The Merrill Lynch financial advisor who went on a racist tirade at a smoothie shop in Connecticut has been fired, Insider reports.
Last Saturday afternoon, James Iannazzo confronted the employees at a Robek’s in Fairfield. Iannazzo believed his son was having an allergic reaction after drinking a smoothie with nuts, ABC 7 reports.
Iannazzo had purchased smoothies from the store that morning and returned home. He later called EMS when his son began having an allergic reaction. The child was transported to the hospital, Insider reports.
When the 48-year-old financial advisor returned to Robek’s that afternoon, he demanded to know who made the smoothie. After the employees could not answer his question, he became enraged.
In a TikTok video posted of the incident, Iannazzo can be heard calling one of the employees an “immigrant loser.” The TikTok user who posted the video also claimed he spewed racial slurs.
@thatdaneshguy Hello James Iannazzo
♬ original sound – Danesh
The video also shows Iannazzo throwing a drink at one of the workers.
Iannazzo was arrested shortly after the incident, ABC 7 reports. According to police, he said he asked the store to make a smoothie without peanut butter but didn’t specify that his son had a nut allergy.
Police charged Iannazzo with intimidation based on bigotry or bias in the second degree, breach of peace in the second degree and criminal trespass in the first degree.
According to Insider, Forbes named Iannazzo among the 25 best-in-state high-net-worth advisors for Connecticut in 2021. On Monday, Merrill Lynch confirmed that they had fired Iannazzo.
“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,” the company said in a statement, according to ABC 7.
Iannazzo also released a statement, apologizing for his actions.
“My actions at Robek’s were wrong, and I deeply regret them. They do not reflect my values or my character. I feel terrible that I lost my composure so completely,” he said, according to ABC 7.
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