Copyright NBC10 Boston
The former deputy director of Gov. Maura Healey's western Massachusetts office returned to court Friday, where he was deemed a danger to the community and ordered held without bail. Lamar Cook, 45, of Springfield, was arrested Tuesday and charged with trafficking cocaine after police seized eight kilograms of the drug delivered to the Springfield state office building where he worked. He was fired from his state job earlier this week, the governor's office said. He is charged with trafficking 200 grams or more of cocaine, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition, according to the Hampden District Attorney Office. Cook appeared in Springfield District Court on Friday morning for a dangerousness hearing, where a judge determined that he is a danger to the community and no conditions of his release can be imposed to ensure the safety of the community. His next scheduled court date is on Dec. 1. The investigation into Cook stems from the Oct. 10 interception of two "suspicious packages" at Hotel UMass in Amherst, which Gulluni's office said "were found to contain approximately 13 kilograms of suspected cocaine." Cook, whose Linkedin profile shows a background in hospitality, was the director of Hotel UMass from October 2016 until Healey appointed him to work in her office in April 2023. On Saturday, Oct. 25, the district attorney said, a "controlled delivery took place at 436 Dwight St., the Springfield State Office Building, where the suspect was employed." Gulluni's office said approximately 8 kilograms of cocaine were intercepted during that operation and that Cook's office within the building was searched (pursuant to a warrant) on Monday. He was arrested Tuesday evening while driving in Springfield. Gulluni's office said that evidence collected from the Hotel UMass seizure "was consistent with the narcotics recovered during the most recent controlled delivery in Springfield" and that an investigation into the UMass seizure remains ongoing "and may result in additional charges related to the prior shipments in Hampshire County." As deputy director of the governor's western Massachusetts office, Cook earned a state salary of $115,668 a year and had been paid $96,564 this year through Oct. 18, according to state payroll records. When Healey appointed Cook to the position in 2023, her office said he was "a major presence in the Springfield business community." Republicans vying to challenge Healey in next year's election seized on the news of Cook's arrest. Mike Kennealy called the allegations against Cook "a disgrace for our state and a direct reflection of Healey’s failed leadership." "She must be held accountable for the people she chooses to surround herself with. Whether it’s general leadership incompetence and the high turnover among her cabinet secretaries, or criminal behavior like that of LaMar Cook, there’s something fundamentally rotten in this administration," Kennealy said. Brian Shortsleeve tied the Cook arrest to a Boston Herald report Wednesday about a now-fired Registry of Motor Vehicles customer service representative who was found to be a registered sex offender in Florida. "Governor Healey owes the people of Massachusetts an immediate explanation: who hired these individuals, what vetting failures allowed this to happen, and what steps she’s taking to purge state government of criminals, derelicts, and incompetents," Shortsleeve said. "As governor, I’ll conduct a full audit of every agency, root out corruption, and restore integrity to Beacon Hill."
