Gov. Maura Healey’s office is going after alleged cocaine trafficker LaMar Cook’s pension refund before he receives a dime, the Herald has learned.
The governor’s office sent a demand letter to the Retirement Board on Monday urging the agency withhold “any pension refund to Mr. Cook.”
The Herald was provided the letter after asking if Cook, fired from his job as Healey’s aide in western Massachusetts after his arrest, could still collect a pension. He can’t, the board said, but he is due a refund.
The exact amount of that refund is being withheld “because there is an ongoing legal matter,” the board stated.
Cook paid into the retirement system while working as an aide to Healey for the past three years and as a UMass Hotel manager since 2016, state Comptroller records show.
He earned $130,227 in gross pay last year — including a $31,438.56 vacation and sick time buyback, as first reported by the Herald.
Last week, Healey instructed Attorney General Andrea Campbell to file suit to claw back Cook’s buyback bonus. The pension pay has now been added to that legal demand.
The governor’s office said Cook’s buyout was paid in “error” and is pursuing that matter in Suffolk Superior Court.
Cook was arrested in October after prosecutors said he had a shipment of cocaine delivered to a state office building where he worked. He’s pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, including firearms charges stemming from a search warrant of Cook’s home and is being held in jail.
The pension question arises as the payouts to state retirees, both educators and other public employees, have jumped almost 18% since the pandemic.
The state Comptroller reports $6.6 billion is now being paid to retirees annually. Among that tally are the five top recipients, who were paid $300,000-plus in 2025, records show.
“What this says is it’s pretty great for a few but not everybody,” said national pension watchdog Anthony Randazzo.
In his organization’s annual report, he co-authors a warning that public pension plans are still in a “fragile financial condition.” That fact places Massachusetts 37th with $33.3 billion in unfunded liability, according to the Equable Institute, where Randazzo is the executive director.
“This is all up to taxpayers. If you’re getting good service, the pensions are worth it. If not, it’s not worth it,” he said.
He cautioned that Massachusetts is placing a burden on younger taxpayers to keep funding the pension system until it is paid off.
This fall, the state even floated a proposal to reduce its full-time workforce by offering buyouts of $10,000 for resignations and $20,000 for retirement, according to an email sent out to members. That offer has died down, but it didn’t stop the governor’s office from responding to the storm clouds ahead.
“Governor Healey has taken action to protect our budget in light of President Trump’s billions of dollars in cuts to Massachusetts, including implementing hiring controls,” a spokesperson said. “While President Trump continues to hurt our economy, Governor Healey is considering additional steps to protect taxpayer dollars while continuing the high level of service that the people of Massachusetts deserve.”
Randazzo, who stressed he remains politically neutral, said future budgets will be strained by pension costs.
“Budget pressures are mounting across the 50 states,” his annual update warns, adding “tax revenue growth has slowed as healthcare and education costs” grow.
“As fiscal constraints tighten,” the report adds, “the political will to maintain or increase these contributions will be tested — particularly in states where pension costs compete directly with priorities like education and healthcare.”
Toss in recession risks and a volatile market, and pension payments loom ever larger.
Go to bostonherald.com for a complete list of pension payouts and more databases in the 19th straight year of the rolling “Your Tax Dollars at Work” report. Send all tips to joed@bostonherald.com.
LaMar Cook, 45, appeared before Judge Sarah Hamilton at Hampden Superior Court on Thursday morning. Cook has been charged with drug trafficking. (Douglas Hook / Pool, The Republican)