A former Massachusetts gubernatorial aide accused of sending eight kilos of cocaine to a state office building was paid more than $30,000 for his unused vacation days, Gov. Maura Healey admitted Tuesday.
LaMar Cook, 45, had a cushy base pay of roughly $99,000 — and was rewarded with an extra $31,438.56 in “buy back,” or unused vacation pay, after his abrupt arrest in late October, according to payroll records seen by the Boston Globe.
Healey’s administration claimed it never intended to flush Cook with the extra cash — which he desperately needs to settle his $85,000 bail.
“Taxpayer dollars should never go to an individual who engaged in this type of outrageous criminal activity. This payment was erroneously made, and we have taken action to get it back,” a spokesman for Healey’s Executive Office for Administration and Finance said in a statement to the outlet.
Cook is accused of trafficking drugs to the governor’s Western Massachusetts office in Springfield, where he worked as a deputy director, and the UMass Hotel in Amherst. Both locations are just 27 miles apart.
Officials launched an investigation after they intercepted two packages containing about 13 kilograms of the drug at the hotel on Oct. 10, where he also worked before joining the Democrat’s team in 2023. Another package containing roughly eight kilograms of cocaine were later nabbed at the Springfield office.
Cook was arrested during a traffic stop on Oct. 28 and charged with trafficking over 200 grams of cocaine, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition related to the bust, according to the Hampden District Attorney’s Office.
After his arrest, a Healey representative confirmed Cook had been fired and stated that his alleged crimes were “unacceptable and represents a major breach of the public trust.”
Mike Kennealy and Brian Shortsleeve, two Republicans vying for Healey’s seat in the state’s 2026 gubernatorial race, were quick to blast her administration’s glaring oversight.
“Maura Healey gave her staffer who trafficked cocaine out of her office a golden parachute after he was indicted. Time for a new Governor,” Kennealy wrote on X.
“Unused vacation pay buyout for the cocaine trafficker, you can’t make this stuff up! Maura Healey still hasn’t come clean about what she knew and when she knew it after it was revealed her office knew about Lamar Cook’s violent criminal history, and now she’s paying him over $30,000 in unused vacation pay. This is completely unacceptable, what is Governor Healey thinking?” Shortsleeve wrote on X.
The Post reached out to Healey’s office for comment.
