Copyright MassLive
SPRINGFIELD — A Western Massachusetts aide to Gov. Maura Healey faces charges of cocaine trafficking after 8 kilos of the drug were delivered to him at the state building on Dwight Street on Saturday, officials say. LaMar Cook, deputy director for the governor’s regional office in Springfield, will be arraigned today. In addition to trafficking, he faces charges of carrying a gun and ammunition without a license, and driving without a license, according to the Hampden District Attorney’s Office. “The investigation stems from two prior seizures conducted by law enforcement earlier this month. On October 10, 2025, investigators intercepted and searched two suspicious packages at Hotel UMass in Amherst, which were found to contain approximately 13 kilograms of suspected cocaine,” an announcement from Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni says. “Evidence collected during that operation was consistent with the narcotics recovered during the most recent controlled delivery in Springfield.” The total amount of drugs seized was about 21 kilos, authorities said. According to investigators, Massachusetts State Police in Springfield intercepted the package containing cocaine, and a trooper then posed as a delivery worker to hand over the parcel to Cook, who was at the building waiting for it. Cook was appointed to the governor’s aide role in 2023. He previously served as director of the hotel. He was fired from his state job, according to a spokesperson for Healey. “The Governor’s Office has been made aware of the arrest of an employee, LaMar Cook. The conduct that occurred here is unacceptable and represents a major breach of the public trust. Mr. Cook has been terminated from his position effective immediately. This criminal investigation is ongoing, and our administration will work with law enforcement to assist them in their work,” Healey’s office said in a statement. Cook is a co-founder of the Back to School Brighter Initiative in Springfield, a member of the Springfield Community Preservation Committee and a “major presence in the Springfield business community,” the governor’s office said at the time it announced his appointment. The back-to-school initiative offers free haircuts to students of the city’s public schools. He also ran unsuccessfully for Springfield City Council in 2015 and for School Committee in 2017. The state-owned building at 436 Dwight St., often referred to as “the little Statehouse,” is home to several state offices, including the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s western division.
