A 48-year-old man has been arrested after he allegedly threw a drink at a smoothie shop employee and called her a “f—ing immigrant loser,” among other things.
The incident occurred at the Robeks smoothie outlet on 2061 Black Rock Turnpike in Connecticut around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
James Iannazzo was said it have gone into the establishment to get a smoothie without peanuts for his son earlier in the day. He then returned to the shop around 2:30 p.m. and began yelling at the employees and demanding to speak with the person who made the smoothie.
According to the report, Iannazzo’s son has an allergy to peanuts and had to be rushed to the hospital after ingesting the drink.
The teens told reporters that they were aware of Iannazzo’s request for a smoothie without peanut butter but they were unaware of his son’s allergy.
After the employees could not tell Iannazzo who made the drink and advised him to contact the corporate office, things escaladed.
Iannazzo then started calling the employees, calling them “f—ing stupid, f—ing ignorant high school kids.” He then threw a full drink at one of the employees before calling another a “f—ing immigrant loser” after she informed him that they were contacting the police.
Iannazzo reportedly then tried to force his way behind the employee counter and when he could not get through, he left.
Authorities reported that while he was not there when they arrive to investigate the incident, Iannazzo eventually turned himself in.
He has since been charged 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. He is now set to appear in court on Feb. 7.
Iannazzo who is also a Merrill Lynch advisor, has been fired from his position with the company.
The company released a statement saying that they do not tolerate the behavior exhibited in the video:
“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.”