A former top Maryland aide who did not attend his fraud trial on corruption charges and died last month as a fugitive in an armed fight with federal agents after weeks of manhunt had made no plans to travel for his trial in Baltimore.
Roy McGrath Ex-Maryland Aide Didn’t Plan To Travel His Fraud Trial In Baltimore (PHOTO: WTOP)
Ex-Maryland Officials Made No Plans To Travel For Fraud Trial In Baltimore
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, former one-time chief of staff Roy McGrath, missed the first day of his trial in federal court on March 13, starting a manhunt that ended when Roy McGrath was injured in a shooting on April 3 near Knoxville, Tennessee, and died at a hospital. Authorities did not release any details yet on how Roy McGrath was injured or what led to the shooting incident.
Roy McGrath’s no-show for trial surprised Joseph Murtha his attorney, who said at the time he believed that McGrath, who had moved to Naples, Florida, was preparing to fly to Maryland the night before. Roy McGrath long had kept his innocence and was adamant about going to trial in hopes of clearing his name, Murtha said.
However, according to the affidavit from an FBI agent that demands a search warrant to McGrath’s house found that he had no plane tickets or any travel reservations in the days before his trial.
Roy McGrath long had recently checked in with authorities two weeks earlier, and officials last visited him at the Florida home in August. The affidavit states that McGrath’s wife said she believed that her spouse had a flight going to Baltimore the morning of the trial.
McGrath Warrants Include To Seize His Electronics And Records Related To His Travel
The warrant request indicates that investigators desired to seize Roy McGrath’s electronics and documents related to his financial records, travel arrangements, and any evidence that McGrath tried to modify his appearance.
Furthermore, Roy McGrath functioned as Hogan’s chief of staff for just 11 weeks. In August 2020, he resigned after it became public that he had obtained a $233,650 severance payment from his last job as head of a state-owned corporation before moving to the governor’s office.
McGrath was indicted in 2021 on accusations that he fraudulently secured the severance payment, equivalent to one annual pay as head of Maryland Environmental Service, by falsely stating to the agency board that the governor had approved it.
McGrath also was charged with fraud and embezzlement related to expenses of approximately $170,000 in total.
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