On Thursday, February 19, 2026, InDepthNH reported that the New Hampshire Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) is continuing its investigation into Supreme Court Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi, even after her retirement on February 12 at the age of 70. Marconi had pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge in October 2025 as part of a plea agreement, which allowed her to return to work briefly.
According to a news release issued by JCC Counsel Robert Mittelholzer, the investigation remains ongoing and is unaffected by Marconi’s retirement. The JCC’s jurisdiction to investigate allegations of misconduct that occurred while a judge was in office is based on a petition from W. Stephen Thayer, III. The JCC has engaged legal counsel to assist in the investigation.
The investigation follows indictments against Hantz Marconi by the Merrimack County Grand Jury in October 2024. The Judicial Conduct Committee issued a statement explaining that JCC proceedings, like those of judicial disciplinary bodies nationwide, are confidential during the initial stages.
Upon retirement, Marconi’s annual pension will be 55% of her $201,903 salary, resulting in an annual pension of $111,046, according to a court spokesperson. She was initially sworn in by former Governor Christopher Sununu on August 8, 2017, and was placed on paid leave on July 26, 2024.
Marconi pleaded no contest on October 7, 2025, to meeting with then-Governor Sununu regarding an investigation into her husband, Geno Marconi, who was the Ports and Harbors Director in June 2024. She was found guilty of a misdemeanor, fined $1,200, and faced no jail time. She returned to the bench on October 15, 2025, after Attorney General John Formella agreed in the plea bargain that the misdemeanor was not a serious crime.
Geno Marconi, 74, of Stratham, pleaded guilty on October 31, 2025, to knowingly misusing information from a department record by providing confidential motor vehicle records pertaining to Neil Levesque, vice chairman of the Pease Development, to Bradley Cook, then-chairman of the Division of Ports and Harbors Advisory Council.
Geno Marconi was fined $2,000 and sentenced to 30 days in the House of Corrections, with the sentence suspended pending good behavior. Bradley Cook of Hampton, the former chair of the Division of Ports and Harbors Advisory Council, pleaded guilty to one count of Obstructing Government Administration (RSA 642:1), a class B misdemeanor, and received a $1,200 fine.
The JCC had previously held Justice Hantz Marconi’s disciplinary proceedings in abeyance, awaiting the resolution of the underlying criminal matters in accordance with New Hampshire Supreme Court procedural rules.
Throughout this period, the JCC monitored the criminal proceedings, reviewed public reporting on the pending charges, and maintained contact with the Attorney General’s Office and Hantz Marconi’s counsel.
The pending criminal matters concluded in October 2025 when Justice Hantz Marconi pleaded no contest to a charge of Misuse of Position (Solicitation), a Class B Misdemeanor, and paid a fine. All original indictment charges were dismissed by the Attorney General’s Office.
The JCC restarted its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the criminal charges and potential violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct on October 9, 2025.
Source: InDepthNH
