A woman who was caught on video last week emptying a commemorative New York Knicks-themed trash can into the street – and then walking away with it – is no longer working at JPMorgan Chase, a spokesperson for the bank told two media outlets.
Angie Baez, 40, who worked at the bank as executive director of community and industry engagement for card and connected commerce, was identified as the woman in the video.
“This employee is no longer with the company,” a JPMorgan spokesperson told The New York Post and NBC News.
The spokesperson would not say whether Baez left the company as a result of the video.
Vincent Gragnani, a spokesperson for the New York City Department of Sanitation, said Baez returned the trash can – as evidenced by a post Wednesday on social media platform X.
In the post, the trash can appeared to be in front of the sanitation commissioner’s office, next to illustrated writing that read: “Welcome back! We missed you!”
“Home sweet home,” the post’s caption read.
“Yes, this is the same basket that was in the video,” Gragnani told the Post. “It was returned to us, we removed two stickers from it, and took the photo ourselves at our Worth Street Headquarters – no AI used.”
Baez received a $75 fine for littering and another $100 citation for impeding Department of Sanitation operations.
The initial incident was caught on video June 18 and posted online in the wake of a parade celebrating the New York Knicks’ NBA championship, the first for the team in 53 years. Additional footage shows her riding the subway with the stolen bin.
“Girl this is Theft lol,” one X user wrote, according to an earlier Post story.
At least one user speculated, before the incident went public, that the commemorative bins would become collectors’ items.
“Streets are about to be filled with garbage because all of these are 100% getting stolen,” an X user wrote.
“They’ll be listed on Facebook Marketplace as ‘Rare Vintage Knicks Memorabilia’ for $450 by tonight,” added another. “Honestly, trying to lug a giant public sanitation bin onto the MTA during rush hour is peak New York dedication.”
“Dumping trash onto the street and stealing public property for your own personal use are both illegal, antisocial behaviors, and not what New Yorkers do,” the sanitation department said in an initial statement on the viral video. “On top of all that, doing both on camera is incredibly stupid.”
Baez did not immediately return a call or email requesting comment from NBC News.
Baez’s LinkedIn profile – including a 2-year-old-post indicating she was “excited [to] share the next step in my career journey via my recent promotion to Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at JPMorgan – had been recently taken down.
In a previous role, Baez served as executive director of DEI at the restaurant platform The Infatuation, which JPMorgan Chase bought in 2021, according to the Post.
