Mass. Deputy Director Charged After 21 kg Cocaine Seizures

LaMar Cook, 45, deputy director of Gov. Maura Healey’s Western Massachusetts office, was fired, arrested and charged with trafficking 200 grams or more of cocaine, unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, and driving without a license; he has pleaded not guilty and is being held pending a dangerousness/detention hearing. Authorities say roughly 21 kilograms of suspected cocaine were seized in two operations — about 13 kg intercepted at Hotel UMass in Amherst on Oct. 10 and about 8 kg delivered to the Springfield State Office Building during a controlled delivery in which a trooper posed as a courier. Court papers allege several kilos bore the marking “GOLD,” surveillance showed Cook had previously retrieved packages at the UMass hotel, and prosecutors say evidence from the Amherst seizure was consistent with the Springfield packages. Investigators searched Cook’s office and later arrested him during a traffic stop; a judge set a $25,000 bond tied to the gun charge. Reporting disclosed a 2001 arrest of Cook in a Springfield shooting (disposition unclear), and Healey’s office called the conduct “unacceptable” and pledged to cooperate with the ongoing probe, which could lead to additional charges.