A Connecticut man has been arrested after he was caught on video hurling racist insults, and a smoothie, at a Robeks employees, WFSB reports.
James Iannazzo made his purchase and left the smoothie shop without incident on Saturday. He later called 9-11 because one of his children was having an allergic reaction, who police say was transported to a local hospital. Iannazzo returned to the Robeks a short time later and confronted employees, accusing them of knowingly putting peanuts the drink he ordered for his child, who he said has a peanut allergy. He repeatedly yelled at the employees, demanding to know who made the smoothie.
In the video taken by one of the employees, Iannazzo gets more and more irate and throws a drink, hitting one of the employees. He then referred to one of the employees as an “immigrant loser” and attempted to open a door labeled “Employees Only” but could not get in because the door was locked. Police say the man then left, but later turned himself into police. He was charged with intimidation based on bigotry or bias, breach of peace, and criminal trespass, and is facing a hate crime charge.
“During the investigation, employees reported that Iannazzo never told them about the peanut allergy but had only requested that there be no peanut butter in his drink,” police said.
According to The New York Times, Iannazzo was fired from his job at Merrill Lynch as a result of the incident.
“Our company does not tolerate behavior of this kind,” a spokesman said. “We immediately investigated and have taken action. This individual is no longer employed at our firm.”
Watch the video below:
