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A disgraced New Hampshire Supreme Court justice has returned to the bench with a smirk on her face just a week after she was convicted of corruption. Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi, 69, made history for all the wrong reasons this month as she became the first convicted criminal to serve in the high court. Hantz Marconi was found guilty on October 7 of trying to influence a criminal case against her husband, New Hampshire Port Authority Director Geno Marconi. She submitted a no contest plea against the charge - which is technically not an admission of guilt, but recognition that the state had enough evidence that prosecutors had adequate evidence to prove their case against her. Returning to court one week later, Hantz Marconi appeared unshaken by the conviction as she smiled while approaching the bench and returned to her duties. The case stems back to June 2024, when the judge met with the Governor at the time, Chris Sununu, and tried to get information from him about her husband's case. Her 73-year-old spouse has been tangled in a furious turf war over his family chowder business and a neighboring lobster shack on Rye Harbor. The 'lobster mobster' was charged with two felony charges - witness tampering and destroying physical evidence - along with four misdemeanors. Prosecutors said Geno conspired with a colleague to illegally obtain driving records for Neil Levesque, a director at the Pease Development Authority (PDA), who had reported Marconi for 'mismanagement' of Rye Harbor. That mismanagement claim came after the Lobster Pound which leases its spot from the PDA sued Geno Marconi. Their lawsuit accused Geno Marconi and others of 'extortion, intimidation, and corruption', according to SeacoastOnline. The filing claims that Geno Marconi's alleged 'anti-competition' approach was motivated by his desire to protect the interests of Geno's Chowder & Sandwich Shop, his family's business on the same stretch. Geno is accused of scheming with chairman of the Division of Ports and Harbors Advisory Council, Bradley Cook, who has also been indicted, to leak Levesque's driving records and of deleting a voicemail connected to the investigation. It's unclear why such leaks would have damaged Levesque's position at the PDA. But getting rid of him may have made it easier to make life harder for the Lobster Pound. Prosecutors said Hantz Marconi approached former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and told him there was no merit in the investigation into her husband, which had been brought due to a personal or political bias. 'It's incredibly serious,' Sununu told WMUR9 at the time. 'I mean, you're talking about an independent grand jury indicting a very high-level public official like that and public servant. 'I really, first and foremost, really appreciate the attorney general. He's done a phenomenal job. 'He holds everybody to an incredibly high standard. And I think that's commendable. It's a lot of work on his department's part.' Geno vowed to fight the charges when he goes on trial in November. He is facing two felony charges and four misdemeanors. He was placed on paid leave but has since filed for retirement since the scandal erupted. His alleged co-conspirator Cook has been charged with perjury after prosecutors say he falsely swore under oath that he had not had any contact with Marconi about Levesque's records.
