Healey’s Western Mass Deputy Director arrested on drug trafficking costs

The Healey administration’s Western Massachusetts Deputy Director Lamar Prepare dinner was arrested after State Police intercepted a cocaine cargo on the Springfield State Workplace, the Hampden DA’s workplace introduced Wednesday.

“The Governor’s Office has been made aware of the arrest of an employee, Lamar Cook,” a spokesperson for the governor mentioned. “The conduct that occurred here is unacceptable and represents a major breach of the public trust. Mr. Cook has been terminated from his position effective immediately. This criminal investigation is ongoing, and our administration will work with law enforcement to assist them in their work.”

Lamar Prepare dinner, 45, of Springfield, was arrested whereas driving his automotive on Tuesday night and charged with trafficking 200 grams or extra of cocaine, in addition to illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. Prepare dinner, who has labored within the Healey administration since 2023, is scheduled to be arraigned in Springfield District Court docket on Wednesday.

State Police have seized “multiple parcels containing a combined total of approximately 21 kilograms of suspected cocaine” within the investigation, the DA’s workplace mentioned.

The defendant’s trafficking costs relate to about eight kilograms of suspected cocaine intercepted throughout a “controlled delivery operation” on the Springfield State Workplace constructing on Dwight St. the place Prepare dinner labored on Saturday, in response to the Hampden DA.

On Monday night time, the DA’s workplace mentioned, state police investigators executed a search warrant for the suspect’s former workplace within the constructing.

The investigation stems from two prior drug trafficking seizures earlier this month, the DA’s workplace mentioned. In a single on Oct. 10, police intercepted about 13 kilograms of suspected cocaine in two “suspicious packages” at Lodge UMass in Amherst. Prepare dinner was the Director of Lodge UMass earlier than being employed by the Healey administration.

“Evidence collected during that operation was consistent with the narcotics recovered during the most recent controlled delivery in Springfield,” the Hampden DA’s workplace mentioned.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy launched an announcement on the arrest Wednesday, calling the incident a “disgrace for our state.” and a direct reflection of Healey’s failed management.

“She must be held accountable for the people she chooses to surround herself with,” Kennealy mentioned. “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.”