The following is a transcript of Neil Levesque’s statement to the court Friday upon the criminal sentencing of (now former) Director of Ports and Harbor Geno Marconi:
As a member of the board of directors of the Pease Development Authority, I have a fiduciary duty to exercise due care and act in the best interests of the authority — not the interests of any one person, not my own interests, but the interests of the authority. I did that, even when it meant calling into question the actions of some powerful and influential people. It has not been easy.
One of those powerful and influential people is the defendant before the court today, Geno Marconi. Because I did my duty, the defendant sought to retaliate against me, including by violating my rights — an act he is pleading guilty to here today.
Today, the people of New Hampshire have taken a first step toward clearing out what I believe to be an organized criminal conspiracy that has plagued the Division of Ports and Harbors for years.
I was one of several witnesses who uncovered what I believe to be vast wrongdoing by the defendant. I was subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury about what I knew, and I complied with my duty to provide that testimony.
I was subsequently the victim of retaliation as I, and others, worked to disclose what I believe to be a sophisticated, organized criminal enterprise run by the defendant.
When it became clear that the defendant had abused his power to spy on me, I was advised by the Attorney General’s Office to be physically careful because my safety and that of my family could be at risk. I have spent the past four years looking over my shoulder as a result. It is difficult to express the degree to which this kind of fear occupies the mind and interferes with daily life.
It is my hope that the full details of the investigation are released to the public at the earliest possible time. The public needs to know the full extent of what the Attorney General’s Office uncovered about Geno Marconi’s actions.
Geno Marconi was aided by many high-profile people who decided it was in their best interest to look away rather than seek justice for the public. If we are going to have the kind of government the people of this state deserve, then people in power must be willing to call out misconduct when they see it. And those who do so in good faith, as I did, must be protected against retaliation.
