Alison Kuznitz
State House News Service

Citing a criminal investigation, Governor Maura Healey declined to divulge in a Boston television interview what she knew about a 2001 incident involving a former aide who in October was arrested and charged with cocaine trafficking.

Healey remained tight-lipped when NBC 10 reporter Matt Prichard asked if she was aware of LaMar Cook's "2001 gun charge." 

Cook, former deputy director of the governor's western Massachusetts office, was fired after authorities seized about 8 kilograms of cocaine delivered to the state building in downtown Springfield where he worked. Cook's arrest in connection with that development has prompted scrutiny into his past. 

"Well first of all, when that came out, I was shocked," Healey said on NBC 10's @ Issue Sit Down show, referring to Cook's arrest this fall. 

"Unacceptable. He was fired immediately, as any state employee would," Healey continued. "I take that very, very seriously. I'm a former AG — I mean, zero tolerance. He was fired, I think, even before he was arraigned. In terms of the ongoing criminal investigation, we can't say more at this time."

In addition to cocaine trafficking, Cook was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition, according to Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni's office. Cook has pleaded not guilty, and his family has not been able to post the $85,000 bail set by Judge William Ritter, according to Cook's attorney, Kedar Ismail.

Cook's family will "hopefully" have the funds to get him released by Christmas, Ismail told State House News Service on Monday, December 15. For now, Cook continues to be held at the Hampden County Jail and House of Correction in Ludlow, Ismail said. There are no follow-up hearings scheduled in the case yet, according to online court records.

In his television interview with Healey, Prichard pointed out new Boston Herald reporting that Healey's office could have known about Cook's 2001 gun charges through its background check process.

Cook was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, discharging a handgun within 500 feet of a dwelling, and unlicensed possession of a firearm, according a report dated April 23, 2001 that the Springfield Police Department shared with State House News Service.  The outcome of the case is not known because the court records were sealed, according to The Boston Globe.

Prichard asked whether the governor was "aware of anything" in Cook's past when she hired him.

"Again, I'm not allowed to say anything more based on the criminal investigation, so we have to let that play out," Healey said.

Gulluni's office has described the investigation as "ongoing and active."

Republican candidates for governor have pounced on her handling of the case, including her refusal to produce public records. After Healey's interview aired, GOP candidate Brian Shortsleeve said the governor "falsely claimed the ongoing investigation prevented her from answering" and he went on to draw his own conclusions.

"There is no legal reason Healey cannot answer a very simple question about her knowledge of LaMar Cook's violent criminal record when she hired him to be a top staffer in the governor’s office," Shortsleeve said. "But there is a reason she won't answer and that is because she obviously did know and hired him anyway. Healey displayed terrible judgement in hiring Cook and continues to stonewall Massachusetts voters who are entitled to the truth."

GOP candidate Mike Kennealy on Friday, December 12 said the Herald's reporting into the vetting process for Cook points to a "larger pattern of Maura Healey's mismanagement, poor judgment, and a lack of accountability." Should he win the race for the corner office, Kennealy has said he plans to release all records detailing what Healey knew about Cook's past and the vetting process for him to join the administration.

"The people of Massachusetts deserve the truth — not secrecy, not political spin, and not a Governor who hides critical information from the public," Kennealy said on November 25. "We must get to the bottom of what Governor Healey is concealing."

Cook earned an annual salary from the state government of $115,688. When Healey hired him in April 2023, the governor's office said Cook had a "major presence in the Springfield business community."