary several times over the next few weeks, and in an Aug. 22, 2011, hearing, he admitted as much. The defense attorney and judge both noted that the contact was inappropriate.

But the intermediary called Wintory again, and he appeared to be evasive when his supervisors questioned him about how many times he had talked to her.

He was taken off the case, which was subsequently pleaded to second-degree murder.

Goldin was sentenced to 11 years in prison, a light sentence the judge noted was due in part to “the apparent misconduct allegedly engaged in by the prior prosecutor in this matter.”

Wintory and the intermediary denied that anything confidential had been exchanged.

Wintory moved on to serve under Voyles in Pinal County.

In a statement on Tuesday, Voyles said, “I hold sacred the ethical obligations of attorneys. In fact, the entire criminal justice system depends on the public trust of the institution and our responsibilities as attorneys to abide by the laws and professional rules governing our work. ...

“Richard fully cooperated with the Bar throughout their investigation, and we look forward to the conclusion of this matter.”