Nov 17, 2017 4 min read

The head of AGRiMED Industries, the company that received a state license to run a medical marijuana growing operation in Cumberland Township, has amended information provided in the company’s license application after it was revealed he failed to disclose a 20-year-old criminal conviction.

Sterling Crockett, company chief executive officer, failed to include in background information in the application a conviction in New York on charges connected to an alleged scheme to use minority-owned companies to gain government asbestos-removal contracts.

Crockett, of Rockville, Md., said in a statement issued Thursday by a company attorney he misunderstood the question on the application asking whether he had been convicted of a crime more serious than a summary offense.

“My statement on the application was in no way a deliberate omission,” Crockett said. “Legal terminology varies from state to state, as does the subtle nuances between the laws of different states. As I understood the question, I answered honestly and factually,” he said.

Crockett said he provided supplemental information regarding the conviction to the state Department of Health, which oversees the medical marijuana program, after the matter was brought to his attention by a reporter for a local television station.

April Hutcheson, Health Department communications director, said the department cannot, by law, discuss the results of any individual’s background check.

It is important to note, Hutcheson said, the permit to grow marijuana was issued to the company, not to an individual.

“If someone in the company has something in their criminal history that would prevent them, under the regulations, from participating, whether it’s a security guard, cashier or financial backer, that person would have to be removed,” she said.

“… In order for (the company) to begin to grow marijuana, everyone has to meet all of the requirements,” she said.

Crockett was indicted in New York in 1995. According to newspaper accounts, prosecutors alleged the company of which Crockett, then 33, was listed as president, Precision Abatement Corp., had actually been formed by members of a New York City organized crime group to illegally obtain government minority contracts for asbestos removal.

Crockett pleaded guilty in 1998 to a misdemeanor count of offering a false instrument. He was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay a $90 fine.

According to the web page of the New York County district attorney, conditional discharge is imposed when the court believes neither jail nor probation is appropriate. The court requires the defendant to lead a law-abiding life, and if ordered, participate in specific programs or avoid contact with certain people, it said.

Crockett said the charge to which he pleaded is considered a “relatively minor infraction” under New York law. He said he was told when he entered his plea the disposition would not be on his record.

Crockett said the conviction is something he has never tried to hide in any federal or state applications. He noted he has received security clearances from the U.S. Department of Defense for various projects, including work at the Pentagon, and information about the conviction has never proven to be an issue.

Crockett said he has worked hard over the years to build his reputation, engender trust and produce quality work.

“I have maintained a disciplined approach to high standards of accountability, authenticity, while also recognizing the impactful humanist side of business that has led me to seek opportunities that benefit the public at large. And I am very proud of what I have accomplished,” he said.

AGRiMED was one of 12 companies that received licenses to grow and process marijuana under the state’s new medical marijuana program.

Its application received the highest score in the evaluation process used to award the licenses. The state received 177 applications for the 12 licenses.

According to a biography on the AGRiMED website, Crockett has served as president of Sterling Construction Services Inc., a general contracting firm, and is founder of The Coulson Agency, a business consulting, mentorship and investment firm. He also is general manager of GTI-Maryland and is leading the company’s efforts to secure minority investors in a campaign to build a medical marijuana growing facility in Maryland.