Ex-Hogan chief of staff dies after confrontation with FBI, attorneys say | CNN Politics

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Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s one-time chief of staff Roy McGrath has died after a nationwide manhunt for him ended Monday in a confrontation with the FBI in Knoxville, Tennessee, according to McGrath’s attorney.

“The FBI has confirmed that Roy succumbed to the injuries inflicted earlier in the evening. It is a tragic ending to three weeks of uncertainty,” Attorney Joseph Murtha told CNN in a statement. “I think it is important to stress that Roy never waivered about his innocence.”

William Brennan, an attorney for McGrath’s wife, also confirmed McGrath died at a Tennessee hospital after “a confrontation with the FBI” and told CNN that his client was “absolutely distraught.”

Neither attorney was able to provide any additional details as to the circumstances surrounding McGrath’s death.

The FBI said in a statement earlier Monday that it was “reviewing an agent-involved shooting which occurred at approximately 6:30 p.m. on Monday, April 3, 2023. During the arrest the subject, Roy McGrath, sustained injury and was transported to the hospital.”

The bureau, the statement said, “takes all shooting incidents involving our agents or task force members seriously. In accordance with FBI policy, the shooting incident is under investigation by the FBI’s Inspection Division.”

The bureau did not provide any additional details on the arrest.

CNN previously reported that McGrath, who served as the top aide to Hogan, a Republican, for a few months during the summer of 2020, faced charges related to an alleged scheme to bilk Maryland out of more than $276,000. McGrath pleaded not guilty to all the charges and was released on bond, the US Marshals Service said in a statement last month.

An arrest warrant had been issued for him in March after he failed to appear for his scheduled trial in Baltimore.

McGrath was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2021 on charges that he defrauded the Maryland Environmental Service, a state-operated corporation where he served as executive director before joining Hogan’s office, of a $233,647.23 severance payment by “falsely telling them that the Governor was aware of and approved the payment,” according to the Justice Department.

The indictment also alleged that McGrath directed MES funds to an art museum for which he was a member of the board of directors so as to avoid paying for a pledge out of his own pocket, defrauded MES to pay for a tuition expense of more than $14,000 and falsified time sheets during two vacations.

McGrath was initially charged with wire fraud and embezzlement from an organization receiving more than $10,000 in federal benefits, and a superseding indictment returned in June 2022 also charged him with falsifying records. On the state level, he faced felony theft charges and a violation of the state’s wiretap law, the Justice Department said.

The FBI had offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to McGrath’s arrest.

This headline and story have been updated with additional developments.