Chipotle Executive Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Possession, But Won't Have to Serve Time

EAST VILLAGE, NY — On Friday Chipotle executive Mark Crumpacker pleaded guilty to cocaine possession, but found out that he won't have to go to jail.

A representative for the Manhattan District Attorney confirmed to Patch that 55-year-old Mark Crumpacker, Chipotle's CMO, pled guilty Friday to the charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance in seventh degree, but was offered the chance to complete a drug treatment program within the next year, rather than go to jail. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Ellen Biben said that if Crumpacker does not complete the program, as well as comply with all the terms that go along with it such as drug testing, he may face up to a year in jail. The case was adjourned to February 28 for an update.

Crumpacker was arrested on July 6, 2016, along with 18 other customers of a drug ring that was catering to high-end clientele. The DA said that they caught Crumpacker 13 times on wire-tap ordering drugs to his apartment near Union Square.

Crumpacker's wealth — in 2015 he made more than $4.2 million at Chipotle — surely helped this story play out very differently than it does for many poor people who get arrested on drug charges. For one, Crumpacker was able to secure release on an initial $4,500 bond, allowing him to return home, and after a stint at rehab, even return to work. If you're poor and get arrested, even on a non-violent drug charge, you might have to spend months or years in jail, before you've even been convicted (about 85 percent of inmates at Rikers Island have not yet been convicted of a crime).

Crumpacker, however, will be able to go back to his job: Convincing consumers to forget about the E.coli outbreaks at Chipotle. Hopefully, everyone will forget about the cocaine charges as well.

"Like Mark," Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold told Patch, "we are pleased to have this issue put to bed and that Mark’s case is headed for dismissal."

Image via Linkedin.