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Federal authorities have offered a reward of up to $20,000 for Roy McGrath, former chief of staff for former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.
A former high-ranking Maryland official who skipped trial on corruption charges and died last month in a gunfight with federal agents had no plans to go to trial in Baltimore, a newly unsealed FBI affidavit says.
Roy McGrath, the one-time chief of staff to former Gov. Larry Hogan, missed his first court date in federal court on March 13, triggering a manhunt that ended when McGrath was wounded in an April 3 shooting near Knoxville, Tennessee. He died in the hospital. Authorities have not released any information on how McGrath was wounded or why he was shot.
McGrath’s failure to appear in court surprised his attorney, Joseph Murta, who said he believed McGrath, who had moved to Naples, Florida at the time, was planning to fly to Maryland. McGrath has long maintained his innocence and was determined to go to trial in hopes of clearing his name, Murtha said.
But according to an affidavit from the FBI agent who sought a search warrant for McGrath’s home, McGrath had no plane tickets or travel arrangements in the days before the trial, news outlets reported. The affidavit, which did not identify the agent, was unsealed Tuesday.
McGrath last had contact with authorities two weeks ago, and authorities last visited him at his Florida home in August. McGrath’s wife thought her husband would fly to Baltimore the morning of the trial, the affidavit said.
RELATED: Roy McGrath shot dead at the end of a three-week manhunt
“A search of airlines operating between Florida and Baltimore, MD did not show any airline tickets or reservations for McGrath to travel to Maryland,” according to court documents.
The warrant request indicates that investigators want to seize McGrath’s electronics and travel arrangements, his financial records and any evidence that McGrath tried to change his appearance.
McGrath served as Hogan’s chief of staff for 11 weeks. He resigned in August 2020 after it was revealed that he received a $233,650 severance payment from his job as head of a state corporation before moving to the governor’s office.
McGrath in 2011 He is accused of fraudulently certifying to the agency’s board that the governor had approved a one-year severance payment as Maryland’s Environmental Protection Agency chief in 2021. Hogan denied knowledge of the plan.
McGrath was charged with fraud and embezzlement in connection with nearly $170,000 in expenses.
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