Ex-gov.’s aide, charged with cocaine trafficking, gun possession, is granted bail

SPRINGFIELD — Former governor's aide LaMar Cook was granted bail after being held behind bars since Oct. 29 on drug and gun charges.

Cook, 45, the two-year deputy director of Gov. Maura T. Healey's regional office in Springfield, was arrested and charged with cocaine trafficking and illegal gun possession. Superior Court Judge William Ritter granted Cook a collective $85,000 cash bail on the trafficking and gun charges.

Cook's defense lawyer, Kedar K. Ismail, said he felt the cash bail was steep.

"We thought the bail was a little high. But we're working to get this gentleman back home to his family," Ismail said.

Previously, Cook had been deemed "dangerous" to the community, but Ismail appealed to Ritter last week about a previous ruling by a District Court judge that Cook should be held behind bars without bail.

"How are there no conditions of release that would quell the concerns of the commonwealth?" Ismail asked Ritter on Nov. 7.

He was arrested after allegedly accepting delivery of dozens of kilos of cocaine, in three drops to Hotel UMass, his former employer, and to the state building on Dwight Street, all in October. He was arrested at the end of last month.

Prosecutor Kerry Beattie said Cook was running "a con" on the community, and that he had decimated the very city he was charged with propping up. The seized drugs from both the UMass and "little State House" deliveries in Springfield totaled 31 kilos, or 68 pounds.

Cook was appointed in 2023 to Healey's Western Massachusetts office and was tasked as a political liaison to the region. Working for the governor, Cook earned $115,668 annually.

A co-founder of the Back to School Brighter Initiative in Springfield, Cook was also a member of the Springfield Community Preservation Committee. He launched failed bids for Springfield City Council in 2015 and for School Committee two years later.

The Governor's Office at the time of Cook's hiring called him a "major presence in the Springfield business community.

In a past interview with MassLive.com, Cook told the media outlet that he had spent 20 years in hospitality. Since his arrest, government insiders and others have questioned why and how Cook landed the state job.

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