The chips fall for El Guaco
Chipotle exec faces drug raps
A top Chipotle executive surrendered to authorities Tuesday on charges that he regularly used an illicit courier service that delivered cocaine to his Manhattan apartment.
Mark Crumpacker, 53, who was leading the Mexican fast-food chain’s efforts to bounce back from its E. coli nightmare, was placed on leave after the allegations came to light last week.
Chipotle’s chief creative and development officer, whose compensation exceeds $4 million a year, according to Bloomberg News, was hauled into court in handcuffs, wearing a navy blazer, khakis and sneakers.
Prosecutor Patrick Doherty said Crumpacker was intercepted on wiretap 13 times during an investigation into accused drug kingpin Kenny Hernandez, who is charged with operating the highend cocaine delivery service.
“Typically, he ordered to his apartment in the Union Square area,” Doherty said. “[He] spent close to $3,000.”
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Edward McLaughlin set bail at $10,000 bond and allowed Crumpacker to sit in the gallery while he waited for his bail to be posted.
McLaughlin said Crumpacker was given the courtesy because there is no holding cell attached to the courtroom.
“I sure don’t want anybody to think because somebody is the purported big shot he’s being treated differently, because that would appall me,” the jurist said.
Crumpacker was the most impressive name on an 18-defendant indictment of alleged cocaine buyers made public last week. It also included a Fox Business Network producer, a Merrill Lynch associate and a financial consultant.
Most of the dazed defendants were paraded last Thursday before McLaughlin, who heartily mocked them for their alleged roles in the drug deliveries.
Crumpacker, who is charged with seven misdemeanor counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, was out of state last week.
“We are aware that Mark presented himself to authorities earlier today,” said Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold.
“He remains on a leave of absence from his job to focus on these personal matters.”
Crumpacker’s lawyer, Gerald Lefcourt, declined to comment.