USA: Molson Coors Brewery Co. CEO to face drunk driving charges

Pete Coors, the telegenic beer company executive and chief commercial pitcher, as well as a former U.S. Senate candidate, was arrested in May for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol, The Chronicle Herald posted July 14.

Coors was driving a 2004 Jaguar when he was pulled over in Golden by the Colorado State Patrol just before midnight on May 29, according to officials in the Jefferson County District Court clerk’s office.

He was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence after registering a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of 0.08. He was also cited for failing to obey a traffic control device.

Coors, 59, faces a July 20 arraignment. Coors took over as president of the family company in 1987 and in 2000 was named chief executive of the brewer. The company has 8,500 employees and rang up $4 billion in sales in 2003. Adolph Coors merged with Molson to form the Molson Coors Brewing Co. in 2005.

Coors, a tall, silver-haired figure familiar to many as the face of the Coors television ads, was a political novice in 2004 when he decided to seek the Senate seat being given up by Republican Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell. He won the GOP primary, but was defeated in the 2004 general election by Democrat Ken Salazar.

14 July, 2006