Man tasked with repairing Chipotle's image indicted in a New York cocaine bust

With Chipotle still struggling to get back on its feet after a string of E. coli and norovirus outbreaks, the burrito chain is now facing another setback. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.'s chief creative and development officer, Mark Crumpacker, has been put on administrative leave after he was indicted in a New York City cocaine bust.

Crumpacker, one of the company's top four executives, was found to be one of 18 alleged buyers in the Lower East Side drug ring, and he has reportedly been charged with "a single count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, which is a misdemeanor offense," The Wall Street Journal reports. The charges became public Thursday.

"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," Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold told The Wall Street Journal of the decision to put Crumpacker on leave. "Mark's responsibilities have been assigned to other senior managers in his absence."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

While the charges don't have anything to do with Chipotle itself, the indictment of the man who has been the face of Chipotle's comeback efforts doesn't necessarily bode well for the company's image repair, analyst Brian Vaccaro of investment company Raymond James told Bloomberg. "This news creates some headline risk that could temporarily negatively impact same-store sales trends," Vaccaro said.