The longtime head of New Hampshire’s Division of Ports and Harbors was indicted Thursday for alleged witness tampering, retaliation and other charges.
The charges were announced a day after Attorney General John Formella announced that Marconi’s wife, state Supreme Court Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi, was indicted for allegedly trying to influence the investigation. She’s on indefinite leave from the court, and says she will fight the charges.
Prosecutors accuse Geno Marconi of allegedly disclosing confidential motor vehicle records to another person and tampering with evidence to obstruct an ongoing investigation. The charging documents reference incidents that took place on April 4, in or around Portsmouth, and on April 22, in or around Stratham.
Marconi has been on leave from his job overseeing the state’s ports and harbors since April.
State prosecutors also announced that Bradley Joseph Cook of Hampton, who is chair of the Division of Ports and Harbors Advisory Council, is facing related charges for allegedly lying in grand jury testimony about communicating with Geno Marconi about a pier use permit. The charging documents for both Marconi and Cook make reference to “motor vehicle records pertaining to N.L.” and “the pier use permit of N.L.,” though it wasn’t immediately clear who or what those initials stand for.
The Division of Ports and Harbors is part of the Pease Development Authority, a state agency. It was previously known as the New Hampshire Port Authority. The division is responsible for managing port operations along the Piscataqua River, oversees commercial fishing operations, and has broad authority over commercial activity at Rye and Hampton-Seabrook harbors.
Hantz Marconi is the first state supreme court justice in modern history to face criminal charges. Prosecutors say she contacted Gov. Chris Sununu and asked him to intervene in a case involving her husband.
Court paperwork refers to a June 6 communication between Hantz Marconi and Sununu when the alleged interference took place. But the governor’s office has declined to say who alerted prosecutors about Hantz Marconi’s alleged request, including whether it was the governor himself. It also isn’t clear if Sununu testified before a Merrimack County Grand Jury about what Hantz Marconi may have said to him about the investigation.
