Man Accused Of Throwing Smoothie Hired At Westport Firm

WESTPORT, CT — James Iannazzo, who faces charges after he is accused of hurling a smoothie and shouting profane and racially charged insults in a viral confrontation, was recently hired at a Westport firm, records show.

Iannazzo's BrokerCheck profile lists his place of employment as Aegis Capital Corp., which is located at 156 Kings Hwy. Floor 1, Westport. He registered with the firm on Tuesday, according to BrokerCheck.

Aegis' website describes the company as a "full service investment firm."

Iannazzo worked for Merrill Lynch for over 25 years before the company fired him in January following the incident at a Robeks smoothie shop in Fairfield, CNBC reported.

Fairfield police said Iannazzo bought a smoothie at the shop on Jan. 22, then came back around an hour later to confront the employees and demand to know which worker made a drink that triggered his son's peanut allergy, causing him to be taken to the hospital.

Read more: Customer Shouts Profanities, Throws Smoothie: Fairfield Police

When employees couldn't tell him which worker made the smoothie, he started screaming expletives, referenced one worker's immigration status and threw the drink, hitting an employee, police said.

Iannazzo was charged with second-degree intimidation based on bigotry or bias, second-degree breach of peace and first-degree criminal trespass.

Read more: Man Who Threw Smoothie Banned From Business After TikTok Rant

The pending charges are listed as one of two "disclosures" on Iannazzo's BrokerCheck profile (the other is a "customer dispute" from April 2015).

In court last week, Iannazzo's attorney said the broker intends to apply for accelerated rehabilitation, a program intended for defendants officials believe are unlikely to re-offend. Pending successful completion of the program, the charges against him could be dropped.

Read more: Charges Could Be Dismissed In Fairfield Smoothie-Throwing Case