New Hampshire Supreme Court justice takes plea deal after accusations of influencing husband's probe

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CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire Supreme Court justice pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor Tuesday after facing charges that she tried to interfere with a criminal investigation into her husband who ran the state's division of ports and harbors.

State Supreme Court Associate Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi was indicted in October 2024 by a Merrimack County grand jury for two felonies and five misdemeanors. Under a plea deal approved by a judge on Tuesday, those charges were dismissed, and Marconi pleaded no contest to criminal solicitation of misuse of position, which is a misdemeanor.

Marconi had been accused of soliciting then-Republican Gov. Chris Sununu to influence the attorney general’s investigation into her husband, telling him that the investigation was the result of “personal petty and/or political biases." According to the indictment, she told Sununu there was no merit to the allegations and that any investigation into her husband “needed to be wrapped up quickly because she was recused from important cases pending" before the court.

Authorities have not disclosed the nature of that investigation, but Marconi's husband, Geno Marconi, has been charged with interfering with it by deleting voicemails and providing confidential motor vehicle records to a third party.

Geno Marconi, the director of the New Hampshire Division of Ports and Harbors, faces two felony charges — witness tampering and falsifying evidence — and four misdemeanors of obstructing government administration and violating driver privacy. Bradley Cook, chair of the port division’s advisory council, also was charged with perjury and false swearing and is accused of lying to a grand jury about Marconi.

Justice Marconi has been on administrative leave since July 2024. Geno Marconi has been on paid leave since April 2024.

“No person is above the law, and the evidence in this case required investigation and presentation to the grand jury,” New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said at the time of Justice Marconi's indictment.

“The decision to charge a sitting Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court was not made lightly, and it comes after careful and thoughtful deliberation. It is my hope that the public will be reassured that all individuals, including public officials, are treated equally under the law,” he added.

According to court documents, Marconi will pay $1,200 fine for pleading no contest and state prosecutors will agree that her offense does not fall under the definition a “serious crime.”