LaMar Cook, disgraced former aide to Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, appears in court for drug trafficking case

BOSTON — The disgraced former aide to Gov. Maura Healey facing drug charges for allegedly running a cocaine trafficking ring out of the governor’s western Massachusetts office appeared in Hampden Superior Court Wednesday for a pretrial hearing.

Cook, who was serving as Healey’s Western Massachusetts deputy director when he was arrested in October after State Police say they intercepted a package containing nearly eight kilograms, or about 18 pounds, of cocaine shipped to his office, declined several questions from the Herald following the Wednesday hearing, eventually seeking refuge in the nearby elevator to avoid further questions.

His attorney, Kedar Ismail, however, did speak with the Herald following Cook’s departure, saying that he’s confident he can prove Cook’s innocence as the pre-trial process continues.

“Absolutely (confident). I just filed some great motions. I’m not expecting the Commonwealth, as far as some charges go, to come in here and say, ‘Hey, this part of that charge is weak or this charge here is weak.’ So, you can’t send your ducks to Eagle School,” Ismail told the Herald. “So with that being said, these motions are going to be attacking those ducks, seeing where everything else lands at. But, we’re confident just as we was in the beginning.”

Cook faces five charges: trafficking in 200 grams or more of cocaine, conspiracy to violate drug laws, possession of a gun without a firearms identification card, possession of ammunition without a firearms identification card, and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

The Herald asked Ismail if there is any concern that the drugs Cook allegedly dealt had possibly led to an overdose or a drug-related crime, saying “that question is so far out of my wheelhouse,” and then emphasizing Cook’s innocence until proven guilty.

Asked if Cook is still receiving Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits, Ismail defended his client for claiming the taxpayer-funded benefits as well as the family vacation to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida those benefits partially funded.

“You would have to ask him that. He has a civil attorney on that end that’s handling all of his matters. Yeah, it’s children (he’s bringing on vacation),” Ismail replied. “I mean, have you ever taken your children to Disney World?”

Cook did not respond to Herald questions regarding his SNAP benefits and if he is still receiving them, whether those benefits have funded any additional vacations, if he has any resentment towards Gov. Healey for immediately firing him upon his arrest, and if he fears any unintended consequences that could have resulted from the drugs he allegedly sold.

Upon his immediate firing following his October arrest, the Herald reported that Healey’s office had “mistakenly” paid him a $31,000 contract buyout for his unused vacation time – something the Executive Office of Administration and Finance says he was not entitled to after being fired with cause.

In a far cry from his decision Wednesday to not speak with the media, Cook defended himself and the payout following his July 22 appearance in court, telling the Herald he “earned” the money.

“It’s my vacation time. I earned it over a decade of service to the Commonwealth,” said a defiant Cook.

The state has not been able to claw the money back as Cook has already spent it and has expressed his intent to not return it.

In March, a Healey-appointed judge released Cook on $25,000 bail, reduced from the original $75,000 bail he had been held on since his arrest. Hampden County Superior Court Judge Sarah Hamilton then imposed unusually lax conditions of release on Cook, which only required he surrender his U.S. passport and not travel internationally.

Just 10 days later, Cook’s mother, Sabrinna Marshall, won $1 million on a brand-new state lottery ticket game, becoming the game’s first-ever million-dollar prize winner, the Massachusetts State Lottery says. She took the one-time payment option to take home $650,000 before taxes.

Cook, through his attorney, maintained to the Herald that his mother’s lottery winnings were simply coincidental and “just good luck.”

Cook had arrived at that July 22 court hearing fresh off a flight from Florida, where he used his newly acquired SNAP benefits to partially fund a lavish family vacation to Walt Disney World Resort.

“I loved it. It was a great time. Had a family reunion,” Cook told the Herald following the court appearance. “I have no income, okay? So, I think anyone who’s facing hardships in the Commonwealth and has no income (should receive benefits). But, the real question is how that information was leaked, information that should not be leaked to the public. What’s next, medical records?”

Cook even went on to vow to take even more destination vacations after being pressed by reporters, while also admittedly being without an income and eating on the taxpayer’s dime.

The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) says Cook is eligible to receive SNAP benefits under current rules and regulations, saying the state is prohibited from denying benefits to someone in Cook’s legal situation.

Cook’s run-ins with the law date back far beyond his current drug trafficking charges, including his 2001 arrest in connection with a shooting in Springfield, where he and another man allegedly got out of a car and began firing at people on a nearby porch.

A Herald public records appeal revealed in December that Gov. Healey’s office and State Police knew about Cook’s criminal history before they hired him anyways as the $115,968 Western Massachusetts deputy director.

Healey immediately fired Cook upon his arrest, calling the allegations against him “a major breach of public trust” and “unacceptable.”

The Wednesday hearing resulted in an extension of the pretrial process, with a motion hearing set for October 2 and a scheduling conference on Nov. 12.

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