Roy McGrath died of injuries he got in a fight with FBI agents. The agents had been looking for the former aide to former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan for weeks because he didn’t show up for his federal corruption trial in Baltimore.
The Washington Post said that McGrath’s lawyer, Joseph Murtha, said that his client died on Monday in Knoxville, Tenn.
“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.
In a statement, the FBI said that McGrath was shot and killed by an agent at about 6:30 p.m.
“During the arrest, the subject, Roy McGrath, sustained injury and was transported to the hospital,” the FBI said, adding that video of the shooting was being reviewed.
The tweet below confirms the news:
BREAKING: Roy McGrath is dead. The indicted former chief of staff to Gov. Larry Hogan, who was on the run for 3 weeks after failing to show for his federal criminal trial, was shot after being confronted by the FBI in Tennessee. w @Tim_Prudente https://t.co/bqVDpIlNQ8
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) April 4, 2023
The FBI said “takes seriously any shooting that involves one of our agents or members of the task force. The shooting is being looked into by the FBI’s Inspection Division, as is required by FBI policy.”
The FBI had been looking for Hogan’s former chief of staff since March 12, when an arrest warrant was issued for him after he didn’t show up in court in Baltimore that morning to face corruption charges.
Roy McGrath Had a $20,000 Reward on Him
There was a $20,000 reward for information that would help catch him.
In October 2021, McGrath, who was 53 at the time, was charged with four counts of wire fraud and two counts of stealing money from the state-owned Maryland Environmental Service.
McGrath left the MES in May 2020 to become Chief of Staff for Hogan. Prosecutors say McGrath illegally got a $233,000 severance package, which is equal to a year’s salary, by telling the MES board of directors that it had been approved by the governor.
He was also accused of making MES money go to a museum where he was on the board of directors in exchange for a promise he made.
In June, a grand jury gave him a new indictment that included a charge of falsifying records. He was accused of doing this after news of his severance package got out. Prosecutors said he made a fake memo to the governor of Maryland that gave the impression that Hogan had agreed to pay him a lot of money when he became his chief of staff.
McGrath had said he was innocent of all charges against him.
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