MANCHESTER, NH – Citing concerns with Hillsborough County Attorney Michael Conlon‘s “handling and oversight of several critical matters” including several recent high-profile court cases, Attorney General Gordon MacDonald on Friday notified Conlon that he would be exercising his authority to “control, direct and supervise” functions of the county attorney’s office.
“Today I am beginning the process of appointing David Mara as an Assistant Attorney General for the purpose of this assignment,” wrote MacDonald in the eight-page memo that included correspondences between Conlon and MacDonald over three cases in particular, State v. Christopher Ahearn, State v Damien Seace, and most recently, State v Christen Gelinas and State v Joshua Garvey.
In the letter (see below for full text) MacDonald suggests “systemic failures in the leadership of prosecutorial function of your office,” and claims that he repeatedly offered assistance to help Conlon run his office.
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On Sept. 3 MacDonald asked Conlon to resign amid an uproar over lenient sentences negotiated for the parents of a 20-month-old toddler who died after ingesting cocaine in their Hevey Street apartment, State v Christen Gelinas and State v Joshua Garvey, one of the cases referenced by MacDonald in Friday’s letter.
Conlon responded with a four-page letter to MacDonald dated Sept. 5, which said he will not resign because it “would not be beneficial to the people of Hillsborough County who elected him.”
In the Sept. 6 letter MacDonald outlines Mara’s experience as former Manchester Chief of police, former Interim Chief of Police in Portsmouth and his current role as Governor Sununu’s Advisor on Addiction and Behavioral Health. During his 30 years in Manchester, Mara served as a prosecutor and supervisor of the police department’s legal division.
Mara’s function, until further notice, would be to “conduct an assessment” of the needs of that office and report directly to MacDonald, or one of the Deputy or Assistant attorneys in MacDonald’s absence.
MacDonald’s letter concludes by saying, “I trust you will be cooperative with this process.”
In a story published Sept. 5 on the InkLink, Conlon said when he took over the office there were no practices and procedures in place. Now, plea agreements and any cases to be nol-prossed must first be reviewed by a supervising attorney.
He said the office also was in a state of crisis with deep wounds from years of neglect. He convinced the county commissioners to provide funding so he could hire John Harding, an attorney with 19 years experience with the Attorney General’s Office and with the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office. He recently hired another attorney who was with Judge Advocate General’s office for nine years.
Conlon said he received a letter last March from Deputy Attorney General Jane E. Young regarding a review of the office that had taken place under his predecessor Dennis Hogan.
In her letter, Young said First Assistants maintain an unreasonably full and complex caseload, making it impossible for them to manage and mentor the other attorneys.
The review noted the office lacked any second-tier supervisory attorneys to provide management and guidance to newer attorneys. “As such, the current structure of the office does not lead to the effective administration of justice on behalf of the citizens of Hillsborough County,” Young wrote.
Among the recommendations was for Conlon to hire an attorney with substantial county attorney prosecutorial experience to work directly with him to create effective prosecution-specific policies and procedures. Harding has 19 years experience as an attorney, many of them as an assistant Hillsborough County Attorney.
Young also recommended Conlon implement policies and procedures (the office had none); have more management oversight; have the county attorney more involved in the day-to-day operations.
Conlon wrote MacDonald that he decided to run for county attorney because of concerns expressed regarding inattention of the previous county attorney, the importance of the office’s successful operation and his professional experience in working with organizations going through a crisis and successfully working to deliver improvements.
“It should be clear to all paying attention that the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office has suffered greatly under its recent stewards; its staff has workloads more than double other offices around the state, has struggled with morale and staff retention, and its ability to effectively communicate with law enforcement and other agencies regarding cases had eroded into a state of crisis,” he wrote.
He said the basis for MacDonald asking him to resign or for the AGO to provide prosecutorial assistance is a lack of confidence from police chiefs.
A few of the chiefs, he wrote, are upset at how certain cases have been handled and a particular one most recently, presumably the Garvey/Gelinas sentencing.
