Norwich businessman Zane Megos was taken into custody Tuesday after a New London Superior Court judge ruled that he violated his probation when he was arrested in August for taking cash deposits for an apartment that was condemned at the time.

After hearing about five hours of testimony in a violation of probation hearing stretched over two days last week and closing arguments Tuesday, Judge Omar Williams found “a preponderance of evidence” that Megos violated his current three-year probation on charges of criminal impersonation and attempted third-degree larceny.

Williams found no evidence for a third charge of third-degree forgery.

Megos had pleaded guilty in a plea deal on April 29, 2014, to six larceny misdemeanor charges for similar incidents of taking cash deposits for houses and apartments in Norwich and New London that never became available.

He is serving a six-year suspended sentence and three years of probation.

Prosecutor Rafael Bustamante had argued throughout the hearing that Megos was following a long pattern of deception in taking deposits for unavailable or condemned housing.

Bustamante asked for a total bond of $600,000 for the six violation of probation charges; Williams set a bond of $60,003 “with a condition familiar to Mr. Megos, cash only” and ordered Megos be taken into custody.

He will be sentenced Feb. 25.

Williams said he found Megos’ testimony “not credible” in his claims that the Norwich building inspections department “had it in” for him and intentionally delayed inspections and approvals on apartment buildings that he was attempting to rent.

Megos’ attorney, Kenneth Leary, also claimed building department staff targeted Megos by keeping a newspaper photo of Megos from stories on his past convictions “as if it was a wanted poster” to scare potential tenants from doing business with Megos.

Megos and Leary had claimed Assistant Building Official Greg Arpin held a personal vendetta against Megos, because Megos had sued Arpin’s cousin in 1998 over a soured business deal.

“Mr. Megos, the building officials don’t seem to ‘have it in’ for you, but they’re on to you,” Williams said.

He added that city officials were attempting to protect the public from Megos’ deceptive practices when they showed would-be tenant Nicole Foster and her father a photo of Megos when she came to the office to check on the status of the apartment.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit and Foster’s testimony last week, Foster responded to an online ad on Craigslist for a Norwich apartment that would be ready within 30 days.

When they contacted Megos by text messages, he told the family the apartment would be ready within 10 days.

She provided three cash deposits on Oct. 29, 2014, totaling $2,925. Megos provided receipts pre-signed by business partner Bishop Taylor, and at one point allegedly told Foster’s father that he was Taylor.

When Megos told her city inspections were delayed, she and her father went to the inspection office and learned that the apartment was condemned and that no inspections had been scheduled.

She demanded her money back and reported the incident to city police.

Megos had testified that although Taylor is only a 10 percent business partner, the house was placed in Taylor’s name as owner to avoid the alleged harassment by city inspectors.

But Williams agreed with Bustamante’s claim that the practice of placing buildings in Taylor’s name and using Taylor’s name on receipts was “a plan of intentional deception” in an attempt to defraud Foster of her deposit money.

After the ruling, Leary said he “totally disagreed” with the ruling and stands by his client’s claims.

“My statements speak for themselves,” Leary said.

c.bessette@theday.com

Twitter: @Bessettetheday