Geno Marconi, the longtime head of the New Hampshire Port Authority, has been placed on paid administrative leave.
The Pease Development Authority, which oversees the ports, declined to provide a reason for Marconi’s sudden removal from his post, only saying his leave will be for an undetermined period of time.
“Because of the confidentiality requirements of New Hampshire personnel laws, we cannot comment any further at this time,” said Steve Duprey, chairman of the development authority, in a statement to NHPR.
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office also declined to comment.
Assistant port director Myles Greenway is now serving as acting port director in Marconi’s absence.
Marconi was in attendance at a regularly scheduled PDA board meeting last week, but can be seen on video footage leaving after the board went into a non-public session.
The Port Authority is charged with supporting and growing commerce through state-owned ports along the Piscatauqua River and Portsmouth Harbor, according to the agency’s mission statement. The agency also supports salt water fisheries in the region.
In a recent podcast interview with IndepthNH, Marconi said his office oversees more than 3.5 million tons of cargo annually, including imported home heating oil and road salt. Freighters as long as 765-feet in length are regularly navigating the Piscataqua River to dock at the port.
Marconi was also involved in negotiations with American Cruise Lines as it sought to add a Portsmouth stop to its New England cruise line this summer.
He’s been a fixture on the water since as far back as 1975, when he assumed the position as Portsmouth Harbormaster. Marconi took over the top position at the ports in the early 2000s, according to media reports. In 2006, he was disciplined by the board, including a $5,000 pay cut, after using racial slurs to describe a local businessman.
Marconi is married to New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi.
