Jonathan Kaye, the bank employee who was filmed punching a woman in the face during a Pride celebration in Brooklyn this month, has left Moelis Bank, a spokesman for the bank confirmed Monday..
A biography of Mr. Kaye had been removed from Moulis’ website as of Monday. As managing director, Mr. Kaye ran Moulis’ business services business.
Morris has appointed Rick Polhemus as head of U.S. business services to replace Kaye, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg, adding that Polhemus will work with European colleagues on international issues.
Kaye was placed on administrative leave on June 10, the first weekday after a 10-second video was released showing him slamming a woman to the ground and walking away while bystanders yelled, “Oh man, Kaye!” “An asshole” and a “terrible person.” In the video, Kaye is seen turning to bystanders and saying, “She threw shit all over my body,” before walking away with a plastic bag with a wet substance clearly visible on the back of his blazer.
However, there are differing accounts of the June 8 incident.
A source close to Kaye told the New York Post that the banker had been surrounded by a group of between four and six people protesting Israel’s military actions in Gaza, who yelled abuse at him and then doused him in red and white liquid.
“He feared for his physical safety when he was surrounded by an angry group of thugs, physically assaulted and had an unknown liquid thrown over him,” a spokesman for Mr Kaye said in a statement, according to a report by the Financial Times on Monday.
““Given the sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents, it is understandable that any Jewish person who finds themselves in this situation would feel threatened and need to protect themselves and return safely to their families,” the spokesperson said, according to Bloomberg.
““They were marching and they had flags and Jonathan simply said something like, ‘You’re on the wrong side,'” a source told The Post. “He tried to back away but was hit in the chest or fell to the ground, shattering his knee and cutting his leg.”
The source said Mr Kaye then got up and used only as much force as was “necessary to get out of there”.
A woman who said she was the one who was hit by Kaye told NBC4 in New York City on June 11 that Kaye instigated the attack.
“There was nothing. There was no slander of any kind,” a woman who identified herself only as Mika P. told the outlet. “He was literally a tornado of violence.”
When Mika saw Kei passing by, she said she and her friends discussed “we shouldn’t get involved with that guy. He looks drunk or crazy. He looked really angry when he passed by.”
Mika said the incident started when Kay called the group “a bunch of useful idiots.”
“He got about halfway down the block and I turned around and I said, ‘What did you say?'” Micah told NBC4. “He turned around again and started charging at us.”
Mika told NBC4 that she splashed water on Kay from a bottle she was holding to encourage her to get away.
Mika alleges that Kay then pushed several people in the group, injuring them.
“One of his other friends said, ‘Get away from them!’ He jumped up and chased the guy and grabbed his vest. The guy took his vest off to get away from him and he fell off. “I fell face-first on the concrete and scraped my ankle,” Micah told NBC4.
“One of the guys he shoved asked, ‘Are you OK?’ He jumped up and shoved the other guy and he pushed my friend to the ground and they both got hurt in the arm,” Micah continued. “Then he turned to me and that’s when the video started and you can see him punching me.”
NBC4 reported that as of June 11, when the interview aired, Mika had no plans to file a police report.
“I want him to be a better person after this. I want him to get anger management training. I want him to get therapy,” she said. “I don’t want him in a position of power until he can be a better member of society.”
The NYPD confirmed to Bloomberg that a 38-year-old woman reported being punched on June 12, suffering a broken nose, lacerations, bruising around her eye and losing consciousness when she fell to the ground.
A spokesperson for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office told the New York Post on Monday that a criminal investigation into the incident is ongoing.
A spokesman for Mr. Kaye said the bank According to the Financial Times, he said he would “cooperate fully with the authorities in their efforts to resolve this matter and restore his reputation.”
“The ensuing situation against Mr Kaye has been traumatic and devastating, including countless death threats and personal attacks,” a spokesman told Bloomberg.
“Mr. Kaye has lived a peaceful life in New York City for 25 years and has no history of physical confrontations,” a spokesman told the Financial Times. “His error was in assuming a non-violent rhetoric.”
