{"id":142,"date":"2026-05-12T07:33:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T07:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=142"},"modified":"2026-05-12T07:33:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T07:33:11","slug":"lamar-cook-former-healey-aide-indicted-on-drug-charges-says-he-should-be-allowed-to-keep-31000-payout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=142","title":{"rendered":"LaMar Cook, former Healey aide indicted on drug charges, says he should be allowed to keep $31,000 payout"},"content":{"rendered":"
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LaMar D. Cook, the former aide to Governor Maura Healey indicted on drug trafficking charges, said he should be allowed to keep a $31,000 payout the state sent him, in part because he was fired \u201cvia email\u201d before he was criminally charged.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Why Republicans are still drawing House maps, while Democrats are stuck<\/a><\/p>\n

Cook said in court documents that the timeline undercuts Healey\u2019s attempts now to claw the money back, and that forcing him to repay $31,438 in unused vacation time \u201cwould be inequitable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The state paid Cook in November, several weeks after he was arrested on gun and drug trafficking charges. He has pleaded not guilty.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

State authorities said they seized eight kilograms, or roughly 17 pounds, of cocaine that were slated to be delivered to the city\u2019s \u201cLittle State House,\u201d a state building where Cook worked for Healey. Prosecutors said they also found a digital scale with traces of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and cutting agents in a cabinet in Cook\u2019s office.<\/span><\/p>\n

Healey, who hired Cook in 2023, sued him in January, saying the money he received was \u201cerroneously paid out,\u201d and that he should return it, plus interest.<\/span><\/p>\n

Healey\u2019s administration argued that Cook is not entitled to receive any of the money for unused leave he had accrued because he was terminated \u201cfor cause.\u201d According to her lawsuit, he was subject to the so-called Red Book, a set of rules for managers and \u201cconfidential\u201d employees which states that those who retire, resign, or are dismissed \u201cthrough no fault or delinquency of their own\u201d can cash out unused vacation time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cook disagrees. In a response to the lawsuit he filed late last month, he said he denies \u201cthe material allegations\u201d against him, and asked the court to deny Healey\u2019s request and allow him to keep the money, arguing the timeline of his arrest and termination is \u201ccritical.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Police said they conducted a sting operation on a Saturday in late October after they seized the 17-pound package that included bricks of cocaine and was addressed to the governor\u2019s Springfield office. With a state trooper posing as a UPS driver, police said they detained Cook after he came to the building to retrieve it.<\/span><\/p>\n

He was later released pending further investigation. Police arrested and formally charged him three days later. Healey\u2019s office has long said Cook was fired \u201ceffective immediately\u201d from his $115,668-a-year job.<\/span><\/p>\n

In court documents, Cook, 46, said he received an email notifying him he was terminated \u201cprior to any arrest or formal criminal charges being brought against me,\u201d and that Healey\u2019s basis for now trying to deny him the payout \u201cis factually and legally disputed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time of termination, there had been no adjudication, conviction, or formal finding that would substantiate a \u2018for cause\u2019 determination sufficient to forfeit [the] earned compensation,\u201d Cook wrote in the letter, in which he indicated he is representing himself in the litigation. \u201cAny retroactive attempt to justify the denial of earned wages on that basis is improper and unsupported.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more \u2018I couldn\u2019t get in my own house\u2019: Man fights to change R.I.\u2019s abandoned property law<\/a><\/p>\n

Cook wrote that he accrued a \u201csubstantial portion\u201d of the unused leave when he worked at Hotel UMass, before Healey hired him. According to Healey\u2019s lawsuit, the payment included 530 hours of unused leave, or roughly 71 days\u2019 worth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cook also argued that the payment went through the state\u2019s \u201cown payroll and human resources processes, without any misrepresentation or wrongdoing on my part.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEquity and fairness weigh strongly against requiring repayment under these circumstances,\u201d Cook wrote. He later added: \u201cRepayment would be inequitable given the Commonwealth\u2019s role in issuing the payment and my good faith reliance on it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Cook\u2019s arrest last fall shook Springfield, where he was long considered a pillar of the community and a mentor for the city\u2019s Black youth. After his younger brother was killed in a 2017 shooting, Cook advocated against gun violence in Springfield and at the State House in Boston.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prosecutors contend he was living a \u201cdouble life.\u201d Cook appeared to have worked with an accomplice who previously lived in Springfield but later moved to Houston, according to records prosecutors said were recovered from Cook\u2019s cellphone.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe was conning all of these good people in the community, conning the UMass hotel, conning the governor\u2019s office,\u201d Kerry A. Beattie, a Hampden County assistant district attorney, said at a March court hearing. \u201cBecause in reality, he was pushing this poison into our community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Cook, who had been held on $25,000, posted bail and was released in March from the Hampden County Correctional Center.<\/span><\/p>\n

Healey, who is seeking reelection this fall, has said she wishes that Cook had \u201cnever been hired.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s outrageous what he did,\u201d she told reporters in March. \u201cI hope he\u2019s held accountable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Follow live updates on the Trump administration<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LaMar D. Cook said he should be allowed to keep a $31,000 payout the state sent him, in part because he was fired \u201cvia email\u201d before he was criminally charged.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":141,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nLaMar Cook, former Healey aide indicted on drug charges, says he should be allowed to keep $31,000 payout - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=142\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LaMar Cook, former Healey aide indicted on drug charges, says he should be allowed to keep $31,000 payout - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LaMar D. Cook said he should be allowed to keep a $31,000 payout the state sent him, in part because he was fired \u201cvia email\u201d before he was criminally charged.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=142\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-12T07:33:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=142#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=142\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"headline\":\"LaMar Cook, former Healey aide indicted on drug charges, says he should be allowed to keep $31,000 payout\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-12T07:33:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=142\"},\"wordCount\":832,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=142#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/830644da997e7cac530ea1da6f4784f8.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=142#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=142\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=142\",\"name\":\"LaMar Cook, former Healey aide indicted on drug charges, says he should be allowed to keep $31,000 payout - 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