Authorities have arrested a senior staffer to Massachusetts Democratic governor Maura Healey on drug trafficking charges following a sting operation at a government building.
LaMar Cook, who has been the deputy director of Healey’s Springfield, Mass., office since 2023, is facing charges that include trafficking over 200 grams of cocaine, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition, Hampden County district attorney Anthony Gulluni announced Wednesday.
Investigators seized parcels containing 21 kilograms of suspected cocaine, including 8 kilograms that traffickers sent from Georgia and Florida to Springfield. Cook met at the state office building with an “undercover officer who was posing to deliver the package,” leading authorities on Monday to execute a search warrant on Cook’s office, Springfield’s 22 News reported.
Police arrested Cook, 45, on Tuesday during a traffic stop. He has pleaded not guilty.
The Healey administration fired Cook after the arrest. “The conduct that occurred here is unacceptable and represents a major breach of the public trust,” Healey’s office told Boston 25 News.
This is not the first time that Healey’s administration has come under scrutiny in recent months. Messages obtained by the Washington Free Beacon show that the administration muzzled an official seeking approval to condemn a colleague who said the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk was “chickens coming home to roost.”
The incident has prompted two Republican contenders in the state’s 2026 gubernatorial race to blast the Massachusetts governor.
“Healey has lost control of every aspect of her administration,” former state official Mike Kennealy wrote in an X post. “When I’m Governor, we’ll clean up the mess that Maura Healey created.”
“A top aide to Gov. Maura Healey is a drug trafficker. This is beyond shocking,” former Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority head Brian Shortsleeve wrote on X. “This is a reflection not just on our governor and her failed leadership and management skills, but on our entire state, and we shouldn’t tolerate it.”
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