ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The three-week manhunt for a former top aide to Maryland’s governor ended in his death after public corruption charges jeopardized his career and ultimately sent him on the run from federal agents when he skipped a court appearance last month.
Following numerous twists and turns, the case against Roy McGrath ended Monday night when FBI agents confronted the fugitive outside Knoxville, Tennessee. McGrath, who had served as former Gov. Larry Hogan’s chief of staff, died in the hospital after being wounded by gunfire.
As the criminal investigation and prosecution dragged on for years, McGrath consistently maintained his innocence and was adamant about going to trial in hopes of clearing his name, according to his lawyer, Joseph Murtha. But when the March 13 trial date arrived, McGrath surprised his attorney by failing to appear at the U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
“We were moving forward and preparing for trial, but you never know what’s going on in someone’s mind,” Murtha said Tuesday morning. “The rest is three weeks of uncertainty and a tragic ending.”
McGrath served as Hogan’s chief of staff for just 11 weeks, resigning in August 2020 after it became public that he had received a $233,650 severance payment from his old job as head of a state-owned corporation before moving to the governor’s office.
McGrath, 53, was indicted in 2021 on accusations that he fraudulently secured the severance payment, equal to one year’s salary as the head of Maryland Environmental Service, by falsely telling the agency’s board that the governor had approved it; Hogan denied knowledge of the plan. McGrath also was accused of fraud and embezzlement connected to roughly $170,000 in expenses.
McGrath was devastated when his professional reputation suffered because of the federal criminal charges, Murtha said.
“I think he felt like he had been destroyed. He felt completely betrayed,” Murtha said in a phone interview. “I really believe Roy was a dedicated public servant who sought to do the best job he could for the citizens of Maryland. He was a workaholic. He worked nonstop.”
Murtha said Tuesday that the biggest unanswered question is whether McGrath was killed by law enforcement agents or died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Officials also haven’t said whether McGrath was armed during the fatal encounter.
McGrath was wounded during “an agent-involved shooting” about 6:30 p.m. Monday in the outskirts of Knoxville and was taken to a hospital, where he died, according to FBI Supervisory Special Agent Shayne Buchwald in Maryland. Further details, including how McGrath was wounded and what led up to the shooting, were not released. It remained under investigation.
McGrath grew up in southern Maryland, graduated from the University of Maryland in College Park and built a career in state-level Republican politics. His relationship with Hogan dated back decades; he worked on Hogan’s unsuccessful 1992 congressional campaign. McGrath then spent many years working for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, which lobbies on behalf of pharmacies, before transitioning back into state politics after Hogan was elected governor.
Skip Aldridge, who met McGrath through his work with the association, said he learned about McGrath’s death on the news Tuesday morning.
“I was shocked beyond belief. I was absolutely blown away,” he said in a phone interview. “That is not the Roy I knew.”
McGrath struck him as someone with “the highest degree of integrity,” Aldridge said, describing his friend as wholesome and well-liked among colleagues.
“Imagining him under FBI gunfire is almost beyond my comprehension,” Aldridge said. “But I guess when you push people to the breaking point, you don’t know how they’ll react to a crisis.”
In 2016, McGrath was appointed to serve as executive director of the Maryland Environmental Service. He oversaw the state-owned corporation, which provides environmental services such as water and wastewater management to government entities and private clients, until he became Hogan’s chief of staff in 2020.
According to federal and state prosecutors, McGrath took advantage of his positions of trust as the environmental agency’s director and Hogan’s top aide for personal gain.
In the months after his indictment, McGrath contended he had earned the severance package and received authorization from the governor.
“I continue to cooperate fully, and will vigorously defend myself, in ongoing legal matters connected to politically motivated claims surrounding a customary and well-earned severance package from my position as CEO of the Maryland Environmental Service,” McGrath wrote in a Nov. 30, 2021 commentary in The Baltimore Sun.
Hogan, who was expected to testify in the trial, has denied knowledge of the severance arrangement.
“Yumi and I are deeply saddened by this tragic situation. We are praying for Mr. McGrath’s family and loved ones,” Hogan said in a statement Monday night.
If convicted of the federal charges, McGrath would have faced a maximum sentence of 20 years for each of four counts of wire fraud, plus a maximum of 10 years for each of two counts of embezzling funds from an organization receiving more than $10,000 in federal benefits.
The trial was set to begin last month in Baltimore. McGrath, who moved to Florida in recent years, was supposed to catch a flight to Maryland the night before his court appearance but instead disappeared. FBI agents raided his Naples home two days later.
Another few weeks would pass before they found him in the parking lot of a suburban Tennessee strip mall Monday evening. Officials have released few details about how the shooting unfolded. A white Escalade was visible on the scene surrounded by law enforcement vehicles.
___ Sarah Brumfield contributed to this report from Silver Spring, Maryland.
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