Hantz Marconi Blasts Judicial Conduct Committee Over Geno-Gate Charges

By Damien Fisher, NH Journal

Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi said Thursday the Judicial Conduct Committee is more interested in a public trial than resolving her case.

The JCC notified the retired New Hampshire Supreme Court associate justice this week that it is bringing formal charges alleging she violated two judicial conduct rules for her role in the byzantine scandal involving her husband, former Ports Director Geno Marconi.

Hantz Marconi doesn’t deny she broke the rules, but insists she did not commit any crimes when she spoke to Pease Development Authority Chair Steven Duprey and Gov. Chris Sununu in 2024 about the pending criminal investigation targeting Geno Marconi.

“The formal charges filed by the committee are unnecessary. As the committee admits, long ago I acknowledged the rule violation for not recognizing how my meeting with the governor might appear and how others might misconstrue it. I acknowledged that violation in person and in writing. I also said that I would accept a sanction for that violation.

“However, it appears the committee prefers a trial despite my acknowledgments, despite the resolution of the matter in court, despite Gov. Sununu’s statements that ‘there was no request’ or ‘anything illegal,’ and despite the fact that I did not attempt to influence the AG’s investigation of my husband. I am disappointed that I am being subjected to this unnecessary process,” Hantz Marconi said in a statement issued Thursday.

Hantz Marconi retired from the bench in February, months after she clawed her job back from the threat of felony charges and possible jail time. Hantz Marconi was charged with allegedly trying to get Duprey and Sununu to intervene in her husband’s investigation. She strongly denied the allegations and ended up pleading no contest to a single misdemeanor stemming from her June 6, 2024, conversation with Sununu. She was fined $1,200 in October 2025 and resumed her job on the court.

The JCC alleges she violated the code of conduct by creating the appearance of impropriety when she spoke to Sununu about her husband. One of the alleged violations was brought to the JCC in a self-report from Hantz Marconi as she tried to resolve all her legal issues.

At the time of the Sununu conversation, Geno Marconi was on leave from his job pending a criminal investigation, which had forced her to recuse herself from all criminal justice cases before the Supreme Court. During the conversation with Sununu, she reportedly vented her frustration about the matter, but Sununu himself later told Attorney General John Formella she did not make any illegal requests.

If not for the October plea deal, Hantz Marconi planned to call Sununu as a witness at her trial. She also wanted to call Formella, who single-handedly started the investigation after speaking to Sununu.

Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald was another high-profile witness expected to be called. Hantz Marconi claims he told her there would be nothing improper about her speaking to Sununu, a claim MacDonald denied.

According to court documents filed in her case, Formella asked MacDonald during his initial investigation whether Hantz Marconi was badmouthing him to Sununu. Formella wanted to know whether she told Sununu that he was “weak,” according to statements filed in court.

Meanwhile, key witness MacDonald is currently missing. The Supreme Court announced last week that he is on medical leave for an undisclosed ailment, with no indication of when he is expected to return. Legal sources who know MacDonald are also in the dark.

NHJournal sought his comment on Hantz Marconi’s JCC case Thursday but did not receive a reply. The court instead issued a statement saying it does not know the chief justice’s condition or when he will return to work.

“The chief justice’s medical providers have confirmed that he is not able to work at this time and have not forecasted the length of the chief justice’s leave. Under state and federal law, a request for medical leave does not require the disclosure of diagnostic information and the chief justice has not disclosed such information. Accordingly, the judicial branch, including the other justices of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, have not received any information about the chief justice’s medical condition beyond the confirmation described above,” the statement reads.

Hantz Marconi will be able to call Sununu, Formella, and MacDonald as witnesses at the JCC hearing. The public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 7-9.

If the violations against her are upheld, Hantz Marconi will likely face a monetary sanction. The JCC could order her to pay the costs of its investigation and hearing, which could amount to tens of thousands of dollars.

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.