Former advisor to former Maryland governor Larry Hogan Roy McGrath had been wanted for weeks for failing to appear in a federal corruption trial in Baltimore, where he was scheduled to stand trial. McGrath died of injuries sustained in a fight with FBI investigators.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that McGrath’s attorney, Joseph Murtha, confirmed McGrath’s death on Monday in Knoxville, Tennessee. “The loss of Roy’s life is an absolute tragedy, and I think it’s important for me to say that Roy never wavered about his innocence,” Murtha said.
According to a statement released by the FBI, McGrath was shot and killed by an agent at around 6:30 p.m. The FBI stated, “During the arrest, the subject, Roy McGrath, sustained injury and was transported to the hospital,” They also mentioned that they were reviewing footage of the incident.
The FBI said it “takes all shooting incidents involving our agents or task force members seriously. In accordance with FBI policy, the shooting incident is under investigation by the FBI’s Inspection Division.”
After failing to appear in a U.S. district court in Baltimore that morning to face corruption charges, a warrant was issued for Hogan’s former chief of staff’s arrest, and the FBI had been on the hunt for him ever since. Information leading to his capture was being rewarded with $20,000.
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In connection with his time working for the state-owned Maryland Environmental Service, 53-year-old McGrath was accused of four counts of wire fraud and two counts of embezzling monies in October 2021. In May of 2020, McGrath left the MES to become Hogan’s chief of staff.
Prosecutors claim McGrath misled the MES board of directors into paying him a $233,000 severance payout (equivalent to one year’s salary) by claiming the money had been authorized by the governor. He was also charged with utilizing MES funding to fulfill a personal obligation to a museum for which he served on the board.
As the news of his severance package became public, a superseding indictment was returned by a grand jury in June, adding a falsification of records charge on allegations that he deliberately forged a document.
The Maryland governor’s former chief of staff is accused of fabricating a memorandum purporting to have the governor’s approval for a massive severance payment. McGrath had already entered a not-guilty plea.
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