Victor Sheppard, a deliveryman for Hunts Point, New York meat distributor Mosner Family Brands, was handed a noose by a white meat supplier, the owner of Ottomanelli & Sons Meat Market.

According to NY Daily News, Joe Ottomanelli gave Sheppard the noose as a "gift" on the morning of April 5th and said, "You can put it around your neck and pull if you want to end it all."

Ottomanelli allegedly further told Sheppard, "If you are feeling stressed out I can help you with it."

Photo: Victor Sheppard

Sheppard said that due to the immense trauma triggered by the noose, that he could not bring himself to go back to work, especially as Mosner continued to do business with Ottomanelli.

“I could have lost my life or been badly injured or in jail, and it didn’t mean anything to them,” Sheppard said.

Sheppard took his employer's actions to keep Ottomanelli as a client as disregard of him.

He said, “It’s not easy returning to an environment where you mean nothing.”

Sheppard's attorney, Wylie Stecklow, shared this statement: “Victor could not return to that environment. His employer knew exactly what happened and was supportive but they never stopped doing business with Ottomanelli."

Michael Mosner, Sheppard's employer, claimed that he offered Sheppard disability leave and free counseling, but that Sheppard refused. He also said that Sheppard would have been assigned to a different delivery route, preventing him from ever working with Ottomanelli.

But what good is any of that if Mosner still worked with Ottomanelli, a client who terrorized his own employee?

Because Sheppard failed to not show up for work after the incident, the company sent him a notice on June 9 relieving him from his position.

“We did everything we could to hold his spot. He just didn’t do his part,” said Mosner.

Sheppard reflected on the incident in a statement saying, "[It] makes me think about what my ancestors had to go through in this country."

Ron Kuby, Ottomanelli's lawyer, referred to the incident as "a bad joke."

“There’s no reason for this man to quit his job besides the reason that suing is easier than working,” Kuby said.

Interestingly, though dealing with his grievances in criminal court, Sheppard has not filed a lawsuit against Ottomanelli.

Ottomanelli is facing hate crime charges. He is due in court in Manhattan in September.

Victor Sheppard

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