Healey Repeats ‘It Was a Mistake’ Under Fire Over $31,000 Paid to Aide Fired for Cocaine Charges

BY ELLA ADAMS

Gov. Maura Healey did not answer questions Thursday about whether people are facing disciplinary action for mistakenly paying a fired aide $31,000.

Healey fired her former Western Massachusetts Deputy Director LaMar Cook after he was arrested on cocaine trafficking charges in October. The Boston Herald first reported Monday that Cook was paid a buyout of $31,439 for unused vacation pay, which the Healey administration said was done in error. 

The state filed a legal complaint Tuesday against Cook to try to “recover money erroneously paid to him for accrued vacation leave time that he was not entitled to receive because he was terminated for cause from his employment with the Office of the Governor,” according to the complaint.

Asked after an unrelated press conference if anyone in the state’s Human Resources Department is facing disciplinary action for the erroneous payment, Healey said, “I’m really upset about that.”

“I mean, that was a mistake,” she continued. “It’s unacceptable, and every effort is being done to make sure that that doesn’t happen again.”

Pressed again by a reporter to answer, Healey said, “What’s important is we take action to make sure this never happens again.”

Asked again, Healey said, “What’s important is that we have in place the right guardrails, the right measures to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”

“This was a mistake. You know, it goes back to absolutely unacceptable conduct by an individual who is employed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and what was done there, as I’ve said before, was a huge betrayal of the public trust. Action was taken,” Healey said. “I was glad that he didn’t get bail today and will continue to support and cooperate with the investigators in the prosecution.”

A judge in Hampden County Superior Court denied Cook’s bail review Thursday, according to court documents and Boston Herald reporting. Cook has pleaded not guilty, and his family has not been able to post the $85,000 bail set by Judge William Ritter, according to Cook’s attorney Kedar Ismail. 

Asked how “a mistake is an acceptable excuse for this,” Healey pointed to her time as attorney general and said, “Nobody takes it more seriously than me.”

Healey continued to repeat “It was a mistake” to reporters who pressed her further on the topic. 

Healey has received backlash from Republican gubernatorial candidates on the issue. Former Gov. Charlie Baker official Brian Shortsleeve has called for an investigation into the payout. 

[Alison Kuznitz contributed reporting]