(The Center Square) — New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi on Tuesday pleaded “no contest” to a misdemeanor charge for soliciting former Gov. Chris Sununu to intervene on behalf of her husband’s corruption case.
Marconi was indicted in October on two class B felonies and five misdemeanors for allegedly interfering with the criminal investigation of her husband, Geno Marconi, former director of the New Hampshire Port Authority, who was indicted on separate charges. She was also charged with five misdemeanors, including criminal solicitation and obstructing government administration.
Under the plea deal reached on Tuesday, Hantz Marconi accepted a single count of criminal solicitation related to the misuse of her position, without admitting wrongdoing. The other charges will be dismissed.
The single misdemeanor charge — which was described in court filings as being “outside of the definition of serious crime” — carries up to a $1,200 fine, but no jail term.
Her husband, Geno Marconi, was charged with two felonies alleging witness tampering and falsifying evidence, as well as several misdemeanor charges, according to the indictments. Prosecutors allege that Marconi provided confidential motor vehicle records to another person and attempted to conceal the illegal activity by deleting voicemails.
Bradley Joseph Cook, chairman of the Division of Ports and Harbors Advisory Council, was indicted on felony charges of perjury and giving a false statement to investigators as part of the case against Geno Marconi, according to state prosecutors.
Tuesday’s plea deal effectively ends one of New Hampshire’s highest-profile cases involving a Supreme Court judge and comes after months of legal wrangling between Hantz Marconi’s lawyers and state prosecutors over the charges in the indictment.
“Justice Hantz Marconi arranged for a private meeting with the Governor and then sought to obtain special treatment for her husband,” Attorney General John Formella said in a statement. “That conduct was unlawful and unethical, and it undermines confidence in our criminal justice system.”
In court filings, prosecutors allege that Hantz Marconi asked Sununu to intervene in the investigation of her husband, arguing the case stemmed from “personal, petty and/or political biases” and had “no merit” to the allegations.
Lawyers for the former state Republican leader argued during a recent court hearing that she didn’t violate any laws and wasn’t acting with a “criminal purpose” when she “expressed her concerns” to Sununu about the charges against her husband.
Sununu, a Republican who left office in January, reportedly told investigators that while he found the encounter with Hantz Marconi “awkward” he didn’t think she “crossed any ethical lines” by asking the governor to exert his influence over the case against her husband.
