Merrill Lynch MD Fired After Racist Smoothie Shop Tirade Lands Him In Jail

Finmeme accounts have had a ball over the weekend sharing the latest salacious citizen video purporting to expose a respected member of the financial services community as a racial-epithet-slinging madman.

Over the weekend, a clip of a man later identified as James Iannazzo of Merrill Lynch went viral in the latest example of a clip of an aggravated store patron hurling insults, and objects, at baristas just trying to make it through a shift. At one point in the clip, the man calls the young woman, with whom he’s engaged in a screaming match, a “f**king immigrant loser” and an “ignorant high school kid”.

He also called one of the workers a “f**king bitch” before throwing the smoothie at her.

I’ve identified this man as James Iannazzo of @MerrillLynch being racist and assaulting a minor pic.twitter.com/O8Ic6jyh3p

— Danesh (@thatdaneshguy) January 23, 2022

The incident took place at Robeks in Fairfield, Connecticut at around 1430ET on Saturday. The 48-year-old financial adviser was later arrested and charged with a hate crime (an extremely serious charge), according to the NY Post.

The tabloid reported that the heated argument exploded after Iannazzo stormed into the store and accused its workers of serving him a smoothie with peanuts, which caused his allergic son to have a reaction that required hospitalization.

Police later confirmed that while Iannazzo did order the drink without peanut butter, he apparently neglected to say that his son had the allergy (remember, when you’re dealing with young retail and restaurant workers,  a correct order is often too much to expect, meaning that it’s up to you to make sure staffers understand the seriousness of a mistake in this department).

Viral footage showed Iannazzo standing behind the counter at the store, demanding to know which of the four employees working that afternoon had made the drink. The store workers shouted back, Iannazzo asked to speak with the manager, and pretty soon, it was a full-fledged shouting match.

Footage of the ordeal had been viewed more than 2.6 million times on Twitter by early Monday, and clips have also circulated to millions on TikTok. As a result, Bank of America released a statement confirming that Iannazzo is no longer with the wealth management unit.

“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,” a statement said.

According to a LinkedIn profile purportedly belonging to him, Iannazzo had been with Merrill since 1995; his profile presently lists him as a managing director.

A lawyer representing Iannazzo released the following statement in his client’s defense: “When faced with a dire situation, Mr. Iannazzo’s parental instinct kicked in and he acted out of anger and fear. He is not a racist and deeply regrets his statement and actions during a moment of extreme emotion.”

Iannazzo reportedly turned himself in to police after initially fleeing the store.