Manhunt underway for Naples resident Roy McGrath an ex- chief of staff to former Maryland Gov Hogan 

Roy McGrath, the former chief of staff for former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan. McGrath is facing state and federal criminal charges related to a “severance” payment he received from the Maryland Environmental Service when he left to join Hogan’s office. He didn’t show up to start his fraud and theft trial in federal court on Monday.  This led to an arrest warrant and a search for him.

McGrath, who now lives in Florida, was supposed to meet his lawyer, Joseph Murtha, outside U.S. District Court in downtown Baltimore at 8:45 a.m., before a hearing at 9 a.m., which would be followed by jury selection.

He didn’t show up.

Murtha told reporters outside the courthouse, “We’re doing everything we can to make sure Roy is safe and we see him soon,” according to a recent article written by Pamela Wood from The Baltimore Banner. 

Murtha told U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman that he and McGrath had talked on Sunday afternoon for about 90 minutes. McGrath was going to fly up from Florida on Sunday night and spend the night in a hotel near Baltimore.
Murtha said that he didn’t see any reason why McGrath wouldn’t show up. The lawyer told reporters, “He and I always talked in a very professional and interesting way about how to move forward with the trial.” “I was looking forward to seeing him at 8:45 in the morning.”

Murtha said that neither McGrath nor his wife Laura Bruner replied to his texts on Monday morning. He said that he didn’t know McGrath’s exact flight plans or which hotel he had booked.

When McGrath didn’t show up by 10 a.m., Boardman gave him a warrant to be arrested.

Judge Deborah L. Boardman said, “We all just hope he is safe and that there was a mix-up.” She paused and then said, “And I guess all we can do is wait.”

Around 11:15 a.m., the judge sent the potential jurors away, but he or she still seemed worried about McGrath’s health.

She said, “Maybe there’s some confusion.” “I hope nothing bad happens to him.”

McGrath and his wife had moved to Naples, Florida, to live in the gated community of Raffia Preserve. The Banner talked to a neighbor who said that the couple’s house was quiet on Monday and that only a sheriff’s car was outside. No one knows if the police have gone into the house.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals did not have anyone who could answer questions.

McGrath was going to be tried for wire fraud, theft, and making up documents, which are all crimes. The trial took place in a big courtroom with wood walls. At dozens of auditorium-style seats, clipboards with juror questionnaire answer sheets were placed.

McGrath has said in court that he is not guilty.

McGrath was Hogan’s chief of staff for 11 weeks in the summer of 2020, until it came out that he had negotiated a large “severance” payment when he left his previous job at the Maryland Environmental Service, a state agency that was separate from the governor’s office. A few days after the first news story, McGrath quit because of the pressure.

Investigations by law enforcement and lawmakers showed that McGrath allegedly lied to the board of directors of the Maryland Environmental Service about Hogan’s support for the separation. Hogan has said that he didn’t agree with the severance payment and didn’t know how it worked.

Prosecutors also say that McGrath made up a fake memo to support his claim that Hogan agreed with the firing.

Hogan is on the list of possible witnesses for the prosecution. He recently decided not to run for president in 2024.

In a federal indictment, McGrath is also accused of lying on his time cards to make it look like he was working when he was actually on vacation. He is also accused of telling an employee to use almost $15,000 of Maryland Environmental Service money to pay for a course at Harvard University and of using $15,000 of the service’s money to pay off a personal promise to an art museum on the Eastern Shore.

McGrath is also waiting to be tried in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court this summer on charges of misconduct in office and wiretapping. He is said to have recorded government officials without their permission, including Hogan.
In both cases, charges were brought against McGrath in the fall of 2021. McGrath was freed until his trial, and he was allowed to travel between Florida and Maryland and anywhere else federal officials said was okay.

The U.S. marshals told him to give them his passport. He wasn’t allowed to have a gun, and his wife had to give a gun back to the police.

Murtha was asked if McGrath’s home had been checked on or if anyone had reached out to his friends.

Murtha told reporters, “I think those are the things that are going on right now.”

Before his short time as chief of staff, McGrath ran the Maryland Environmental Service, an independent state agency that helps local governments and other state agencies with public works and environmental projects. The federal government also gives money to it.

McGrath was in charge of MES from 2016 to 2020. As a “severance” payment, the MES board of directors gave him about $233,000, which is one year’s salary.

McGrath used to be Hogan’s senior advisor and deputy chief of staff, and he also worked on Hogan’s campaigns when he was governor.

McGrath worked for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores for 18 years before Hogan became governor.

When he worked for Hogan, McGrath lived in Edgewater. He has since moved to Florida.

Tim Prudente, a reporter for the Baltimore Banner, helped with this story.

This story is going to be changed.