A customer whose tirade against employees at a Robeks smoothie shop went viral has been charged by police and fired from his job as a Merrill Lynch wealth advisor.

James Iannazzo ordered a smoothie from a Robeks outlet in Connecticut on Saturday for his son, who has a peanut allergy. He asked for the drink to not contain peanut butter, but he did not mention the allergy {snip}

The video shows him demanding three employees tell him who made the drink, but they say they are not sure and that he should call the franchise’s corporate office with the complaint. The confrontation quickly escalates, with Iannazzo hurling obscenities at the employees {snip}

Iannazzo then throws a drink at one of them, hitting her shoulder and prompting another worker to call 911. {snip} When the employee demands he leave, he continues yelling at her, calling her a “f****** immigrant loser.” {snip}

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

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Iannazzo’s attorney, Frank J. Riccio, wrote in a statement that he “stressed to the staff” that the smoothie must not contain peanuts, which is reflected by the receipt.

“His son has a life-threatening peanut allergy. Upon drinking the Robeks smoothie, his son had a severe allergic reaction which required transport via ambulance to the hospital,” the statement said. “When faced with a dire situation, Mr. Iannazzo’ 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.”

Authorities charged him with intimidation based on bigotry or bias in the second degree, breach of peace in the second degree and criminal trespass in the first degree. {snip}

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