LaMar Cook, former aide to Gov. Healey, indicted on trafficking, conspiracy charges
A former Western Massachusetts aide to Gov. Maura Healey was indicted earlier this month on gun and drug charges, including a new charge, court records show.
The new charge against LaMar Cook , 45, indicates authorities believe other people were involved in the deliveries of nearly 50 pounds of cocaine to a state-owned building in Springfield and a hotel at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Cook is also charged with trafficking 200 grams (7 ounces) or more of cocaine, a felony. He faces misdemeanor charges of possession of a firearm without identification, possession of ammunition without identification and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
An arraignment in Hampden County Superior Court is set for March 6, according to court records.
Indictments are largely a procedural step moving a case from district court to superior court after prosecutors present evidence to a grand jury.
Police arrested Cook in late October after they said they found 8 kilograms (17.8 pounds) of cocaine delivered to him at the state building on Dwight Street in Springfield. When they searched his residence, police said they discovered a pistol not registered to him.
His bail was set at $75,000 for the drug charges and $10,000 bail for firearms charges, totaling $85,000. Police say they also found drugs at an Amherst hotel where Cook formerly worked. They also accuse him of trafficking those drugs.
Initially, a judge ruled after a dangerousness hearing that Cook would be held without bail. His defense lawyer appealed, and bail was set at $85,000. The lawyer appealed the bail issue again , seeking a reduction, but was denied.
Starting in 2023, Cook worked as deputy director of the governor's Western Massachusetts office in Springfield.
He was fired "immediately" after his October arrest, Healey previously said . However, the state then "erroneously" paid him for untaken vacation and leave time and is now attempting to claw back $31,438.
The state filed a civil suit in Suffolk Civil Superior Court on Wednesday to try to compel Cook to repay the funds.
"Despite demand, Mr. Cook has failed and refused to pay back the money," the civil complaint says.
State employment rules that apply to his position say that if terminated for cause, the state does not have to pay out vacation time, the complaint says.
"Taxpayer dollars should never go to an individual who engaged in this type of outrageous criminal activity," Matt Murphy, spokesperson for the Executive Office of Administration and Finance, said in a statement in January. "This payment was erroneously made, and we have taken action to get it back."
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