GLEN DALE, W.Va. — State Senator Mike Maroney was arrested Tuesday evening after being charged with disorderly conduct and indecent exposure.
Authorities said the misdemeanor charges have to do with a recent incident at a gambling parlor in Glen Dale.
Maroney, R-Marshall, was allegedly performing a sexual act in the gaming room on Aug. 4. He was there alone, authorities said.
Investigators said employees saw the act on video surveillance.
“At around 12:30 p.m. (Aug. 4) Glen Dale police received a call from two female employees of a local gaming establishment of a male in the video lottery room sexually gratifying himself,” Marshall County Prosecutor Joe Canestraro said Wednesday on MetroNews “Talkline.”
Canestraro said Glen Dale Police Chief Ed Vogler responded to the call. He interviewed the workers, talked to Maroney briefly and secured the video evidence. Vogler took a little more than a week with the investigation and then arrested Maroney Tuesday. Canestraro said there was no incident during the arrest. Maroney is free on $3,500 personal recognizance bond. He’ll make an initial appearance in front of a magistrate in the near future.
State Senate President Craig Blair issued a statement Wednesday morning calling the charges disappointing. Blair said his primary focus is on Maroney’s well-being.
“To give him appropriate time to dedicate to his personal issues, I have removed him as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Resources and have relieved him of all other committee responsibilities,” Blair said.
Maroney, a medical doctor, was booked at the Northern Regional Jail Tuesday evening after being arrested by Glen Dale police.
The criminal charges mark the second for Maroney since he’s been in the Senate. He was arrested and arraigned August 28, 2019, on a misdemeanor charge involving soliciting prostitution. A special prosecutor dropped the charge in 2021 citing a lack of evidence.
Maroney is serving his second four-year term in the Senate. He was defeated in his bid for a third term by Chris Rose in the May Primary Election.
Blair said the legal system will play itself out and he’s praying for Maroney and his family.
“While the charges are still under investigation, if true, this allegation is obviously not up to the standard of what we expect from our elected leaders in the State Senate of West Virginia,” Blair said.
Full statement of Senate President Craig Blair: