Overview
- State payroll records show LaMar Cook received $31,438 in leave buyback on top of $98,788 in regular 2025 pay, which the budget office now calls an erroneous payout it is working to recoup.
- Cook was arrested in October after troopers intercepted 21 kilograms of cocaine addressed to the Springfield state office where he worked, and police also seized an unregistered firearm and ammunition.
- Governor Maura Healey says Cook was terminated immediately following his arrest, calling the conduct a major breach of public trust, and Cook has pleaded not guilty to trafficking and weapons charges.
- Administration officials say the payout reflected unused vacation time from Cook’s state employment history, HR notified him last month that the money must be repaid, and the funds have not been returned.
- Republican gubernatorial candidates are demanding investigations into the hiring and payout decisions, citing questions about vetting after reports of a 2001 gun arrest as some related records remain unreleased.