Felons in High Places: Mamdani Taps Convicted Robber to Serve on Transition Team
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December 8, 2025What happens when you elect a socialist to be your mayor? Well, it turns out you get violent felons in leadership positions, that’s what.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has chosen a formerly incarcerated rapper to serve on his City Hall transition team as he prepares to take office in New York City Jan. 1, according to reports.
The controversial selection comes as Mamdani, who won November’s election on a progressive platform, assembles his transition team.
Mamdani’s appointment of Mysonne Linen, 49, was announced in a Nov. 26 Instagram post from Until Freedom, a New York City–based social-justice organization, where Linen is a leader.
I feel like I am watching the world’s scariest social experiment with this guy, and I have to say, I’ve never been happier that I don’t live in NYC than in this moment.
Over the years, Linen has built a public presence as a community activist, frequently posting about anti-violence initiatives and civic engagement, and promoting his involvement with Until Freedom.
According to past reports, Linen, a Bronx native who was once signed to Def Jam, was convicted of two felony robberies in the late 1990s.
In 1999, a Bronx jury is said to have found him guilty in two armed robberies of taxi drivers, per the New York Daily News.
Prosecutors said Linen was part of a group that robbed cab driver Joseph Exiri on June 8, 1997, striking him with a beer bottle, and later held up cab driver Francisco Monsanto at gunpoint on March 31, 1998, stealing cash and a ring before fleeing.
Both cabbies testified and identified Linen as one of the robbers.
Boy, the cab drivers are really going to love this guy. Nothing screams “NYC, you are so screwed” quite like appointing someone who was a public safety hazard to the public safety transition team.
Mamdani hasn’t even officially been sworn in and things are already looking dicey. 2026 is going to be a very interesting year in the Big Apple.
