This article was republished with permission from 海角精品黑料’s news partners at .聽Sign up for today.
This content was republished with permission from 海角精品黑料鈥檚 news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for today.
Roy C. McGrath, the former chief of staff to Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) and ex-head of the Maryland Environmental Service, pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in federal court Friday afternoon.
McGrath requested a jury trial, which prosecutors estimate will take approximately two weeks to conduct.聽U.S. District Court of Maryland聽Judge J. Mark Coulson granted McGrath鈥檚 request, but there is no trial date set yet.
During the approximately three-minute virtual hearing,聽Joseph Murtha, McGrath鈥檚 attorney, said that聽there is a lot of evidence relating to the case that has yet to be revealed.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of info. that鈥檚 forthcoming,鈥� Murtha told聽Coulson.
McGrath was charged with four counts of wire fraud and two counts of misappropriating government funds in a聽聽filed in early October.
If convicted of the federal charges, McGrath is facing up to 20 years in prison for each of four counts of wire fraud; and a maximum of 10 years in prison for both counts of embezzling funds from an organization receiving more than $10,000 in federal benefits.
McGrath is up against another 27 charges, including nine counts of illegal wiretapping, 14 counts of misconduct in office, three counts of theft between $1,500 and $25,000, and one count of embezzlement for misappropriating state funds, in a separate case filed by the State Prosecutor鈥檚 Office in the Circuit Court of Anne Arundel County.
The state theft, embezzlement and illegal wiretapping charges carry maximum penalties of five years in prison. Misconduct in office is a common law offense with no set maximum penalty.
McGrath鈥檚 charges are rooted in a $233,647.23 severance package he sought when he voluntarily left the top job at the Maryland Environmental Service to serve as Hogan鈥檚 chief of staff.
According to court documents, prosecutors allege that McGrath clandestinely recorded phone calls between top government officials, falsely claimed work hours while vacationing, directed state funding to a Talbot County museum where he sat on the board and misrepresented the approval of his salary and severance package to Hogan and the board of directors for the Maryland Environmental Service.
Earlier this month,聽聽McGrath鈥檚 assertion that he approved the severance package.
