Remorseful Merrill Lynch banker who was arrested and fired for racist, drink-throwing tirade at smoothie store worker reveals his son, 17, stopped breathing and collapsed after staff 'prepped his drink with peanut butter despite being asked not to'
A Merrill Lynch VP arrested and fired after branding a smoothie shop worker a 'f**king immigrant loser' said he was 'out of his mind with fear' after staff allegedly sickened his allergic son by using peanuts in a smoothie - despite him asking them not to.
James Iannazzo, 48, was arrested on charges of intimidation based on bias, breach of peace and criminal trespass Saturday after his fit of rage at Robeks on 2061 Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield, Connecticut, was caught in video. He was also filmed hurling the drink at a smoothie shop worker named Gianna Miranda.
Merrill Lynch - where Iannazzo had worked since 1995, with his most recent role as a vice president of wealth management - terminated him after the clip was widely-shared online.
Fairfield Police say Iannazzo, who lives in a $2.64m five-bed, five-bath colonial-style mansion in South Pier, Connecticut, purchased the smoothie at the store around 1pm and left without incident.
Less than an hour later, things took a turn for the worse and Iannazzo was on the phone with 911 for his 17-year-old son who was suffering from life-threatening anaphylactic shock after drinking the smoothie. He said it was the stress of that medical emergency that tipped him over the edge.
'My son lost the capacity to breathe properly; his lips and face swelled up, and he required an EpiPen shot, but it did not offer him relief,' Iannazzo told WTNH. 'I called 911. My son then went to the bathroom, threw up and fell unconscious to the floor. He threw up again. My wife gave him another EpiPen while I called 911 again. Thank God, he is doing okay.'
Iannazzo then returned to Robeks and confronted employees, demanding to know the ingredients of the smoothie and who made it. It has not yet been confirmed if the teenager's allergic reaction was caused by the drink.
'I was out of my mind with fear for him when I returned to Robeks, and I wish I had not done so,' Iannazzo said. 'I also wish they had been more careful preparing my son's beverage. I will be extending my apologies personally to the Robeks organization, particularly the staff that was working there that night.'
James Iannazzo, 48, was arrested on charges of intimidation based on bias, breach of peace and criminal trespass after his racist tirade at a Robeks was caught in video
Iannazzo then returned to Robeks and confronted employees, demanding to know the ingredients of the smoothie and who made it
He has instructed a lawyer, although has yet to say if he'll sue over the peanut incident, but also conceded that his behavior went too far.
Iannazzo added: 'My actions at Robeks 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.
The Robeks employees said that Iannazzo had asked for no peanut butter in the smoothie, but never mentioned an allergy. A Robeks spokesman has issued a condemnation of Iannazzo's behavior, but has yet to confirm that staffers had added peanut butter to the drink.
The footage, posted on TikTok by user @cjjbreezy, was recorded by one of the young girls working at the store, after Iannazzo stormed inside demanding to know who was responsible for adding peanut butter to his smoothie order.
The video had more than 16 million views before it was removed on Sunday.
'Shut the f*** up! Stupid f****** idiot. You're a f***** idiot. I want the f***** number. Shut up,' a furious Iannazzo said, demanding to know the number of the corporate office.
'You're a f***** immigrant loser,' he then says to one of the employees, prompting the rest of the staff to yell at him to leave the store. 'Get the f*** out of here, you f****** b***.'
The enraged man eventually attempted to breach the employee-only entrance to the back of the store as the young workers struggled to keep the door closed.
Speaking to WFSB afterwards, Miranda - the worker struck with the drink - said: 'It was kind of scary, I’m not going to lie because I’m like "I don’t know his intention or what he was going to do."'
Iannazzo left the store before police arrived but turned himself to authorities later on Saturday, police said. He was released and is scheduled for a court hearing early February.
He has since been fired from his position as wealth advisor and director at Merrill Lynch Management, where he had been working since 1995.
'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 after the video became viral.
The footage, which was posted on TikTok by @cjjbreezy, was recorded by one of the young girls working at the store, after Iannazzo stormed inside demanding to know who was responsible for adding peanut butter to his smoothie order
'You're a f***** immigrant loser,' Iannazzo says to one of the girls, just moments after he hurled the smoothie at her, hitting her with it on the shoulder
Iannazzo cursed at the young employees before hurling the smoothie at one of them. The employee was not seriously injured, police said
The incident happened at the 2061 Black Rock Turnpike store in Fairfield, Connecticut
During his more than two-decade career at Merrill Lynch, Iannazzo had become well-known as one of the top financial advisors in the area.
In 2021, he was ranked the 24th best wealth advisor in Connecticut by Forbes, Blaze media reported.
Iannazzo was charged with one felony and two misdemeanors and was released pending his court appearance.
If convicted for those charges, he could face a sentence of up to six years in prison and $6,000 in fines.
Iannazzo is scheduled to appear in court on February 7 at Bridgeport Superior Court.
According to his LinkedIn profile and public records, Iannazzo is married and lives with his wife and three children in an estimated $2.64million home in the Southport section of Fairfield
Attorney Frank Riccio, who is representing Iannazzo, said his client was not racist but his 'paternal instinct' had kicked in
Iannazzo has since been fired from his position as wealth advisor and director at Merrill Lynch Management, where he had been working since 1995
In the cellphone footage, which has since gone viral, Ianazzo is seen shouting at the employees.
'F***** stupid, f****** ignorant high school kids,' Ianazzo yelled as one of the employees filmed him on their cellphone.
'I wanna speak to the f****** who made this drink, is that you?' Iannazzo demanded after walking inside the store.
'There's four of us here, so we honestly don't know,' an employee answers.
'F***** stupid, f****** ignorant high school kids,' he says. 'I want to speak to the manager.'
'Ok, bye. You can call corporate, whatever you want,' another worker, wearing a blue hoodie, yelled back while a coworker held her by the hoodie to stop her from going toward Iannazzo's direction.
When she walked to the front of the store, Iannazzo threw a smoothie at her, prompting her coworkers to make calls to police.
'You shut up. Get out...You're not going to tell me to shut up, the f****? Who are you? Who are you?' the girl in the blue hoodie says to Iannazzo.
'You're a f***** immigrant loser,' Iannazzo replied.
The employee who was hit on the shoulder by the smoothie that Iannazzo hurled at her was not seriously injured, police said.
She said in a video update to the incident that Iannazzo hadn't been charged with assault because nobody had been hurt, but that she would be pressing charges.
Attorney Frank Riccio, who is representing Iannazzo, said his client was not racist but his 'paternal instinct' had kicked in.
A statement from Riccio on Twitter said: 'Upon drinking the Robeks smoothie, his son had a severe allergic reaction which required transport via ambulance to the hospital.'
'When faced with a dire situation for his son, Mr. Iannazzo's parental instinct kicked in and he acted out of anger and fear.'
'He is not a racist individual and deeply regrets his statements and actions during a moment of extreme emotional stress.'
According to his LinkedIn profile and public records, Iannazzo is married and lives with his wife and three children in a $1.3million home in the Southport section of Fairfield.
The enraged man eventually attempted to breach the employee-only entrance as the young workers struggled to keep the door closed . No one was injured
In 2021, Iannazo was ranked the 24th best wealth advisor in Connecticut by Forbes, Blaze media reported
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