Roy McGrath

In August 2020, the Baltimore Sun reported that McGrath received a $238,250 severance package that included a year's salary after voluntarily leaving the Maryland Environmental Service, which was approved by the agency's board of directors in a private online meeting on May 28.[7] According to federal prosecutors and investigators, McGrath attempted to delete any mention of the compensation from public minutes following the vote.[11][19] McGrath defended his severance package, writing in an op-ed for The Sun that MES "operates more like a business than a state agency" and that he was entitled to a corporate-style golden parachute.[20] He resigned as chief of staff on August 17, 2020, four days after the story's publication.[21][22] Hogan denied knowing of the severance payment, and ordered an audit of the Maryland Environmental Service following his resignation.[13][23]

Democratic Party leaders of the Maryland General Assembly quickly questioned the payout, with House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones and Senate President Bill Ferguson releasing a joint statement calling its disclosure "truly shocking"[24] and asked the Joint Committee on Fair Practices and State Personnel Oversight to hold immediate hearings to look into why the payment was made;[25] the co-chairs of the committee, state senator Clarence K. Lam and delegate Erek Barron, promised to investigate the payment.[26] Before the committee's first meeting on August 25, McGrath sought Hogan's help, asking him via text message to intervene on his behalf. Hogan did not respond to his texts, instead immediately releasing the texts to the committee.[27] During this first meeting, MES board members testified that they were "probably misled" by McGrath into believing that Hogan wanted them to approve the payment.[28] In September 2020, former MES deputy Beth Wojton testified that McGrath routinely prevented her and other employees from seeing expenses related to the Environmental Business Leadership Conference, a series of MES events held each year.[29] Later that month, the committee took the rare step of authorizing a subpoena for McGrath,[30] who testified before legislators in December 2020. During his testimony, McGrath repeatedly declined to answer questions, invoking the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution more than 170 times.[31][32]

In September 2020, Democratic leaders of the Maryland General Assembly announced plans to reform the Maryland Environmental Service following McGrath's tenure.[33] In December 2020, legislators introduced the Maryland Environmental Service Reform Act of 2021, which changed the management structure and oversight of the agency.[34][35] The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Hogan on April 13, 2021.[36]

In May 2021, the Joint Committee on Fair Practices and State Personnel Oversight released a report on its investigation into McGrath, which suggested that McGrath flouted state personnel rules, received questionable reimbursements, and mischaracterized the details of his severance payment.[37] The committee's final 82-page report was released in May 2022, which highlighted a pattern of questionable expenses and self-dealing under McGrath's tenure and called on the Maryland Environmental Service to take civil legal action against him.[38][39]

Federal Bureau of Investigation mugshot of McGrath, June 2021

In October 2020, Maryland Matters reported that both state and federal prosecutors were investigating the severance payments made to McGrath at the end of his tenure as MES director.[40] On October 5, 2021, McGrath was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges for wire fraud, misconduct in office, and improper use of state funds.[19] He lashed out against state prosecutors in a Facebook post later that week, saying that "politically-motivated bullies" were after him and that he was confident "the exculpatory facts will come to light and speak for themselves".[41] Later that month, U.S. District Court Magistrate Thomas M. DiGirolamo approved pretrial release for McGrath, requiring him to surrender his passport and firearms.[42][43] In November 2021, McGrath pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in federal court.[44] If convicted, he could have faced up to 140 years in prison.[45]

In November 2021, McGrath claimed that Governor Hogan had expressed support of his severance package, releasing screenshots of text message conversations between him and Hogan in August 2020, including one where Hogan wrote: "I know you did nothing wrong. I know it is unfair. I will stand with you".[6][46] According to Michael Ricci, Hogan's Director of Communications, the governor sent the message before he learned more details about how McGrath obtained the severance package. Ricci also disputed other emails released by McGrath, calling them a "complete fabrication".[6][47]

In June 2022, a superseding indictment was issued against McGrath, alleging that McGrath had forged a "memorandum" from Hogan that "approved" his severance payment.[48]

On October 5, 2021, the same day McGrath was indicted on federal charges, he was indicted on state charges in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court for multiple counts of "unlawful intercept" and misconduct for allegedly recording conversations with the governor, cabinet secretaries and other officials without their consent.[19][49] He was due to stand trial for the state charges in July 2023.

Federal Bureau of Investigation wanted poster for Roy McGrath

McGrath's federal trial was originally scheduled for October 24, 2022, but was delayed until March 13, 2023.[50][51] However, he failed to appear in court for the beginning of his trial, prompting U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Boardman to issue a warrant for McGrath's arrest. The United States Marshals Service launched a manhunt for McGrath, whom they now considered a fugitive.[52][3] According to a search warrant affidavit and body camera footage obtained by the media, McGrath did not make reservations to travel to Maryland ahead of his scheduled trial, despite having told his attorney and wife otherwise.[53][54][55] During the manhunt, McGrath purchased a used white Cadillac Escalade, had a gun, and used multiple cellphones,[56] which the Federal Bureau of Investigation used to track him as he went into hiding.[57] On April 3, 2023, FBI agents sought to arrest McGrath at the 10700 block of Kingston Pike in Farragut, Tennessee, firing at him. He was shot, arrested, and taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he died.[58][59][60] The Washington Post reported that in a document, law enforcement said they believed McGrath shot himself during the traffic stop, but that it was unclear whether the self-inflicted wound or shots from law enforcement killed him.[61] A spokesperson for the FBI declined to say whether McGrath shot himself, describing it only as an "agent-involved shooting".[60] The Knox County Regional Forensic Center, who performed an autopsy on McGrath, also declined to provide details about how he died until the pathologist's report is complete.[56]