A financial adviser was arrested and fired following a racist tirade inside a Connecticut smoothie shop Saturday.
48-year-old James Iannazzo, a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, was fired from the firm after video posted to TikTok by an employee of the shop showed him confronting workers, saying his son had an allergic reaction after drinking a smoothie with nuts.
According to police, Iannazzo purchased a smoothie at Robeks in Fairfield at around 1pm Saturday. Approximately 30 minutes later, police say he called 911 from his home for a child having an allergic reaction. The child was rushed to a local hospital.
Moments later, Iannazzo returned to Robeks Smoothie Shop and yelled at employees while demanding to know who had caused his child to have an allergic reaction by putting peanuts in the smoothie.
Video of the incident showed the enraged father hurling the smoothie at a worker, calling her an “immigrant loser” before trying to barge into an employees-only area.
That’s when staff members called police and Iannazzo left the shop before they arrived, but later turned himself in without incident.
He was charged with intimidation based on bigotry or bias, breach of peace and criminal trespass — and has since been released and is due in court on February 7.
An attorney for Iannazzo issued a statement on behalf of his client late Sunday.
“Mr. Iannazzo placed an order at the Robeks and stressed to the staff that the product must not contain peanuts. His receipt acknowledged that the order should not contain peanut butter. His son has a life-threatening peanut allergy.”
“Upon drinking the Robek’s smoothie, his son had a severe allergic reaction which required transport via ambulance to the hospital,” attorney Frank J. Riccio II said.
“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,” Riccio added.
Merrill Lynch, where Iannazzo worked, also issued a statement to WFSB which read “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.”
Police said store workers told officers that Iannazzo never told them about the peanut allergy but “had only requested that there be no peanut butter in his drink.”