Verizon Sued After Repairman Assaults Customer In Queens

A Queens man is suing Verizon for employing a repairman who assaulted him in December 2008 at his Sunnyside apartment. Aubrey Isakson says he became suspicious when the worker, Robert Benjamin, wanted to access his apartment, because Verizon had told him that wouldn't be necessary. When Isakson asked to see some identification, Benjamin went berserk, slapping his ID card in his face, saying, "You want to know my name? Here's my name." According to Isakson, Benjamin then punched him repeatedly, breaking his glasses, and squeezed him around the neck, pressing him up against the wall: "He's prepared to kill me. That's all I could think of." Isakson broke free and scrambled downstairs, fracturing his ankle along the way. Benjamin, who had been chasing Isakson, was subdued by a neighbor and arrested, but the Queens DA agreed to dismiss the case if Benjamin stayed out of trouble for six months. A spokesperson for Verizon tells the Post, "In the months since this incident, his conduct has been blameless. As a result, we will not take further action." The kicker? Two days after the fight, Verizon's technical service department called Isakson to say they fixed the problem and didn't actually need to send their skull-cracking repairman in the first place!