Analyst Accused of Punching Subway Worker Faces Judge, Civil Suit
The New York transit operator saying she was attacked has sued Jean-Francois Coste of Tocqueville Asset Management.
A former Tocqueville Asset Management equity analyst who allegedly punched a New York subway operator in the face at the Coney Island subway station Dec. 16 appeared in Kings County Criminal Court in Brooklyn on Thursday after pleading not guilty to one count of second-degree assault and after the transit worker filed a separate civil complaint against him in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Sept. 11.
Why it matters: The equity analyst, Jean-Francois Coste, faces up to seven years in state prison because he is charged with a felony in the criminal case.
The subway operator he allegedly attacked, Tanya McCray, is seeking “the maximum sum permitted by law … all together with the costs and disbursements of this action,” according to the complaint.
She is also seeking compensatory and punitive damages against Coste.
What to know: McCray alleged that she was starting her shift at about 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 16, when she saw Coste try to enter a room in the Coney Island subway station that was for employees only.
McCray said she told Coste that he wasn’t allowed in the room, and he then allegedly punched her in the face. The subway operator tried to defend herself, she said, by hitting him with a thermos.
Police were already at the station when the alleged attack occurred and arrested Coste while he tried to get away by hopping onto a train.
In a statement provided to ThinkAdvisor on Friday, Tocqueville Asset Management said: “Mr. Coste was suspended from Tocqueville Asset Management immediately after the incident and is no longer with the firm. Tocqueville has no further comment.”
Looking ahead: Coste is scheduled to appear again in court for the criminal case Oct. 30, Citywire reported Thursday.
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