x
Breaking News
More () »

Former Maryland official allegedly abused his position, State General Assembly Joint Committee says

General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Fair Practices and State Personnel Oversight found former Environmental Service director, Roy McGrath "abused his position."

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Editor's Note: The video above was published on April 21, 2022.

Roy McGrath, former chief of staff for Gov. Larry Hogan who was accused of wiretapping and fraud during his time at Maryland Environmental Services, was found to be abusing his position while he was the Director of the Maryland Environmental Service, according to Maryland General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Fair Practices and State Personnel Oversight.

The Committee found that McGrath hired "close associates" that did not fall under standard MES personnel policies.

Maryland Senate President, Bill Fergusen expressed his disdain for McGrath's actions in a statement, describing McGrath's behavior as "beyond the pale of what we expect of our public servants.”

The Maryland legislature had oversight hearings in 2020 in response to McGrath's MES severance payments, which the Committee says resulted in the state's general assembly passing Maryland Environmental Service Reform Act. 

McGrath was indicted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland on six counts and the Maryland State Prosecutor's Office filed 27-count criminal information in Anne Arundel County's Circuit Court back in Oct. 2021.

According to lawmakers, The act was created to uphold stricter protocols for compensation and to implement accountability measures to reform MES.

Additionally, officials reportedly discovered that McGrath collected $169,306 for personal expenses which the committee describes to be almost "ten times his predecessor's expenditures." 

The report also noted some of McGrath's "lavish trips" were charged to MES, one of which was a trip in 2018 to Orlando, Florida for a Disney Approach to Leadership Excellence Course that was reimbursed by MES, according to the Committee.

The Committee also found that McGrath created new positions at MES, employed "personal allies" and made the salaries for the positions at what the committee says was at the expense of taxpayer dollars. 

RELATED: Former Hogan chief of staff charged with fraud, wiretapping

RELATED: 'People are suffering' | Renters fear losing their homes as rent cap expires in Montgomery County

WUSA9 is now on Roku and Amazon Fire TVs. Download the apps today for live newscasts and video on demand.

Download the WUSA9 app to get breaking news, weather and important stories at your fingertips.

Sign up for the Get Up DC newsletter: Your forecast. Your commute. Your news.
Sign up for the Capitol Breach email newsletter, delivering the latest breaking news and a roundup of the investigation into the Capitol Riots on January 6, 2021.

Before You Leave, Check This Out