Chipotle Marketing Executive Indicted in NY Cocaine Bust

Chipotle Mexican Grill is delicious. So delicious, in fact, that at some point you’ve probably wondered to yourself “Hey what do they put in this? Crack?” Well, one of the fast casual restaurant’s top marketing executives has recently been indicted for his involvement in a New York drug ring, thanks to a recent cocaine bust.

Chipotle CMO Mark Crumpacker is indicted on cocaine possession charge https://t.co/3lpf4mwG5N pic.twitter.com/W0PZOED1T5

— Fortune (@FortuneMagazine) July 1, 2016

Chief Creative and Development Officer Mark Crumpacker was one of 18 “repeat customers” charged in an indictment Thursday, as part of investigation into coke sales at many Duane Reade and CVS Pharmacies in Manhattan.

Business Insider obtained the indictment papers, in which many of the alleged buyers were charged with “possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree.” However, many of the defendants’ names were redacted from the documents, including Crumpacker’s.

Here is the indictment document for the alleged cocaine buyers.

Buyers indictment by Hayley Peterson

Chipotle  released a statement to the media announcing that it had placed Crumpacker on administrative leave.

At the moment, we know very little about these charges. Due to the nature of the situation, Mark has been placed on administrative leave. We made this decision in order to remain focused on the operation of our business, and to allow Mark to focus on these personal matters. Mark’s responsibilities have been assigned to other senior managers in his absence.

Chipotle faced a series of scandals last year due to E. coli outbreaks at several of its locations. As a result, public opinion towards the chain has significantly decreased and sales have steadily declined.

On Friday, Chipotle launched Chiptopia, a reward program aimed to drive business back to the struggling chain. Unfortunately, even though Chipotle has not been directly linked to the cocaine drug ring, these recent criminal allegations won’t help the brand rebuild its reputation.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.