State Supreme Court justice charged with attempting to interfere with criminal investigation into her husband

A Merrimack County grand jury indicted Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi, a New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice, on seven charges related to witness tampering and improper influence in a state investigation into her husband, Geno Marconi, the director of New Hampshire’s Division of Ports and Harbors.

Hantz Marconi is charged with two class B felonies for allegedly soliciting and attempting to commit improper influence over witnesses and five class A misdemeanors, including allegations of soliciting government officials to commit improper influence or official oppression, attempting to commit improper influence and of committing official oppression and obstruction of government herself.

“No person is above the law, and the evidence in this case required investigation and presentation to the grand jury,” Attorney General John Formella said in a statement.  “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.”

Indictment documents allege that Hantz Marconi attempted to get Gov. Chris Sununu to both improperly influence Department of Justice officials and use his position to interfere with the investigation into her husband, Geno Marconi. They also lay out myriad other ways that Hantz Marconi allegedly tried to use her own position to interfere.

Hantz Marconi was previously placed on paid administrative leave in July and had recused herself from all cases relating to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office following the investigation into her husband.

Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, or send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.