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A CEO of a liquor company has been identified as the man who was said to have been on acid when he collapsed at Citi Field, police said.
Ian Matthew Crystal died Friday after falling from 30 to 50 feet during intermission at the Dead & Company show, an NYPD spokesperson confirmed on Monday.
The Brooklyn resident, 46, was a co-founder of New York-based Evolution Spirits, according to his LinkedIn page.
Sources said Crystal allegedly took acid before the fatal dive and had drunk and smoked weed before.
The late entrepreneur was CEO of Evolution Spirits, the creator of Monkey Rum from Trinidad, which is available in 11 states. Alcohol was developed from a challenge in 2014 to create a new brand to support the National Geographic Channel’s show “Chug,” according to Crystal’s LinkedIn profile.
Decades earlier, Crystal won a high school publicity contest in Florida, where he created a promotional video to sell orange juice.
“It started my career in beverage marketing and I’ve never looked back,” he said, adding that he went on to run brands such as ABSOLUT Vodka, Malibu Rum and Stoli Vodka.
Laura Birnbaum, 32, told the Post on Monday that she previously worked as a sales and marketing coordinator for Crystal, which was known to think big, she said.
“Ian was my boss, I didn’t know he was dead,” Birnbaum said. “I’m still a bit shocked.
Crystal had a beloved Rhodesian Ridgeback named Beatrice who was kind of a corporate mascot.
“I was with him when he got her and she was part of the team as a puppy,” Birnbaum said. “She huddled in there with the rest of us.”
Birnbaum last worked for Crystal in 2016 or 2017, but the couple had kept in touch, she said.
“He was definitely a sociable person,” said the former Crystal employee. “He had big ideas and there were no limits to the ideas he had. It was about taking a good idea and knowing how to make it happen while thinking big. “
Crystal “enjoyed having a good time,” but Birnbaum said she had never seen him partying excessively or seeing him take hard drugs.
“I knew him pretty well,” Birnbaum continued. “[I’m] very shocked. He had so many things he wanted to do and it’s sad his life ended when he was so young. I know he had so many aspirations. We lost a good one.
Crystal had also worked from 1998 to 2000 as an account manager at News America Marketing, a former subsidiary of News Corp. Prior to that, he worked as an intern at Fox News Channel from 1996, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Another friend, meanwhile, called Crystal “the rooster” in a tribute on Facebook.
“One of those who was always up for the next adventure or for a long conversation that could go in depth or derail in the best way,” wrote buddy Neal Weinstein. “Left a long list of people you will miss. Glad to have known you mate.
Crystal, who jumped from a second-floor lobby, was pronounced dead at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Queens, police and fans of the show told The Post.
“I’ve heard people say ‘ahhh’ and see people running,” a spectator said Friday. “I said, ‘Brother, somebody took a king’s letterhead. “”
A driver outside the stadium said he saw the man later identified as Crystal “turn around” before falling and crashing into the ground below.
Investigators found no sign of crime.
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