Disgraced Merrill Lynch financier James Iannazzo, who was arrested and fired after hurling a smoothie at a Robeks worker and branding her a ‘f**king immigrant loser,’ was seen for the first time since his arrest at his Connecticut home.
The 48-year-old was spotted wearing black sweatpants, a windbreaker hoodie and a hat while carrying what appeared to be a bottle of detergent outside his $2.64m five-bed, five-bath colonial-style mansion in Southport, Connecticut on Monday.
He was joined by another man wearing an orange jacket. Iannazzo and the man seemingly entered the house through the side garage door and not the main entrance.
The newly unemployed financier triggered public outcry after a TikTok showing him going on a racist rant at a Robeks smoothie store in Fairfield went viral on the social media platform.
Disgraced Merrill Lynch financier James Iannazzo was seen for the first time since his arrest at his Connecticut home on Monday
The 48-year-old was spotted wearing black running pants, a windbreaker hoodie and hat while carrying what appeared to be a bottle of detergent
He was joined by another man wearing an orange jacket. Iannazzo and the man seemingly entered the house through the side garage door and not the main entrance.
Iannazzo was seen outside his $2.64m five-bed, five-bath colonial-style mansion in Southport, Connecticut on Monday
Iannazzo 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
Iannazo has claimed he lost his temper and ‘his paternal instinct kicked in’ after staff prepared a smoothie containing peanut butter, which caused his 17-year-old son to go into anaphylactic shock.
He claimed he had warned staff that his son was allergic to nuts, while staff claimed that he requested there be no peanut butter but failed to mention an allergy.
Iannazo was fired from his job at Merrill Lynch – where he had worked since 1995, most recently as a vice president of wealth management – after the clip was widely-shared online.
Iannazzo was arrested on charges of intimidation based on bias, breach of peace and criminal trespass on Saturday, before being released.
In a statement shared with DailyMail.com Monday, Iannazzo said: ‘I had returned to Robek’s to determine what ingredients were in the smoothie that I had previously ordered. I made my regrettable comments because my 17-year-old son was taken to the hospital suffering from life threatening anaphylactic shock.’
‘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,’ 18-year-old Gianna Miranda, who works part-time at the Robeks told local news station WFSB.
‘He started to call her racial slurs. He threatened to kill us multiple times,’ Hill, who is 17 according to the social media platform, also told the outlet. ‘I understand and we are sorry on behalf of Robeks for how the smoothie was made, but it gives you absolutely no right to act out like that.’
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
Iannazzo then returned to Robeks and confronted employees, demanding to know the ingredients of the smoothie and who made it
Meanwhile, the disgraced former Merrill Lynch financier, who was ranked the 24th best wealth advisor in Connecticut by Forbes in 2021, has been slammed with one-star ratings on Google by furious reviewers.
‘I would rate zero stars if I could. Enjoy being in the unemployment line while the ‘immigrants’ are out here actually earning their money,’ a person commented online.
Others called out Iannazzo and called him a ‘terrible guy’ for abusing his power as an adult and yelling at the young Robeks workers.
‘So wish I was there to help. What a big man, yelling at 3 or 4 school girls,’ one reviewer wrote.
‘He collapsed at our home while drinking the smoothie from Robek’s, which contained some sort of nut product, after I had advised them of his nut allergy when I ordered his drink,’ Iannazo said on Monday.
He added: ‘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.
‘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.
Fairfield Police say Iannazzo purchased the smoothie at the store around 1pm on Saturday 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.
Robeks haven’t admitted to prepping the drink with a nut product, but Iannazzo is adamant that the drink triggered the reaction.
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 2021, Iannazo was ranked the 24th best wealth advisor in Connecticut by Forbes, Blaze media reported
The disgraced former Merrill Lynch financier, who was ranked the 24th best wealth advisor in Connecticut by Forbes in 2021, has been slammed with one-star ratings on Google by furious reviewers
Others called out Iannazzo and called him a ‘terrible guy’ for abusing his power as an adult and yelling at the young Robeks workers
‘Disgusting behavior,’ a reviewer wrote
He was caught on camera roaring: ‘I want to speak to the person who made this f**king drink. Is that you?
‘You don’t know who made it? Stupid f**king ignorant high school kids. I want to speak to the f**king manager. Get the f**k out of here you f**king bitch. Give it to me now.’
At that point, he hurled the drink, which hit Miranda and spilled all over her, before staff told him to leave while calling the police.
Iannazzo continued: ‘ ‘F**k you, you f**king bitch. I want the telephone, right now. Shut the f**k up, you f**king stupid (inaudible). I want the f**king phone. Shut up.
‘You f**king immigrant loser. I want the f**king telephone.’
‘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 afterwards.
‘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.’
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 incident happened at the 2061 Black Rock Turnpike store in Fairfield, Connecticut
Speaking to WFSB afterwards, 18-year-old Gianna 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.
Iannazzo is scheduled for a court hearing on February 7.