Feds offer $20,000 reward for info on fugitive Roy McGrath, ex-chief of staff to Maryland governor
Washington — The FBI and U.S. Marshals Service are each offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Roy McGrath, the former chief of staff to ex-Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan who became a fugitive after failing to appear at trial on wire fraud and embezzlement charges earlier this month.
An intense federal manhunt has been underway since McGrath, 53, failed to appear in federal court in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 13. A judge issued a warrant for his arrest, and the FBI soon searched his house in Naples, Florida, and interviewed his relatives.
The bureau released a wanted poster on Tuesday featuring three photos of McGrath and listing a number of aliases that he could be using, including Roy Carlos McGrath, Roy Charles McGrath, Roy Baisliadou, RC Baisliadou, Roy Mak-Grath, RC Mak-Grath and RC McGrath. McGrath surrendered his passport after his arrest, the Marshals said previously, but the FBI said McGrath should still be considered an "international flight risk."
After his disappearance, his attorney, Joseph Murtha, told the Associated Press he had spoken with McGrath about the case a few days before he failed to appear in court. "This behavior is so out of the ordinary for him," Murtha told the AP.
McGrath was set to go on trial on federal charges stemming from his time running the Maryland Environmental Service, a quasi-governmental state agency that provides services like wastewater management, composting and recycling. Prosecutors said McGrath fraudulently obtained a severance payment of $233,647 when he left to take the job as Hogan's chief of staff in 2020, and falsified a document purporting to show the governor had approved of the payment. He was also accused of falsifying time sheets while vacationing in Europe and stealing money for tuition for classes at Harvard.
McGrath was initially indicted on federal charges in October 2021 and pleaded not guilty. He faced a maximum sentence of more than 100 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.