A former hostess accused of throwing feces at upscale downtown nightclub TAO was arrested Monday for allegedly fouling the popular spot’s koi pond.
Ariel Roman, 24, was handcuffed just after noon outside Manhattan Criminal Court, where he was appearing for a hearing in a separate harassment case.
According to police, a former employee of TAO Hospitality Group was charged with burglary (entering a store knowing it was off limits and damaging property) and criminal damage in connection with the feces-throwing incident that occurred around the late hours of June 2nd.
According to court records, the upscale downtown restaurant sued Roman, claiming it suffered huge damages of $3,135 after feces was hurled at it.
Roman told The Washington Post he was scheduled to appear in court on Monday on harassment charges stemming from his interactions with TAO-affiliated promoters. He pleaded not guilty to the charges last month.
“This is based on false reports,” she said outside court before things escalated. “They said I was stalking him and harassing him by texting him multiple times, which is simply not true.”
Her arrest came just one day after Roman alleged to The Washington Post that former colleagues had falsely reported a blackmail incident involving her because she had attempted to blow the whistle on allegations of sexual assault and drugging of drinks by TAO promoters.
She also claimed she has received numerous anonymous messages on her online accounts threatening to continue filing false police reports in an attempt to land her in prison.
“These people are following me and they won’t leave me alone,” she said.
The former hostess was also charged with assault in a separate incident on Monday for allegedly throwing a bottle at someone at Hersey nightclub in December, causing the liquid to splash into the victim’s eye and burn her.
Police said Roman was last arrested on June 1 and charged with aggravated harassment after he allegedly appeared outside Nebula nightclub and yelled threatening words.
In a lawsuit filed June 11 in Manhattan Supreme Court, TAO alleges that Roman was an “erratic and violent” former employee who engaged in “harassing and threatening behavior.”
But Roman maintains that he is a #MeToo whistleblower who cannot be silenced.
The former hostess claimed she was targeted for speaking out about sexual assaults by TAO promoters and that excrement was thrown at her to draw attention to the issue.
“That’s my desperation,” she told The Post on Sunday. “That’s what prompted me to try and do something to get in the news with TAO.” [poop throw] “I’m in despair because no one is taking responsibility.”
The turmoil began in late 2022 when Roman broke up with her boyfriend, a TAO promoter, who she claims threatened to strangle her cat, sexually assaulted her and impregnated two women during their time together.
“I was in a total emotional crisis,” she said. “I literally sat outside the pier crying all night after I found out he’d gotten two girls pregnant… His friends basically told me, ‘Everyone at TAO knew about this.'”
Roman left his job after the breakup and was subsequently fired in December 2022.
Roman told The Washington Post that she began speaking out on TikTok and Instagram the following spring after other people came forward to say they had been assaulted by her ex-boyfriend.
“That’s when I started speaking out about this,” she said. “Once I started posting about it, other people started coming forward and I started to realize this wasn’t just about one girl.”
Roman claims that the harassment has only escalated since she began exposing TAO’s dirty secrets: In March 2023, she was attacked by her ex-husband and his friends, leaving her with a broken front tooth, a concussion and a bruised jaw, as well as receiving anonymous threats via social media attempting to put her in prison.
Roman was arrested in June 2023 after her ex-husband filed for a protective order, but she claims she was unaware of it.
The drama came to a head on June 19, 2023, when she was at a summer club (an entertainment venue frequented by TAO employees) when her ex-husband reportedly received a threat to be set on fire using a disposable mobile phone.
Roman maintains his innocence and points out that the outgoing call shown in police records was a “canceled call” with zero seconds left.
“Nobody said anything on the phone because even if I called, he didn’t answer the phone,” she said. “They knew about it from the night I was arrested … and they continued to put me on trial even though they knew I didn’t do it.”
The case was dismissed in December for lack of evidence, according to court records.
The former hostess said she expects the false reports targeting her will continue until she can afford an attorney to fight her case in civil court.
“I can’t warn every police officer in the city not to report me, they’ll just look at my record,” she said, “but I know I’m going to continue to get arrested.”
