William Bryan Jennings, the Morgan Stanley U.S. Bond Underwriting Chief, pleaded not guilty to assault and hate-crime charges.  Earlier in the week, Mr. Jennings was arrested on charges he stabbed a New York cab driver of Middle Eastern descent over a fare. At this point, Jennings must be incredulous, and asking himself, over and over and over again:  How in heaven's name did I ever get caught up in such a mess? The answer very likely depends on which side of the fence you're on  You can believe Mr. Jennings's account - which claims the driver tried to gouge him with an excessive fare.  Or you can accept the driver's claim, which attributed the 'altercation' and pen-knife attack on a drunken stupor and a racial bias.  The rest of us will just have to wait for testimony at the trial. The "not guilty" was entered by Eugene Riccio on behalf of his client before Connecticut Superior Court Judge Robert Genuario in Stamford.  Jennings was present, wearing a blue suit, white shirt and patterned tie.  The proceeding lasted less than a minute. The next court date is 4/12/12. Alleged Circumstances of that Fateful Night. Jennings, 45, is accused of attacking the driver, Mohamed Ammar, on 12/22/11, with a 2-1/2 inch blade and using racial slurs after a 40-mile ride from New York to his Darien, CT, home.  The hate-crime count brings the same 5-year maximum prison sentence as the assault charge. According to the driver, Jennings had attended a bank holiday party at a boutique hotel in Manhattan before hailing his cab.  Upon arriving at his CT home, Jennings refused to pay the $204 fare  - “he did not feel like paying” because he was already home - and instead offered to pay $50. Jennings's accounted recalled that driver Ammar actually demanded $294, whereupon Jennings offered to pay $160. Whatever the case, it's accepted that the driver was somehow cut by a penknife that Jennings owned and was holding. In the meantime, Jennings is free on $9,500 bond.  If he is found guilty as charged, he faces as many as 10 years and 3 months in prison. He was charged Feb. 29. The Connecticut hate-crime statute, signed into law in 2000, makes it a felony to cause or threaten physical damage to a person or to property with a specific intent to intimidate or harass a person “because of the actual or perceived race, religion, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of such other person.” In Connecticut, there were 243 arrests and 33 convictions under the statute from 2007 to 2011, according to Rhonda Stearley-Hebert, a spokeswoman for the State Judicial Branch office. Under the law, Ammar would also be able to sue Jennings for damages. The case is:  State of Connecticut v. Jennings 12-0176761, Superior Court for the State of Connecticut (Stamford). For further details, go to:   [Bloomberg, 3/9/12]