Over the weekend, a Merrill Lynch financial consultant was fired after he was recorded going on a racist rant after he threw a smoothie at a teenage staffer and called her an “f–king immigrant.”
On Saturday at Robeks in Fairfield, Connecticut, James Iannazzo, 48, was arrested and charged with a hate crime.
According to investigators, the incident started after Iannazzo returned to the shop angry after ordering a smoothie that included peanuts, causing his son to have a severe reaction and require hospitalization.
Police say Iannazzo did not inform employees that his son was allergic to peanut butter when he ordered the drink.
In a video taken by a worker, Iannazzo is seen standing behind the counter and repeatedly asking who made the drink.
According to the video, when the staffers couldn’t tell him who made it, Iannazzo lashed out and called the staffers, “f–king stupid, f–king ignorant high school kids.”
Shortly after, he hurled the smoothie at one of the staffers, hitting her shoulder and calling her a “f-cking immigrant” moments later.
By early Monday, the video had been viewed over 2.6 million times on Twitter.
According to a Merrill Lynch representative, Iannazzo was fired from the wealth management firm due to the incident.
“Our company does not tolerate behavior of this kind. We immediately investigated and have taken action. This individual is no longer employed at our firm,” a statement said.
Iannazzo had been a managing director at Merrill Lynch since 1995, according to his LinkedIn profile.
After fleeing the store before police arrived, the father eventually turned himself in.
According to investigators, he then confessed to police that he returned to the store after becoming upset about his son’s allergic reaction.
In a statement, Iannazzo’s lawyer, Frank J. Riccio, said his client “stressed to the staff” that the drink couldn’t contain peanuts.
“His son has a life-threatening peanut allergy. Upon drinking the Robeks smoothie, his son had a severe allergic reaction which required transport via ambulance to the hospital,” the statement said.
“When faced with a dire situation, Mr. Iannazzo’s parental instinct kicked in, and he acted out of anger and fear. He is not a racist and deeply regrets his statement and actions during a moment of extreme emotion.”
Iannazzo was charged with intimidation due to bigotry or bias, criminal trespass and breach of peace.
