Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Vegetarian Trader Sues Ex-Boss Over Homophobic Insults
By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 29, 2009
Modified Jan 29, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 29, 2009
Modified Jan 29, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A vegetarian Long Island man is suing the Wall Street firm where he used to work because the boss allegedly taunted him about his dietary restrictions, incessantly calling him "gay." Twenty-eight-year-old trader Ryan Pacifico says Robert Catalanello, his boss at French financial firm Calyon in the Americas, tormented him for being a "homo" who wouldn't eat steak. Pacifico tells the Daily News, "A trading floor is certainly a manly man's world. I just never expected someone to think it's gay to be a vegetarian or to constantly poke fun at me." This from a guy who's been a vegetarian since his teenage years on Long Island?
Pacifico says he was doing fine at the firm until Catalenello discovered his freakish vegetable fetish; in papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Catalanello is quoted thusly: "You don't even eat steak, dude. At what point in time did you realize you were gay?" (The sound of high-fives and guttural belches are apparently excised from the record.) The suit goes on to allege that when Catalanello ordered staff meals, he would deliberately buy only meat dishes, and when other brokers stood up for Pacifico, the beef-boosting boss blurted, "Who the fu*k cares? It's his fault for being a vegetarian homo."
According to the Post, Pacifico was fired last year for "for a minor infraction," but the lawsuit contends it was all because he refused to participate in the meat-industrial complex. His lawyer says, "It's a ridiculous male stereotype that only real men eat meat." It's also ridiculous that people still use the word "gay" as a pejorative, but nevertheless Pacifico would like everyone to know that he's married and even served steak at his wedding. So leave Ryan alone!
Tagged
gay
lawsuit
trader
vegetarian
wall street
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Woman dies after tumbling from a moving SUV on the BQE near the Brooklyn Bridge
Police say the woman fell out of the vehicle after opening its rear door.
By
Michael Sol Warren
Published Nov 8, 2026 at 9:16 a.m. ET
Mamdani expands free produce programs for New Yorkers on SNAP
Another program offering cash back for purchasing fruits and vegetables will get more funding.
By
Karen Yi
News
Mamdani expands free produce programs for New Yorkers on SNAP
Another program offering cash back for purchasing fruits and vegetables will get more funding.
By
Karen Yi
Federal judge rules Mamdani administration must give ICE names of Bronx shelter residents
By
Willow Higgins
NYPD arrests and charges city schools employee in murder of Brooklyn jogger
By
Kaya Laterman
Work is underway to replace deteriorating Newark Bay Bridge, a major NY-NJ route
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .