Massachusetts auditor cites $31,000 buyout of former Healey aide while slamming Beacon Hill 'collusion' to obstruct audits

Tim Dunn, Boston Herald on Jan 21, 2026

Published in News & Features

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BOSTON — State Auditor Diana DiZoglio cited the ongoing debacle in Gov. Maura Healey’s office surrounding the hiring of former embattled aide LaMar Cook and his $31,000 contract buyout, while slamming Beacon Hill for its “collusion” to thwart official audits.

DiZoglio presented the findings of a recent audit Wednesday related to employee settlements across state agencies and political offices, saying “those in power,” including Healey and Attorney General Andrea Campbell, have allegedly worked to obstruct or flat-out disregard an audit.

She pointed to perhaps the most infamous employee settlement case in Massachusetts: the over $31,000 contract buyout given to Cook — first reported by the Herald.

“The recently publicized circumstances involving a now former state employee with a criminal history, who has been arrested and faces serious charges related to criminal activities allegedly conducted on and at the job in the governor’s Western Massachusetts office, underscores the need for access to personnel records to ensure proper oversight,” said DiZoglio.

“We’ve all seen that settlements with public employees come in many different forms and we the taxpayers wouldn’t know that roughly $30,000 of our hard-earned tax dollars went out to someone who was fired from their position after they were arrested on charges of cocaine trafficking and unlawful possession of a firearm. These are exactly the types of things our office is able to audit and to dig deeper on and shine a light on how and why issues like this happen,” she said.

Last month, a Herald public records request revealed that the admin likely knew about Cook’s violent criminal history, including serious 2001 gun charges, before hiring him. Cook was arrested in late October after State Police intercepted 21 kilos of cocaine being shipped to the Springfield State Office where he worked.

DiZoglio also announced plans to sue Massport for access to personnel records that AG Campbell and Massport allegedly colluded to obstruct her access to.

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