Mamdani appoints convicted felon who served time for armed robbery to transition team

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is putting together his transition team, and one appointment is already raising eyebrows.

In an Instagram post from Until Freedom, a social justice group from NYC, it was announced that 49-year-old Mysonne Linen will be joining Mamdani’s team in a public safety capacity. Two other members, Tamika Mallory and Angelo Pinto, were also appointed.

Look:

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A post shared by Until Freedom (@untilfreedom)

Linen has become a public advocate for civic engagement and anti-violence, which is a far cry from his past experiences.

In the late 90s, he was convicted of two felony counts in cases of armed robbery, where he reportedly held up taxi drivers.

“Mysonne Linen was convicted less than two weeks before his work was to appear on an all-star album featuring LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, and Q-Tip,” The New York Daily News reported in 1999. “Family and friends of Linen, 23, wept and sobbed as the Bronx Supreme Court jury found the budding star guilty of all but one of the seven counts brought against him. Linen, whose stage name is Mysonne, shook his head as the verdict was read and told his family, ‘I love you. Be strong,’ as he was led away in handcuffs.”

“Prosecutor Kenneth Murphy charged that Linen was one of a group of men who held up cabbie Joseph Eziri on June 8, 1997, and hit him with a beer bottle,” the report continued. “Murphy also accused Linen of holding up cab driver Francisco Monsanto at gunpoint on March 31, 1998, and stealing a ring and cash. Linen then fled into his grandmother’s house, prosecutors said. Both cabbies testified and identified Linen as a robber.”

But at the time, his defense argued that Linen wouldn’t have committed the crimes because he was writing music for big names like Lil Kim, and wouldn’t have needed the money. Despite maintaining innocence in the case, a jury took six hours to decide that Linen was guilty of all but one count of assault. He served seven years for the crimes, and now people are wondering how this qualifies him to shape the public safety of the largest city in the United States.

NEW YORK, MEET YOUR NEW “CRIMINAL JUSTICE” ADVISER

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani just appointed a convicted armed robber to help shape NYC’s crime and policing policy.

Meet Mysonne Linen.
Served 7 years for armed robberies of NYC taxi drivers.
Beat one victim with a bottle.… pic.twitter.com/bg2NLHRMjS

— Jews Fight Back (@JewsFightBack) December 8, 2025

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