What he did: For at least seven years, the organic food kingpin posted messages on an online bulletin board under a pseudonym, often praising his own company while criticizing competitors -- most notably, Wild Oats.

The excuse: Mackey eventually apologized for an "error in judgment" after first blogging, "I posted on Yahoo! under a pseudonym because I had fun doing it."

The fallout: Mackey is still on board and Whole Foods and Wild Oats have merged.