TAO Ex-Worker Tossed Poop Into Koi Pond At Swanky Restaurant: Lawsuit

NEW YORK CITY — A former disgruntled employee who worked at the Manhattan restaurant chain TAO apparently dumped a bag of poop into a fishpond inside its Chelsea location earlier this month, according to a civil lawsuit.

TAO said the incident cost them more than $3,000 in damages.

The lawsuit was filed in state Supreme Court on Tuesday by the owners of the restaurant chain against the employee who had worked as a hostess at the Moxy in the East Village — which is run by TAO.

The employee was fired for violating company policy on Dec. 1, 2022 — though the lawsuit doesn't include specifics on what happened. After repeated threats to burn down TAO properties, the employee was banned from all locations on June 29, 2023.

The news was first reported by Gothamist.

TAO is seeking punitive damages, an order to keep the employee at least 50 yards away from any TAO locations and to bar them from contacting any other employees, according to the lawsuit.

About a year later, the employee returned on June 2 to TAO Downtown in Chelsea, donning a full disguise with a wig and glasses around midnight.

Surveillance footage showed the employee walking over and emptying a bag of poop into a koi fish pond inside the restaurant, according to the lawsuit. They then stood up on a table and began shouting at diners.

The company didn’t immediately return a request for comment by Patch.