Overview
- Payroll records show LaMar Cook received $31,438 in leave buyback on top of about $98,789 in base pay in 2025, totaling roughly $130,227.
- The Executive Office for Administration and Finance says Cook was informed the payout was issued in error and that repayment is required, with legal action prepared if needed.
- Cook, a former deputy director in the governor’s Western Massachusetts office, has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and firearms charges tied to packages sent to a state office building and Hotel UMass.
- He remains in custody with combined bail set at $85,000, and his next pretrial hearing is scheduled for early February.
- Republican candidates for governor are pressing for investigations and answers on hiring and payroll controls as records tied to Cook’s background and employment remain under scrutiny.