Investigation reveals former chief of staff to Maryland governor abused his position

BALTIMORE – The previous chief of workers to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan abused his place as chief of the Maryland Environmental Service, partly by arranging for an unprecedented $233,647 severance fee, in accordance with a legislative investigation.

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The investigation additionally stated Roy McGrath collected exorbitant private bills and improperly employed shut private associates, The Baltimore Solar reported. Lawmakers introduced the outcomes of the investigation Friday in an 82-page report detailing McGrath’s conduct and recommending that MES search monetary restitution for cash McGrath and his affiliate Matthew Sherring spent on actions irrelevant to their jobs.

Senate President Invoice Ferguson known as the report “deeply troubling on all ranges.”

“Mr. McGrath’s conduct and flouting of long-established guidelines and insurance policies to counterpoint himself and dependable mates is past the pale of what we count on of our public servants,” stated Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, in a press release.

Home Speaker Adrienne Jones, a Baltimore County Democrat, stated the conduct outlined within the report “dissolves the general public’s belief in our whole system of presidency and may by no means be tolerated.”

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“The committee’s work to uncover this egregious conduct was step one in rebuilding that belief, and we hope that remaining questions on Mr. McGrath’s conversations with the Hogan administration will finally be answered,” she stated.

McGrath resigned in August 2020 after criticism for accepting the severance bundle when he left the environmental service to work within the governor’s workplace. He spent 11 weeks as chief of workers to Hogan earlier than experiences of his severance bundle surfaced.

In October 2021, McGrath was indicted. Among the many allegations, he was accused of utilizing funds from the Maryland Environmental Service to pay a private pledge to a museum and acquired the company to pay tuition bills for a category after he left his job as govt director. He additionally recorded conversations with senior state officers with out their consent, it stated.

The federal and state prices allege that in 2019 and 2020, McGrath personally enriched himself through the use of his positions of belief to get the company to make funds to him. The indictment alleges that McGrath acquired the company’s board to approve a $233,647 severance fee — equal to 1 yr’s wage — by falsely telling them the governor authorized the fee.

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When Hogan questioned McGrath concerning the bundle, McGrath falsely informed him that the board provided him the severance in accordance with its regular follow, the indictment stated.

The Common Meeting launched a probe quickly after the revelations in 2020. The joint legislative committee wanting into McGrath employed outdoors counsel, collected proof and heard testimony in 2020 and 2021.