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GOP lawmakers pushing Healey for info on aide arrested in cocaine bust
A Healey staffer’s cocaine trafficking arrest raises “serious questions” about the governor’s vetting processes, Republican lawmakers said.
Republican state lawmakers are questioning Gov. Maura Healey’s vetting process after one of her Springfield-based aides was arrested and charged with trafficking cocaine to a state office building.
LaMar Cook’s arrest last week raises “serious questions … about the effectiveness of your administration’s vetting process for new hires,” GOP lawmakers told Healey in Wednesday’s letter. Cook served as deputy director of Healey’s Western Massachusetts office but was fired shortly after his arrest.
House Minority Leader Bradley Jones, Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, and the 24 other co-signers called on Healey to publicly disclose the circumstances of Cook’s 2023 hiring, “including any recommendations and support he received while interviewing for the position.”
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They pointed to reports that Cook, 45, was arrested in connection with a 2001 Springfield shooting and faced an assault charge and firearms offenses.
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“Any one of these charges would have been sufficient grounds for disqualifying Mr. Cook as a viable candidate for serving in a government position, yet he was hired anyway, despite your assertions that he ‘underwent a thorough background check,’” the Republican lawmakers told Healey.
They added: “How is it possible that these serious criminal charges previously lodged against Mr. Cook went undetected during the vetting process conducted prior to his employment?”
In addition to a full accounting of Cook’s hiring, the lawmakers urged Healey to thoroughly review the vetting procedures used within the state’s executive branch so as to identify and address any deficiencies.
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“These steps are essential to restoring the public’s trust and to help ensure that all future hires are held to the highest ethical standards,” the state leaders wrote.
Healey’s Republican challengers weigh in
Cook’s arrest has also become a flashpoint in the state’s nascent gubernatorial race as 2026 GOP contenders seize the opportunity to criticize Healey’s administration.
“What did Healey know, and when did she know it?” Republican candidate Brian Shortsleeve demanded Monday. “The people deserve to know whether this criminal activity was utterly undetected or whether serious red flags were ignored or covered up.”
He called on Healey to release Cook’s full background check, personnel file, performance reviews, and incident logs. Healey must also commit to strengthening vetting and oversight protocols, Shortsleeve asserted.
“It is time for the Healey administration to stop delaying, to stop stonewalling, and to make public the relevant documentation so that Massachusetts voters can judge for themselves what was known, when it was known, and why it was ignored,” he added.
Another Republican contender, Mike Kennealy, joined calls for an independent investigation into Healey’s vetting practices and argued Cook’s arrest underscores the governor’s “inability to hire competent, ethical staff.”
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“This is 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,” Kennealy said in a statement. “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.”
Fellow GOP candidate Mike Minogue echoed the demand for a full public accounting.
“The Healey Administration shouldn’t be investigating itself,” he said in a statement. “An independent investigation is the only way to make sure Massachusetts families get the truth about what happened, who knew what, and whether this is part of a deeper problem. It is clear that accountability does not exist in the current one-party system in Massachusetts.”
‘It’s a huge betrayal of trust,’ Healey says
Court documents shed further light on the multi-state investigation that led to Cook’s arrest. On Oct. 24, authorities intercepted nearly eight kilograms of suspected cocaine that was purportedly destined for the governor’s office at the Springfield State Office Building.
A State Police trooper went undercover as a delivery driver and met Cook outside the building, according to court records. Federal officials in Kentucky had previously seized about 12 kilograms of cocaine bound for Hotel UMass in Amherst, where Cook previously worked.
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Cook pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail following a dangerousness hearing last week. He’s filed a petition to revisit his bail.
“We don’t know all the circumstances; the DA is investigating,” Healey said on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” on Wednesday.
“I will tell you this,” she continued. “I was shocked, and I was so angry. It’s a huge betrayal of trust, you know? A huge betrayal of trust for those of us who work hard in government and the people of Springfield, frankly. … As soon as I learned of it, he was terminated before he even was arraigned.”
Read the GOP state lawmakers’ letter to Healey:
Letter to Governor Healey – LaMar Cook Arrest and Termination November 5, 2025
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