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Merrill Lynch Banker Bro Fired After Racist Smoothie Tirade Goes Viral

Merrill Lynch wealth manager James Iannazzo was fired after calling an employee a “fucking immigrant” and throwing a drink.
​Nora Carol Photography/Getty Images​

A top-ranked financial adviser at Merrill Lynch was fired and arrested after berating smoothie shop employees—calling one a “fucking immigrant”—throwing a drink at them, and attempting to force his way into an employees-only area. 

The incident happened Saturday afternoon at a Robeks smoothie franchise in Fairfield, Connecticut, more than an hour after James Iannazzo, 48, had purchased a drink and left without incident, according to Fairfield police

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A now-deleted video that went viral on TikTok shows Iannazzo screaming at employees, saying: “I want to speak to the fucking person who made this drink,” and calling them “fucking stupid fucking ignorant high school kids.” 

An employee tells Iannazzo to call corporate, to which he responds by calling her a “fucking bitch” and throwing a drink at her. 

The video shows Iannazzo later calling the employee a “fucking immigrant loser,” before attempting to force his way into an employee-only area as a worker holds their body weight against the door. 

Iannazzo later told police he went back to the store because he had requested a smoothie with no peanut butter and his son had an allergic reaction. Iannazzo’s son was taken to the hospital, according to police. The Robeks employees who spoke with police said Iannazzo had asked for his drink to be made without peanuts but hadn’t mentioned an allergy. 

Following the incident, Iannazzo was arrested by Fairfield police and charged with intimidation based on bigotry or bias, as well as criminal trespassing and breach of peace, Fairfield police said.

Iannazzo worked for Merrill Lynch for more than 26 years, according to AdvisorHub, and he was reportedly named by Forbes as one of the best wealth management advisers in Connecticut. On Sunday, however, the company said in a statement that it had fired Iannazzo. 

“Our company does not tolerate behavior of this kind,” a spokesperson for Merrill Lynch, which is owned by Bank of America, told the New York Post in a statement. “We immediately investigated and have taken action. This individual is no longer employed at our firm.”

Iannazzo told AdvisorHub he would apologize to the staff and company. His lawyer told VICE News in an email that Iannazzo “deeply regrets his actions and his actions on that day were clearly out of character.” 

Iannazzo is due to appear in court Feb. 7. 

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