FBI raids ex-Hogan adviser Roy McGrath's Florida home as 'fugitive' search proceeds

BALTIMORE - The Florida home of Roy McGrath, ex-chief staff for former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, was raided Wednesday morning by law enforcement officers.

Video obtained by the Naples News Now shows officers walking into his home as the manhunt continues after he failed to show up to his federal trial on Monday.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Marshals Service announced they were launching an interstate manhunt for McGrath, who was indicted in 2021 on federal fraud charges.

The U.S. Marshals Service put out a "wanted poster" and call McGrath a "fugitive."

A neighbor, who runs the website Naples News Now, shared with WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren the scene surrounding McGrath's home. 

Video shows FBI agents—with long guns and tactical vests—approaching his home.

"I was actually on my way to the gym, and I saw around ten cars lined up on the side of the road by the entranceway," the neighbor said. "And at that point, my instincts told me something was about to happen, so I made a U-turn, then I parked and saw it all unfold."

      
  
 
 
 
 



 

 
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The neighbor said agents were there for more than an hour. The video showed that when authorities first arrived, they brought a woman from the home.

"They took her out of the house, and then the rest of the SWAT team went in with the guns and the shield," the neighbor said.

McGrath's defense attorney said FBI agents were executing a search warrant, according to our media partner The Baltimore Banner.

According to court records, McGrath, 53, was set to fly from Florida to Baltimore on Sunday before the start of his trial, but he was a no-show.

Instead of beginning jury selection in accordance with the trial schedule, a judge issued an arrest warrant for McGrath and dismissed prospective jurors.  

McGrath faces a maximum of 100 years in federal prison for charges that he illegally recorded former Gov. Hogan and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from state government.

That includes more than $233,000 from the Maryland Environmental Service, the state agency where he worked before his leading role in the Hogan administration. 

Prosecutors said he falsified time sheets while on vacation and stole thousands in state funds to take classes at Harvard.

McGrath resigned from Hogan's administration in August 2020 after news of his unusual severance payment became public. Following his arrest, McGrath was released on bond. He was required to turn in his passport as a condition of release, his attorney said.

McGrath later moved to Naples, Florida, where his wife, Laura Bruner, watched their home get raided by FBI agents Wednesday morning.

Joe Murtha, McGrath's attorney, confirmed the search in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon, saying agents were likely looking for anything to indicate McGrath's current whereabouts. An FBI spokesperson said agents "conducted court authorized activity at that residence" but declined to elaborate.

Murtha told WJZ on Tuesday he has yet to hear from his client. He confirmed Murtha's wife spoke to law enforcement at the couple's home in Naples, Florida. He said she is cooperating with the investigation and has no idea of her husband's whereabouts.

"She seemed upset and bewildered," Murtha said.

A neighbor who asked not to be identified sent WJZ pictures of armed, plainclothes officers outside the Florida home and said police were outside two houses on McGrath's block. 

"I don't think anybody's in shock or surprised. I guess it's just almost like another day, but can you believe what's going on but not shocked," the neighbor said.

At a news conference in October 2021, shortly after the charges were announced, Hogan condemned the alleged behavior and said he was cooperating with prosecutors. 

"It's kind of an outrageous situation that we've all learned more about over time. It's something that's kind of disgraceful and we're glad that we were able to get to the bottom of it to make sure something like this couldn't happen again," Hogan said at the time. "I directed my staff to provide as much assistance as possible to the prosecutors. As part of that, I did sit down with them. I was happy to provide them with whatever information that they required."

Hogan declined comment to CBS News on the current situation. 

He was on the witness list for the prosecution at the trial, but all proceedings were halted when McGrath failed to show up at the courthouse.