Consulted, criminal fellow went astray (9)
I believe the answer is:
conferred
'consulted' is the definition.
('confer' can be a synonym of 'consult')
'criminal fellow went astray' is the wordplay.
'criminal' becomes 'con' (short for convict).
'fellow' becomes 'F' (abbreviation - of a society etc.).
'went astray' becomes 'erred' (I've seen this before).
'con'+'f'+'erred'='CONFERRED'
(Other definitions for conferred that I've seen before include "Bestowed" , "held consultation" , "Given; talked" .)